A Busy Day
A Busy Day is a 1914 short film starring Charlie Chaplin and Mack Swain.
| A Busy Day | |
|---|---|
![]() film scene  | |
| Directed by | Mack Sennett | 
| Produced by | Mack Sennett | 
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin | 
| Cinematography | Frank D. Williams | 
Production company  | |
| Distributed by | Mutual Film | 
Release date  | 
  | 
Running time  | 6 minutes | 
| Country | United States | 
| Language | English | 
Plot
    
In A Busy Day, a wife (played by an energetic Charlie Chaplin) becomes jealous of her husband's interest in another woman during a military parade. On her way to attack the couple, the wife interrupts the set of a film, knocking over a film director and a police officer. Finally, the husband pushes the wife off a pier and she falls into the harbor.
Notes
    
According to the 1965 book The Films of Charlie Chaplin, A Busy Day is the first of three films in which Chaplin plays a woman. The other two were The Masquerader (1914) and A Woman (1915). Chaplin used the wardrobe of fellow Keystone player Alice Davenport.
It was typical for Mack Sennett to shoot Keystone comedies using real events—such as a parade—as the background for comic mayhem. This short film (about half a reel) was shot near San Pedro Harbor in less than two hours. In it, one can see interesting glimpses of First World War-era American naval ships in the background. The other part of the reel is an educational short titled The Morning Papers.
Review
    
A reviewer from Bioscope noted, "[Chaplin] gives an amazing exhibition of acrobatic humor."
Cast
    
- Charles Chaplin as Wife
 - Mack Swain as Husband
 - Phyllis Allen as The Other Woman
 - Mack Sennett as Film director
 - Billy Gilbert as Police officer
 - Ted Edwards as Police officer
 
External links
    
- A Busy Day on YouTube
 - A Busy Day at IMDb
 - A Busy Day at AllMovie
 - A Busy Day is available for free download at the Internet Archive
 
