This ten-minute short was only the third film Chaplin made for Keystone, but he had already adopted his Tramp mustache & makeup
. Released February 19th, 1914,
A Thief Catcher was considered lost for almost 96 years until it was discovered by chance at an antique sale in Michigan in 2010 by film historian Paul Gierucki. Chaplin makes a short 3-minute appearance as a cop in the film which also stars Keystone regulars Ford Sterling & Mack Swain. I had the privilege to be among the first to see this film in nearly a century when
A Thief Catcher had a rare screening at the Charlie Chaplin International Conference in Zanesville, OH in October 2010. The plot was typical Keystone, but Charlie was unmistakable. A six-minute excerpt from the film can be seen on the Flicker Alley
Chaplin At Keystone set.
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| Mack Swain, Chaplin, and an unidentified actor. |
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| Edgar Kennedy & Mack Swain are on the left. |
