Charlie Chaplin in “Mabel’s Strange Predicament” (1914)
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Mabel’s Strange Predicament is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Mabel Normand and Charles Chaplin. The Tramp was first presented to the public in Chaplin’s second film Kid Auto Races at Venice (released Feb 7th 1914) though Mabel’s Strange Predicament, his third film in order of release, (released Feb 9th 1914) was produced a few days before. It was for this film that Chaplin first conceived of and played the Tramp. As Chaplin recalled in his autobiography: “I had no idea what makeup to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter [in Making a Living]. However on the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat. I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large. I was undecided whether to look old or young, but remembering Sennet had expected me to be a much older man, I added a small mustache, which I reasoned, would add age without hiding my expression. I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the makeup made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on stage he was fully born” (Chaplin, My Autobiography: 154). Mabel’s Strange Predicament is one of more than a dozen early films that writer/director/comedienne Mabel Normand made with Chaplin; Normand, who had written and directed films before Chaplin, mentored the young comedian. Interestingly, Chaplin’s Tramp is shown …