A Thief Catcher

Chaplin had always claimed to have played a cop in a Keystone comedy, but it took 96 years for the evidence to show up.

A long-forgotten print of A Thief Catcher, indeed featuring Chaplin as a policeman, turned up at an antique sale in Michigan and was subsequently “re-premiered” at the 46th annual Cinecon Classic Film Festival in Hollywood during Labor Day weekend, 2010.

An excerpt of Chaplin’s performance is available on the Chaplin at Keystone DVD set.

Click here to return to: