Laughing Gas, starring Charlie Chaplin originally released July 9, 1914, by Keystone Studios
In Laughing Gas, we have Charlie Chaplin directing, and Charlie the Little Tramp working as a dentist’s assistant. The Tramp is more vicious here than we are used to, assaulting people with little or no provocation. Although most of the slapstick in the short film is not malicious, such as losing his balance and reaching out to steady himself, unfortunately grabbing a woman’s skirt and pulling it off altogether
. It’s a short film, only 16 minutes long, and while not laugh-out-loud funny, it’s certainly entertaining.
Mack Swain, one of Charlie’s regulars, appears as one of his poor patients.
Trivia
Also released as:
- Busy Little Dentist (USA)
- Charlot dentiste (France)
- Charlot, falso dentista (Spain)
- Il Dentista (Italy)
- Down and Out
- Full fart (Sweden)
- Gas esilarante (Italy)
- Ilokaasu (Finland)
- Laffing Gas (USA)
- The Dentist
- Tuning His Ivories (USA)
- Charlot, dentista (Spain) (reissue title)
Cast of characters
- Charlie Chaplin (The Rink; Limelight) … Dentist’s Assistant
- Fritz Schade (His Prehistoric Past) … Dr. Pain – the Dentist
- Alice Howell (Caught in a Cabaret) … Mrs. Pain – the Dentist’s Wife
- Slim Summerville (Those Love Pangs) … Pedestrian / Patient
- Josef Swickard (The Face on the Barroom Floor) … Patient
- Mack Swain (The Gold Rush (1925)) … Patient
Additional cast
- Helen Carruthers (His Trysting Place) … Pretty Patient (uncredited)
- Fred Hibbard (Those Love Pangs) … Bearded Patient (uncredited)
- Gene Marsh (A Fair Exchange) … Patient (uncredited)
- Joseph Sutherland … Short Assistant (uncredited)
- May Wallace (His Prehistoric Past) … Patient (uncredited)