CHAPLIN'S ESSANAY COMEDIES

In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin was paid the then-unprecedented salary of $1,250 per week (with a bonus of $10,000) in exchange for signing a one-year contract with the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company. The resulting 14 films he created for Essanay find Chaplin further experimenting with new cinematic techniques, while continuing to add complexities and pathos into his celebrated Little Tramp character, soon to become immortalized as the face, hat, and mustache of modern screen comedy.

Flicker Alley and The Blackhawk Films® Collection are proud to present Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies, the third and final installment of the Chaplin Project (led by Lobster Films and Cineteca di Bologna), a massive, twelve year endeavor to restore all of Chaplin’s cinematic output from 1914-1917. This 5-disc box Blu-ray/DVD box set features 15 newly restored films—HIS NEW JOB, A NIGHT OUT, THE CHAMPION, IN THE PARK, A JITNEY ELOPEMENT, THE TRAMP, BY THE SEA, HIS REGENERATION, WORK, A WOMAN, THE BANK, SHANGHAIED, A NIGHT IN THE SHOW, CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S BURLESQUE ON CARMEN, and POLICE. All were scanned under the aegis of Association Chaplin at a resolution of 2,000 lines from original 35mm prints gathered from archives all over the world, then digitally assembled and restored, a collaborative effort of Lobster Films and Cineteca di Bologna. These editions feature scores from some of the foremost composers and musicians of silent film accompaniment, including Timothy Brock, Robert Israel, and The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.

Essanay and Mutual were Chaplin’s laboratory and he later would borrow heavily from the films he created there to craft the masterworks THE KID (1921), THE GOLD RUSH (1925), CITY LIGHTS (1931) and MODERN TIMES (1936) for which he is best known and for which he always will be remembered.

 
 
 

  Contents

Format: Blu-ray & DVD-NTSC Combo /
Region A & Region 1
(No Regional Code)

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HIS NEW JOB
(US, 1915)

Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin & Louella Parsons
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Agnes Ayres, Gloria Swanson & Ben Turpin

• 31 minutes
• B&W

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A NIGHT OUT
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Charles Allen Dealey, Edna Purviance & Ben Turpin

• 34 minutes
• B&W

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THE CHAMPION
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Gilbert M. Anderson, Billy Armstrong, Edna Purviance & Ben Turpin

• 31 minutes
• B&W

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IN THE PARK
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Leona Anderson, Billy Armstrong, Lloyd Bacon, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Ernest Van Pelt & Leo White

• 14 minutes
• B&W

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A JITNEY ELOPEMENT
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Lloyd Bacon, Carl Stockdale, Fred Goodwins, Paddy McGuire, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Ernest Van Pelt & Leo White

• 26 minutes
• B&W

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THE TRAMP
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Lloyd Bacon, Paddy McGuire, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Ernest Van Pelt & Leo White

• 26 minutes
• B&W

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BY THE SEA
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Ed Armstrong, Billy Armstrong, Paddy McGuire, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, 'Snub' Pollard, Ernest Van Pelt & Margie Reiger

• 20 minutes
• B&W

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HIS REGENERATION
(US, 1915)

Director, writer, producer: Gilbert M. Anderson
Cast: Gilbert M. Anderson, Charles Chaplin, Lee Willard, Marguerite Clayton, Hazel Applegate, Bud Jamison, 'Snub' Pollard & Lloyd Bacon

• 15 minutes
• B&W

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WORK
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Paddy McGuire, Edna Purviance, Leo White, Marta Golden & Charles Inslee

• 31 minutes
• B&W

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A WOMAN
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Edna Purviance, Jess Robbins, Leo White, Marta Golden & Charles Inslee

• 26 minutes
• B&W

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THE BANK
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Edna Purviance, Carl Stockdale, Charles Inslee, Lloyd Bacon, Leo White & Paddy McGuire

• 25 minutes
• B&W

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SHANGHAIED
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Billy Armstrong, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Leo White & Paddy McGuire

• 27 minutes
• B&W

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A NIGHT IN THE SHOW
(US, 1915)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Charles Inslee, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Leo White & Paddy McGuire

• 30 minutes
• B&W

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CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S BURLESQUE ON CARMEN
(US, 1915)

Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin (Based on novel by Prosper Mérimée)
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Leo White & Ben Turpin

• 44 minutes
• B&W

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POLICE
(US, 1916)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Wesley Ruggles, John Rand, Billy Armstrong, Bud Jamison, Edna Purviance, Leo White, 'Snub' Pollard & Paddy McGuire

• 34 minutes
• B&W

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Bonus Material

TRIPLE TROUBLE
(US, 1918)

Director, writer: Charles Chaplin & Leo White
Cinematography: Harry Ensign
Producer: Jess Robbins
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Wesley Ruggles, Billy,  Armstrong, Albert Austin, Bud Jamison, James T. Kelley, Edna Purviance, Leo White & 'Snub' Pollard

• 23 minutes
• B&W
• An unofficial Chaplin film, edited together from outtakes and footage shot by the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company without Chaplin’s approval

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• CHARLIE BUTTS IN, a one-reel film widely distributed in the 1920s assembled from alternate takes of the standard, two-reel version of A NIGHT OUT

• The two-reel edits of A NIGHT OUT and CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S BURLESQUE ON CARMEN, restored and conforming as nearly as possible to Chaplin’s original intentions for release

• A never-before-seen restoration of POLICE, including a newly improved final shot

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Total Running Time: 06:45:00 (5 Discs Blu-ray/DVD)

Language: English intertitles

Musical Score: Timothy Brock, Robert Israel, and The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra

Booklet Text: Jeffrey Vance

Published By: Flicker Alley

Institutional Price: $600 (plus shipping)

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.