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3 unusual facts about Kid Auto Races at Venice


Billie Ritchie

Variations on Ritchie's "tramp" and "drunk" personae - which Ritchie had developed before and during his Karno years- were introduced to film audiences by Charlie Chaplin in such shorts as the Lehrman-directed Kid Auto Races at Venice (February 7, 1914) and Mabel's Strange Predicament (February 9, 1914).

Kid Auto Races at Venice

Unusually the camera breaks the fourth wall to show a second camera filming (as though it were the first), to better explain the joke.

Kid Auto Races at Venice is a 1914 American film starring Charles Chaplin in which his "Little Tramp" character makes his first appearance in a film exhibited before the public.


Mabel's Strange Predicament

The Tramp was first presented to the public in Chaplin's second film Kid Auto Races at Venice (released February 7, 1914) though Mabel's Strange Predicament, his third film in order of release, (released February 9, 1914) was produced a few days before.

Making a Living

Chaplin's famed screen persona of "The Little Tramp" did not appear until his next film, Kid Auto Races at Venice, but his character in this film is somewhat similar, having hat, cane, moustache and baggy trousers.


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