A Film Johnnie

Charlie is admiring the young ladies in the cinema posters and decides to go in but is thrown out when he reacts with inappropriate emotion to the films. Noting the name on the poster, he goes to the Keystone studio where he compares his large but empty trousers with Arbuckle’s straining waistband. Chaplin cadges a coin from him which is then neatly pocketed by Ford Sterling. Chaplin follows them into the studio where he causes mayhem again through a lack of understanding of the filmmaking process. He gets into a similar fix when the company rush off to take advantage of a real fire to heighten the drama of their movie. —BFI