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Cruel, Cruel Love | |
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Directed by | George Nichols Mack Sennett |
Written by | Craig Hutchinson |
Produced by | Mack Sennett |
Starring | Charlie Chaplin Edgar Kennedy Minta Durfee Alice Davenport Glen Cavender Billy Gilbert Chester Conklin (uncredited) |
Cinematography | Frank D. Williams |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Mutual Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Running time | 16 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film; English (Original titles) |
Cruel, Cruel Love is a 1914 American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin plays a character quite different from the Little Tramp for which he would become famous. In this short Keystone film, Chaplin is instead a rich, upper-class gentleman (Lord Helpus) whose romance is endangered when his girlfriend (played by Minta Durfee) sees him being embraced by her maid and jumps to the wrong conclusion. She angrily sends Lord Helpus away, saying she never wants to see him again. Distraught, when Lord Helpus arrives home he is determined to end his life. He swallows what he thinks is a glass of poison and envisions himself being tortured in Hell. Not long afterward, the girlfriend's gardener and maid explain to Minta that Lord Helpus was not flirting at all. Minta quickly sends a note of apology to Lord Helpus. upon reading it, Lord Helpus flies into a panic and summons an ambulance to help him before he dies from the fatal dose of poison. There is no danger of Lord Helpus expiring: His butler had stealthily switched the liquid in the glass to harmless water.
Chaplin's romantic interest in this film, Minta Durfee, was the wife of fellow Keystone actor Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.
Cruel, Cruel Love was presumed to be a lost film for more than 50 years until a complete nitrate film copy in reasonable condition was discovered in South America. [1] Restoration copies were made by David Shepard of Film Preservation Associates, and by Lobster Films of Paris, and its original two-reel format is available for sale. [2]
A reviewer from Motion Picture World wrote, "Slight in texture, but it makes a pleasing, laughable picture."
The Keystone Cops are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle was an American silent film actor, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood, signing a contract in 1920 with Paramount Pictures for $1,000,000 a year.
Tillie's Punctured Romance is a 1914 American silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops. The picture is the first feature-length comedy and was the only feature-length comedy made by the Keystone Film Company.
Making a Living is the first film starring Charlie Chaplin. A one-reel comedy short, it was completed in three days at Keystone Studios in Los Angeles, California and was released for distribution on February 2, 1914. In it Chaplin portrays a charming swindler who runs afoul of a news reporter and a Keystone Cop. In addition to co-writing the "scenario" and directing the production, Henry Lehrman performs as the principal supporting character.
Twenty Minutes of Love is a 1914 American comedy silent film made by Keystone Studios. The film is widely reported as Charlie Chaplin's directorial debut; some sources name Joseph Maddern as the director, but generally credit Chaplin as the creative force.
Triple Trouble is a two-reel American silent comedy film that was released in 1918. It stars Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, and Leo White. This film was not an official Chaplin film, even though it has many Chaplin-directed scenes; after he left the studio, Essanay edited it together using outtakes and newly shot footage directed by Leo White. It had already been established in court that Chaplin had no legal control over the films made during his time with Essanay and could not prevent its release.
The Masquerader is a 1914 film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin during his time at Keystone Studios. This film stars Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle and has a running time of 13 minutes. It is the tenth film directed by Chaplin.
The Knockout is a 1914 American silent comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It also features Charlie Chaplin in a small role, his seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. It is one of only a few films in which Chaplin's Little Tramp character appears in a secondary role, not appearing until the second half of the film. It also stars Arbuckle's wife, Minta Durfee, Edgar Kennedy and Keystone owner, Mack Sennett in a minor role as a spectator. The film was directed by Charles Avery.
Araminta Estelle "Minta" Durfee was an American silent film actress from Los Angeles, California, possibly best known for her role in Mickey (1918).
The Rounders is a 1914 comedy short starring Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. The film involves two drunks who get into trouble with their wives, and was written and directed by Chaplin.
Caught in a Cabaret is a 1914 short comedy film written and directed by Mabel Normand and starring Normand and Charlie Chaplin.
His New Job is a 1915 American short silent comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. Gloria Swanson appears as an uncredited extra. The title is an inside reference to this being Chaplin's first film after leaving Keystone Studios for Essanay Studios. It was also the only film Chaplin shot at Essanay's Chicago studio. He found the facilities and climate not to his liking, and Chaplin soon relocated back to California.
A Film Johnnie is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Mabel Normand.
Tango Tangles is a 1914 American film comedy short starring Charles Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. The action takes place in a dance hall, with a drunken Chaplin, Ford Sterling, and the huge, menacing, and acrobatic Arbuckle fighting over a girl. The supporting cast also features Chester Conklin and Minta Durfee. The picture was written, directed and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios and distributed by Mutual Film Corporation.
The Star Boarder is a 1914 American short comedy film starring Charlie Chaplin. The film is also known as The Landlady's Pet, its 1918 American reissue title.
Mabel at the Wheel is a 1914 American motion picture starring Charlie Chaplin and Mabel Normand, and directed by Mabel Normand and Mack Sennett. The film is also known as Hot Finish.
Those Love Pangs, also known as The Rival Mashers, is a 1914 American silent comedy film. It was produced by Keystone Studios and starred Charlie Chaplin and Chester Conklin.
Fatty Joins the Force is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the Keystone Cops in a background role.
Fatty and Mabel at the San Diego Exposition is a 1915 American silent black-and-white short comedy film, directed by Fatty Arbuckle and starring Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. It was produced by Keystone Studios.
Luke the Dog (1913–1926) was an Staffordshire Bull Terrier that performed as a recurring character in American silent comedy shorts between 1914 and 1920. He was also the personal pet of actress Minta Durfee and her husband, the comedian and director Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.