A well-to-do family of three is asleep on a park bench. The father (Charles Insley) is awakened when a pretty girl (Margie Reiger) trips over his outstretched feet. The father is an incorrigible womanizer and immediately follows the girl to another park bench while his wife (Marta Golden) and adult daughter (Edna Purviance) remain asleep. He briefly departs to buy himself and the girl drinks from a refreshment stand. As soon as he leaves, Charlie arrives at the park bench where the pretty girl is seated. Charlie attempts to flirt with her—and the girl seems to enjoy his company. The father returns with two bottled drinks and jealously smashes one over Charlie's head, knocking him senseless. The father escorts the girl away. The girl tells the father she wants to play hide-and-seek. He agrees. She blindfolds him and walks away. Charlie regains his senses and comes across the blindfolded father. He leads him to the edge of a pond with his cane. The father removes his blindfold moments before Charlie kicks him into the water. (A passing park policeman who tries to intervene gets kicked into the pond too.) Charlie comes across the father's wife and daughter and makes a favorable impression. They invite him to their house for refreshments. Meanwhile, the father befriends another man in the park whom Charlie has earlier annoyed (Billy Armstrong). Together they go to the father's home. When snacks are put on the table, Charlie demonstrates a unique way of serving doughnuts and is having a merry time when the father sees him. The other man, who is flirting with the father's wife in the kitchen, sees Charlie too. Both men try to corral Charlie, but he knocks them cold—but not before his trousers are ripped off his body. Charlie initially runs into the street without any pants, but the commotion he creates outside causes him to retreat back into the house. Charlie goes to an upstairs room where he conveniently sees a woman's dress suit on a mannequin. He changes into it and is seen in a hallway by the daughter. Instead of being angry, the daughter laughs at the spectacle and suggests Charlie continue with the charade of dressing as a female to fool her flirtatious father. She even offers him a pair of female shoes and a place to shave his mustache. The female Charlie is introduced as a college chum of the daughter, and succeeds in attracting the attention of both the father and his friend. The father resents the competition and angrily knocks his friend out of the house. Charlie's true gender is eventually revealed, however, when his skirt falls off. Another fight ensues. Charlie and the father seem to have made peace, but the father reacts angrily when Charlie wants to court his daughter. Charlie is thrown out of the house and lands alongside the other man where another battle begins.
Notes
Censors initially refused permission for A Woman to be shown in Great Britain. The reason is not entirely clear, but it could have been because a married man is trying to seduce a much younger woman or because of the transvestitism hinted at by Charlie disguising himself as a female. The ban on the film was lifted in 1916.
Margie Reiger, the youthful actress who played the pretty girl in the park, is a bit of a mystery. Her acting credits show 13 appearances in silent films—all in 1915. Why her career suddenly ended and what became of her is unknown. Furthermore, no researcher has been able to find a date of birth or death for her.
A Woman is the third and final time that Chaplin played the role of a female on film. He played a woman in two Keystone films: The Masquerader and A Busy Day.
The Immigrant is a 1917 American silent romantic comedy short. The film stars Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character as an immigrant coming to the United States who is accused of theft on the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and falls in love with a beautiful young woman along the way. It also stars Edna Purviance and Eric Campbell.
Olga Edna Purviance was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the leading lady in many of Charlie Chaplin's early films and in a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with him. Her name was pronounced "pur-VIE-unce" as verified by Chaplin in his spoken narration of one of his films.
A Woman of Paris is a feature-length American silent film that debuted in 1923. The film, an atypical drama film for its creator, was written, directed, produced and later scored by Charlie Chaplin. It is also known as A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate.
Behind the Screen is a 1916 American silent short comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, and also starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance. The film is in the public domain.
A Woman of the Sea, also known by its working title Sea Gulls, is an unreleased silent film produced in 1926 by the Chaplin Film Company. It is one of only two lost Charlie Chaplin films, having been destroyed by Chaplin himself as a tax writeoff.
The Pawnshop was Charlie Chaplin's sixth film for Mutual Film Corporation. Released on October 2, 1916, it stars Chaplin in the role of assistant to the pawnshop owner, played by Henry Bergman. Edna Purviance plays the owner's daughter, while Albert Austin appears as an alarm clock owner who watches Chaplin in dismay as he dismantles the clock; the massive Eric Campbell's character attempts to rob the shop.
By the Sea is a 1915 American silent comedy film Charlie Chaplin made while waiting for a studio to work in Los Angeles. He had just left Niles Essanay Studio after doing five films at that location. By the Sea was filmed all on location in Santa Monica on the beach near Ocean Park Pier and on Crystal Pier in April 1915. The story centers on Charlie's Little Tramp character and how he gets into trouble trying to grab the attention of women on the beach. Edna Purviance plays one of the wives in whom he shows interest. It is said to be the first film to incorporate the classic gag of a man slipping on a banana skin.
A Jitney Elopement was Charlie Chaplin's fifth film for Essanay Films. It starred Chaplin and Edna Purviance as lovers, with Purviance wanting Chaplin to take her away from an arranged marriage her father had planned for her. Chaplin does take her away in a jitney, a type of share taxi popular in the US between 1914 and 1916. Most of the film was made in San Francisco and includes scenes of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and the large windmills still on the park's west side.
The Pilgrim is a 1923 American silent film made by Charlie Chaplin for the First National Film Company, starring Chaplin and Edna Purviance.
The Tramp is the sixth film directed by Charlie Chaplin for Essanay Studios, released in 1915. It was Chaplin's fifth and final film produced at Essanay's Niles, California studio. The Tramp marked the emergence of The Tramp character, a role Chaplin had played in earlier films but with a more emotional depth, showing a caring side towards others. The film also stars Edna Purviance as the farmer's daughter and Ernest Van Pelt as Edna's father. The outdoor scenes were filmed on location near Niles.
Police is Charlie Chaplin's 14th film with Essanay Studios and was released in 1916. It was made at the Majestic Studio in Los Angeles. Charlie plays an ex-convict who finds life on the outside not to his liking and leads him to breaking into a home with another thief. Edna Purviance plays the girl living in the home who tries to change him.
Shoulder Arms is Charlie Chaplin's second film for First National Pictures. Released in 1918, it is a silent comedy film set in France during World War I, the first of three films he made on the subject of war. It co-starred Edna Purviance and Sydney Chaplin, Chaplin's elder brother. In this film, Chaplin is never in his Little Tramp outfit.
Sunnyside is a 1919 American short silent film written by, directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin. It was his third film for First National Pictures.
The Rink, a silent film from 1916, was Charlie Chaplin's eighth film for Mutual Films. The film co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry Bergman, and Albert Austin, and is best known for showcasing Chaplin's roller skating skills. Chaplin's obvious skill on roller skates surprised many of his fans, but Charlie was an experienced performer. As a touring vaudevillian with Fred Karno's pantomime troupe, Chaplin appeared in a roller-skating skit in which he displayed a talent for comedic falls—and the ability to cause other skaters to topple.
In the Park is Charlie Chaplin's fourth film released in 1915 by Essanay Films. It was his third film while at the Niles Essanay Studio. It was one of several films Charlie Chaplin created in a park setting. The film co-starred Edna Purviance, Leo White, Lloyd Bacon, and Bud Jamison.
The Vagabond is a 1916 American silent romantic comedy film by Charlie Chaplin and his third film with Mutual Films. Released to theaters on July 10, 1916, it co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Leo White and Lloyd Bacon. This film echoed Chaplin's work on The Tramp, with more drama and pathos mixed in with the comedy.
The Adventurer is an American short comedy film made in 1917 written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, and is the last of the twelve films made under contract for the Mutual Film Corporation.
The Fireman is the second film Charlie Chaplin distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation in 1916. Released on June 12, it starred Chaplin as the fireman and Edna Purviance as the daughter to Lloyd Bacon.
Caught in the Rain is a 1914 American comedy silent film starring Charlie Chaplin. This film was the first of many movies in which Chaplin both directed and played the lead. The short film was produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios with a running time of 16 minutes.
Getting Acquainted, subsequently retitled A Fair Exchange, is a 1914 American comedy silent film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, starring Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios.
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