This film is part of Free
The Tramp and the Baby's Bottle
It's a lovely day in the park, for romance and daylight robbery - but will this tramp make a clean getaway?
Overview
Charlie Chaplin claimed all he needed to make a film featuring his famous Tramp character was "a park, a policeman and a pretty girl". This short romp - made some 15 years before Chaplin's film debut - packs in all those elements, plus a baby and a dog, in a boisterous tale of romance, neglect, crime and punishment. When a copper distracts a nanny from her duties with a cheeky kiss, a tramp swipes the baby's bottle - prompting violent retribution from the officer of the law.
This single-shot film was made by the Yorkshire-based film pioneer James Bamforth. There is plenty of action in its brief running time, and the camera angle, at 45 degrees to the park bench, provides a deep stage for his actors to run around in. Prior to the invention of cinema, Bamforth's company had made narrative magic lantern slides. His films developed many of those scenes and specialised in comic skits.
Related
The Beggar's Deceit The Beggar's Deceit
Comedy 1900 1 mins Silent
A copper pursues a cheeky beggar who can't possibly escape justice - or can he?
Come Along, Do! Come Along, Do!
Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent
A museum visitor takes an interest in a nude sculpture - to his wife's annoyance - in a sadly incomplete early film comedy
How It Feels to Be Run Over How It Feels to Be Run Over
Trick film 1900 1 mins Silent
A terrifying first-person brush with death at the hands of a dangerous driver
Spiders on a Web Spiders on a Web
1900 0 mins Silent
Dare you watch this footage of larger-than-life spiders - one of the earliest nature films of its type?
Railway Collision Railway Collision
Drama 1900 1 mins Silent
An impressive early film special effect
Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer Comic Faces - Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer
Comedy 1897 1 mins Silent
How many faces can one man pull while drinking one glass of beer? Far more than you might think
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Blades Blades
Drama 2023 2 mins
A group of young Black boys run into a building. One of them is about to do the unimaginable.
We Collide We Collide
Romance 2023 2 mins
A queercore romance - a visceral and immersive exploration of the power of the mosh pit and finding love in the most unlikely of places.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.