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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 887

A Night in the Show

191530 minUnited States

Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs: 24:08
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Charlie Chaplin · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Synopsis

Two disruptive spectators make themselves increasingly difficult to ignore during a variety performance. Arguments over seats and reactions to the acts draw the audience into the disturbance, while the entertainment onstage loses control of the evening. A fire-eater's appearance finally gives one spectator an excuse to treat the entire theater as an emergency.

Cast

Charles Chaplin

Charlotte Mineau

Dee Lampton

Edna Purviance

Leo White

DirectorsCharles Chaplin

Inspirations

Chaplin develops material from the Fred Karno stage sketch Mumming Birds, known in America as A Night in an English Music Hall. He plays two audience members, carrying the structure of a live comic act into the cinema.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Charles Chaplin — Strauss-Peyton Studio, 1921; published in Photoplay no. 3 (1922); National Portrait Gallery / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
Charlotte Mineau — Fred Guiol; lordheath.com . · Public domain
Dee Lampton — IMDB.com; IMDB.com · Public domain
Edna Purviance — Unknown photographer, 1923; J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, SAYRE 8372 / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
Leo White — Witzel; Photoplay Magazine March, 1917; pg. 24 https://archive.org/stream/photoplayvolume11112chic#page/378/mode/2up · Public domain

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