Charlot est content de lui

Tramp's first appearance and... he's a punk. Fun and meta at first, at least in the way that it's a movie about movie-making at a time when that was a fresh idea, but wears out its welcome as it's a one-note gag. There's not really any of Chaplin's great comically timed physical gags, it's just him being an a-hole getting in the way of a camera crew as they try to get footage of cars racing by. I wish there was more to it as Chaplin clearly already owns the role, but there's none of the charm or innocence yet. Guess these things would take time to alter, though unlike, say, Mickey Mouse's early appearances (comparing to iconic comic figures of the early 20th century), being an ass doesn't suit the Tramp so well, at least not to this extent (if maybe he'd just interacted with another character or built upon something that'd be one thing).

The cinema has been with us for so long it's now possible to watch films that are well over a hundred years old. 'Kid Auto Races at Venice' is one of those titles that are central to film history but like scores of others I've never got round to actually watching it until on a whim I just looked it up on YouTube.

A full century after it was dashed off in a morning it still looks as fresh as a daisy and remains a subject of awe that Chaplin's creation burst on the screen fully formed; and serves as a refreshing reminder of what a nasty piece of work he was before his creator developed aspirations to play Pagliacci.

The Keystone period of Chaplin's work (1914) always suffers in comparison to his later films, especially the Mutuals and First Nationals. This is because he was still learning his craft, but mostly because Mack Sennett kept making the same film over and over again. While the majority of Keystones are indistinguishable from one another, this short subject, only Charlie's second, towers above the others. Here Chaplin attends an actual event in Venice (California) as a spectator pretending to be unaware that he is constantly getting in the cameraman's frame. Time has been positively affectionate to this film; appearing on camera is now a national pastime, and being a split reel it clocks in at about the same length as a Saturday Night Live skit. This film deserves your attention. It won't take long.

Kid Auto Races in Venice is historical in that it marks Charlie Chaplin's first appearance as The Tramp. In this short film, The Tramp is a spectator in a soap box derby race that is being filmed. Throughout the short, Charlie keeps getting in front of the camera and getting pushed off by either the cameraman or other spectators. In addition, he almost gets knocked off by some of the kid racers! Obviously not much to mention of the plot of this six minute short but for some reason I was constantly amused by Chaplin's constant wandering in and out of the path of where the race cars were going as well as the cameraman's attempts to get him out of the way. Worth a look for film history buffs and the easily amused.

Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)

** (out of 4)

This is a historically important film but it's not a very good one. For the first time we see Charles Chaplin in his Tramp outfit as he causes trouble at a race. There really aren't any laughs in the film but again, it remains interesting because we see Chaplin working out his routine.

Even though the film isn't that good it's still historically important for Chaplin.

Various public domain companies have released the film but for the best quality you should track down the Image release.