12 January 2020

A Dog's Life (1918)

The 35 minutes short A Dog's Life (1918) was Charlie Chaplin's first film for First National Films under a $1M contract where Chaplin had full creative control over his films for the first time. His co-star is Mut who plays the stray dog Scraps. As the title says, Scraps is the hero of the film, as he helps the Tramp and dance hall singer Edna (Edna Purviance) towards a better life. A small part as a lunchwagon owner is played by Sydney Chaplin. It was the first time the two brothers were on screen together. A Dog's Life was a worthy predecessor for Chaplin's first full-length feature The Kid (1921). This postcard series by the Spanish chocolate manufacturer Amatller, Marca Luna, was collected by Ivo Blom. In the coming months, we'll do more film specials at EFSP on other series by Amattler.

Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 11. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 1. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance and Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 3. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 4. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 6. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance and Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918). Granville Redmond played the dancehall owner.

Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 8. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 10. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin in  A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 12. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 13. Photo: First National. Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 15. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance and Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918). Second from left: Henry Bergman.

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 16. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance and Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Charlie Chaplin and Edna Purviance in A Dog's Life (1918)
Spanish postcard by Chocolate Amatller, Marca Luna, series 9, no. 17. Photo: First National. Edna Purviance and Charlie Chaplin in A Dog's Life (Charles Chaplin, 1918).

Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb

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