The Star Boarder is a 1914 American short comedy film starring Charlie Chaplin.[1] The film is also known as The Landlady's Pet, its 1918 American reissue title.[2]
| The Star Boarder | |
|---|---|
 Chaplin as the "star" boarder and Durfee as his attentive landlady | |
| Directed by | George Nichols |
| Written by | Craig Hutchinson |
| Produced by | Mack Sennett |
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin Minta Durfee Edgar Kennedy Gordon Griffith Alice Davenport |
| Cinematography | Frank D. Williams |
| Distributed by | Keystone Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 16 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent film English (Original titles) |
Synopsis
editCharlie, a resident in a boarding house, is the favorite of his landlord's wife. His fellow male boarders are jealous of the situation and dislike Charlie because of it. They arrange to frighten him with a dummy. Charlie is frightened and runs to the police. Meanwhile, a tramp has hidden himself in a cupboard. The police find him, making Charlie a hero for the moment. The mischievous young son of the landlord, however, has taken a series of compromising photographs and displays them to everyone in a magic lantern show. Two scandals are revealed: One photo shows Charlie kissing the proprietor's wife. Another shows the proprietor flirting with another woman.
The young son was played by Gordon Griffith. Four years later Griffith would play the young title character in the first movie adaptation of Tarzan of the Apes.
Review
editMotion Picture News said of The Star Boarder, "[It is] a very funny comedy. The landlady is too familiar with the star boarder to suit her husband. He gets even, however, by going out with another woman."
Cast
edit- Charlie Chaplin as The Star Boarder
- Minta Durfee as Landlady
- Edgar Kennedy as Landlady's husband
- Gordon Griffith as Their son
- Alice Davenport as Landlady's friend
- Phyllis Allen (uncredited boarder)
- Jess Dandy (uncredited boarder)
- Billy Gilbert (uncredited boarder)
- Wallace MacDonald (uncredited boarder)
- Harry McCoy (uncredited boarder)
- Rube Miller (uncredited boarder)
- Lee Morris (uncredited boarder)
- William Nigh (uncredited boarder)
- Al St. John (uncredited boarder)
Reception
editLike many American films of the time, The Star Boarder was subject to restrictions and cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required, when the film was submitted for review for its 1918 reissue as The Landlady's Pet, cuts of Chaplin thumbing his nose and the scene of Chaplin inflating his trousers and looking into them.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Walker, Brent E. (2010). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland Inc. p. 292. ISBN 9780786457076. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- ^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Star Boarder at silentera.com
- ^ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. 7 (10). New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company: 36. August 31, 1918.
External links
edit
- The short film The Star Boarder is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- The Star Boarder at IMDb
- The Star Boarder on YouTube
 | This 1910s short comedy film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |