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Weary Willie

Comic hijinks with a malodorous tramp

Comedy 1898 1 mins Silent

Overview

This nicely-shot and well-conceived comedy has the feel of a strip cartoon, from which it may well have been adapted by the Bradford-based Riley Brothers. The tramp Weary Willie appeared with partner Tired Tim in the popular comic Illustrated Chips, which ran from the 1870s to the 1950s.

The comic tramp would become a staple of film comedy, and it has been suggested that the original Weary Willie was an inspiration for the young Charlie Chaplin