Trying to pick from 36 of his Keystone films (only one was feature length) is tough, but there’s one that I really like. And it has cultural and historical significance as well.
Kid Auto Races at Venice.
Not the complete version (missing the ending with Chaplin being yanked by the nose off camera), but it is a good print and pretty good music.
This was the first time the public saw the Tramp character *. Chaplin had made only one film prior to this one, Making a Living.
I love KAR because it’s funny (well, duh) and I love watching the people in the background, who were all real bystanders at a real race. The only actors are Charlie, Henry Lehrman (the director who keeps shoving Charlie out of the way. Also the director of the film.) and Frank D. Williams (poor cameraman who is trying to film the race). Mack Sennett (head of Keystone Studios) did this quite a bit where he would use real events (races, parades, etc.) and shoot a film somehow involving that event. It was cheaper because he wouldn’t have to pay for the extras or the event. So it was with this one, filming a real go cart type race in Venice, California. There’s people who watch Charlie and laugh, or just stare probably wondering who that goofball is with the bowler hat and cane and why is he wandering out in front of the on coming race cars? Does he want to get on camera that badly?
Anyway, it’s a fun little film, and interesting to think how quickly Chaplin’s life would change because of pressure to find the right outfit that worked (and, boy, did it ever!)
*– David Robinson does make a good argument in his wonderful book, Chaplin: His Life and Art that the first Tramp movie that was actually filmed was probably Mabel’s Strange Predicament according to filming schedules and set events, and it wasn’t uncommon to shoot films in different sequence to release dates. But that Kid Auto Races is definitely the first one that was released to the public.
