Time travel back to the day Charlie Chaplin made his film debut to an unsuspecting crowd attending a push car event in Venice, LA on a January day in 1914. Enhanced, colorized and upscaled to 4k 60 fps using manual deep leaning techniques. An ambient soundtrack was created for an immersive experience.
Footage source: Library and Archives Canada. Vancouver City Archives, 1976-0209. IDC: 23546.
The Story behind Charlie Chaplin’s film debut
In the late Fall of 1913, following the sudden departure of Keystone Studios comic star Ford Sterling, Mack Sennett sent for Charles Chaplin, a 24 year old English comedian whom he’d seen on stage in New York ( along with a young Stan Laurel) with the Fred Karno troupe.
The story goes that the Venice Daily cup race – a kids push-car event was being held on January 10th 1914 at Main & Westminster Streets, where the Venice Dog Park now stands.
Mack Sennett told director Henry “Pathé” Lehrman, to take Chaplin and shoot some improvised high jinks using the races as a backdrop.
Lehrman himself, is seen with another cameraman Frank Williams pretending to be a news crew filming the race from the sidelines on Westminster Avenue.
The still then completely unknown Chaplin ambles on to the scene wearing that soon to be famous ‘little Tramp’ costume. Bowler hat, bamboo cane, baggy pants, and small moustache. He proceeds to make a nuisance of himself.
The onlookers, both amused and bemused, were unsuspecting extras in motion picture history.
The film has no plot to speak of and no character. Just a film director being harassed by an annoying camera hog. The soft hearted little tramp character had yet to evolve. In fact he’s quite hilariously rude.
The title of the 6 minute reel finally released was ‘Kid Auto Races at Venice’.
It was an inauspicious beginning to a movie icons career on screen, but this little film is real movie history.
Chaplin would never appear in public again dressed as the little tramp, but many others would.
