Charlie & Paulette in The Great Dictator (1940).

Chaplin’s left middle finger was caught in the slamming gate and broken during the filming of this scene (one of the few times he was ever injured while making a film).  Paulette immediately called for a car to take Charlie to the hospital. After a being ignored for a long period of time, she told someone that Mr. Chaplin had to be seen immediately. A doctor came out, looked at his finger, peered at him closely, and then apologized, saying that when they arrived in costume and make-up, everyone thought they were “a couple of Hollywood jokers having a little fun at our expense.” Evidently, the injury remains in the film, but Chaplin did not react to it while the cameras were rolling.  If you look closely, you can see him favoring his hand, as well as the bandage on the finger, in later scenes.

Still from the long-lost Chaplin film A Thief Catcher (1914).

This short film was discovered by chance at an antique sale in Michigan in 2010 by film historian Paul Gierucki. Chaplin makes a short 2-3 minute appearance as a cop in the film which also stars Keystone regulars Ford Sterling & Mack Swain. Chaplin claimed in interviews that he had bit roles as a cop in Keystone films but he never mentioned the films by name.  I had the privilege to be among the first to see this film in nearly a century when A Thief Catcher had a rare screening at the Charlie Chaplin International Conference in Zanesville, OH in Oct. 2010. The plot was typical Keystone, but Charlie was unmistakable.

A Thief Catcher is not yet available in its entirety on DVD, however there is an excerpt from the film on the Flicker Alley Chaplin At Keystone DVD set.