MisterWhiplash 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).

Lee Eisenberg Cinema was in its relative infancy when an English immigrant to the United States donned a bowler hat, fake moustache and notched cane, and gave the world one of the most famous characters. Charlie Chaplin had debuted in a movie called "Making a Living" (as a non-Tramp character) and had filmed a movie before "Kid Auto Races at Venice", but this was the first released movie in which audiences saw the bumbling but kindhearted man in the ill-fitting clothes.Because cinema was a new phenomenon, movies didn't yet have complex plots, and there was no sound, no color, and no star system. It wasn't until a few months after the release that Chaplin directed his first movie, and so one might interpret the Tramp's interfering with the filming of the races as Chaplin's trying to figure out the path that he wanted to take in movies. Well, we should be glad that he took the path that he did, because he gave us some of the greatest movies ever. Most importantly, anyone who likes to learn about cinema history should definitely watch "Kid Auto Races at Venice".Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter Oona co-starred on "Game of Thrones". I wonder how "Game of Thrones" would be if the Little Tramp were a character.

Film_Nitrate It's strangely appropriate that this should be the first intertitle of the first film to be released that featured Charlie Chaplins' immortal character: The Tramp. From his very first appearance, primitive though it is, he is undeniably engaging, though there is nothing in Kid Auto Races at Venice, Cal. to suggest the character was endearing enough to be a long-term fixture, let along the icon he became. Considering Chaplin himself would go on to appear in a staggering 35 films over the next 12 months for Keystone, it seems it was just as impossible to keep him away from the camera. But this is the place it all started for The Little Tramp.A century has now passed since the Keystone comedies producer Mack Sennett decided to make a short film with director Henry Lehrman and new actor Charles Chaplin at the Kid Auto Races on Saturday January 10, 1914, and to watch the 6-minute film today is to look back onto a world completely alien to anyone alive today. Even the title is cumbersome and obscure. The Kid Auto Race, in this case the Junior Vanderbilt Cup Race, was a short-lived event where the streets were closed off in Venice and young teenage boys were encouraged to race each other in their own home-made carts, usually powered by motorcycle engines. The race was officially administered, and for the winner there was a considerable prize of $250 on offer. To see boys racing what are effectively motorcars around the roads, with no safety equipment whatsoever, only adds to the modern disconnection with the film. It's to this usual backdrop that Chaplin debuted his creation to a large audience for the first time.The most fascinating aspect of Kid Auto Races is the reaction of the audience to Chaplins' presence. Film cameras were still uncommon at the time, so there would have been a degree of excitement about appearing in a film (one woman apparently had no intention of being immortalised on nitrate, and visibly hides behind a programme for the duration of a scene with Chaplin right in front of her), but more than that we see their amusement and interest in the strange looking fellow jumping around in front of the camera. Mack Sennett had found the Tramp character hilarious when Chaplin first experimented with it on the Keystone lot, but looking around the many faces in the crowd, they are all smiling or laughing, even if they are slightly bemused. If this was an indication of how audiences might react when the character was shown in theatres across the country, then it was a positive one.The film is all improvised, with Chaplin and the "director" the only apparent actors. There's also the virtually unprecedented scenes in which the camera is filming another cameraman hand-cranking the camera on screen which Chaplin is larking around in front of – in one of the first examples of this happening. Despite this on-screen camera, Chaplin regularly breaks the fourth wall, and it's inconsistent throughout which camera is being addressed.As entertainment, even the most enthusiastic film historian would have a tough job making a case for Kid Auto Races aging well. The film is almost like an artists' original sketch for what would eventually become a magnificent painting. There are many better Chaplin shorts, and many better shorts featuring The Tramp. But as a historical document, showing the origins of this great character, this is absolutely invaluable and it's easy to imagine in another 100 years people watching this to see exactly how Charlie Chaplin debuted The Little Tramp.

WakenPayne ...But To Be Honest I Don't Particularly Care. After I Saw "The Kid", "The Gold Rush" & "City Lights" I Must've Gone On A Chaplin Craze. I Went To See This. This Movie Overall Doesn't Have Much In The Way Of Laughs...No Let Me Clarify That This Movie Doesn't Have ANYTHING In The Way Of Laughs. This Would Only Be Watched By People Who Are Chaplin Fans & Want To Honestly Say "Yep I've Seen The Tramp's First Appearance On Screen" But To Your Average Joe To Charles Chaplin Movies This Movie Overall (At The Risk Of Sounding Unoriginal) Sucks.The Plot Is Where Chaplin Walks In The Way Of The Auto-Race & Gets Hit & Told To Go Back To His Seat. This Tramp Is Not The Same Character! The Tramp In The Full Length Movies Is Kind & Somewhat Lovable. This One Is Crude & Somewhat Someone That You Never Want To Meet. Overall I Hated This Movie & Nobody Should Ever Have To See It.