About 15-20 years ago, I made it a point to see very Charlie Chaplin film...both shorts and full-length. I completed this, but a few of Chaplin's shorts were lost and I had no chance to see them. Fortunately, over the last couple decades, the internet has made it easier to find and restore supposedly lost films...and "A Thief Catcher" was found about a decade ago. It's currently on YouTube and I saw it today.
The film is not a Chaplin starring vehicle, as in early 1914, he was a bit player for Keystone films. Amazingly, by the end of the year, he was their top star! In "A Thief Catcher", Chaplin is almost unrecognizable and just plays one of several Keystone Kops against leading man Ford Sterling.
"A Thief Catcher" is, as you'd expect for 1914, a slapstick film...consisting of a lot of slapping, chasing, kicking and wildly shooting off pistols for laughs. There isn't much in the way of plot, just two thugs (one is Mack Swain) chasing poor Ford, who is a sheriff. They eventually capture him and before they can do him in, the Kops arrive and foil their plans. Charlie plays the leader of these Kops.
The way I see this one is that while the film is VERY dated and unfunny by today's standards, it's still an important film as it was only Chaplin's third screen appearance and he had to start somewhere to learn his craft. And, because of this, it's a must-see for die-hard Chaplin fans...but isn't one I'd recommend to the casual viewer. My score of 5 is relative to other comedy shorts of the day.
