Laughing Gas (1914 film)

1914 film by Charlie Chaplin

For other short films of the same name from the same era, see Laughing Gas (film).

Laughing Gas

Directed by| Charlie Chaplin
Produced by| Mack Sennett
Starring| Charlie Chaplin
Cinematography| Frank D. Williams
Edited by| Charles Chaplin

Production
company

Keystone Studios

Distributed by| Mutual Film

Release date

* July 9, 1914 (1914-07-09)

Running time

| 16 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Silent film
English intertitles
Laughing Gas

Laughing Gas is a 1914 film starring Charlie Chaplin.[1] The film is also known as Busy Little Dentist, Down and Out, Laffing Gas, The Dentist, and Tuning His Ivories. It is inspired by the 1907 film with the same name.

## Plot

[edit]

We are told Charlie is a dental assistant working at Dr. Pain's dental office. He arrives at work where the patients are already waiting. He joins the tiny second dental assistant in the back room. They have a brief squabble then Charlie goes to the waiting room to clean the floor with a carpet sweeper. He bumps into a patient and a squabble starts. The second dental assistant trips over the carpet sweeper and another squabble starts in the back room.

The dentist arrives, and his first patient goes in, obviously in pain. The dentist prepares the nitrous oxide anaesthetic (also known commonly as "laughing gas" due to its effects prior to and after unconsciousness). With the man unconscious he pulls his tooth, but then he can't get him to wake up, so he calls for Charlie and runs off when the latter arrives. Charlie tries to wake him and eventually tries hitting his head with a mallet. The man revives but starts laughing. Charlie knocks him out with the mallet.

The dentist then returns and Charlie is sent to the drug store to get a prescription for the unconscious man. After more fighting with the patients, he goes to the Sunset Pharmacy. He accidentally hits with his cane a man who is standing at a news-stand outside the pharmacy, and the two have a squabble. When Charlie leaves the pharmacy he kicks the man in the rear, and another squabble starts. The squabble is interrupted when they encounter a woman (the dentist's wife) and Charlie kicks him in the stomach before chasing the woman himself. However, Charlie accidentally pulls off her skirt, causing her to run off in embarrassment. He continues fighting with the news-stand man, who receives a brick in the face and thus loses his teeth. Charlie then throws a second brick, which hits a tall passer-by and losing him teeth as well.

Meanwhile, the dentist's wife goes home and his maid sees her without her skirt, so she calls the dentist to say that his wife has had an "accident". He immediately goes home and Charlie returns to find the surgery empty. He picks the prettier of the two female patients in the waiting room to go in, causing the other lady to leave in indignance. Charlie flirts with her and steals kisses. Meanwhile, the two men injured by Charlie arrive to see the dentist, and the dentist and his wife return to the office. The girl leaves and Charlie has the tall passerby go in next, while the news-stand man recognizes Charlie as the man who has knocked his teeth out. Charlie uses a huge pair of pliers to remove another tooth from the tall man. The news-stand man enters and confronts Charlie. A final fight ensues.

## Reviews

[edit]

A reviewer from Motion Picture News wrote, "Besides getting into a fight with two of his master's patients and getting generally in the way, [Chaplin] doesn't do anything except create roars of laughter."[2]

## Cast

[edit]

* Charlie Chaplin \- Dentist's Assistant
* Fritz Schade \- Dr. Pain, the Dentist
* Alice Howell \- Mrs. Pain, the Dentist's Wife
* Joseph Sutherland - Short Assistant
* Slim Summerville \- Patient
* Josef Swickard \- Patient
* Mack Swain \- Patient
* Frank Opperman – Patient
* Gene Marsh - Patient (uncredited)

## See also

[edit]

* List of American films of 1914

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Walker, Brent E. (2010). Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland Inc. p. 297\. ISBN 9780786457076. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
2. ^ The Film Index: A Bibliography. H.W. Wilson Company. p. 379. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Laughing Gas.

* Laughing Gas on YouTube
* Laughing Gas at IMDb
* Laughing Gas is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

* v
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Charlie Chaplin

* Filmography
* The Tramp
* Chaplin family

Books|

* My Autobiography
* Chaplin: His Life and Art
* Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups
* Chaplin: A Life
* Sunnyside

Songs|

* "Smile" (1936 music, 1954 lyrics)
* "Eternally (Terry's Theme)" (1952 music, 1953 lyrics)
* "This Is My Song" (1967)

Other|

* United Artists
* 3623 Chaplin
* Charlie Chaplin Studios
* Manoir de Ban
* Montecito Inn
* Chaplin & Co
* Charlie Chaplin comics
* Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers
* London statue

Films about Chaplin|

* Chaplinesque, My Life and Hard Times
* Unknown Chaplin
* Chaplin
* Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
* The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai

Musicals about Chaplin|

* Little Tramp
* Chaplin (1993)
* Chaplin (2006)

Films directed by Chaplin|

| Keystone Studios|

* Twenty Minutes of Love (1914)
* Caught in the Rain (1914)
* A Busy Day (1914)
* Her Friend the Bandit (1914)
* Mabel's Married Life (1914)
* Laughing Gas (1914)
* The Property Man (1914)
* The Face on the Bar Room Floor (1914)
* Recreation (1914)
* The Masquerader (1914)
* His New Profession (1914)
* The Rounders (1914)
* The New Janitor (1914)
* Those Love Pangs (1914)
* Dough and Dynamite (1914)
* Gentlemen of Nerve (1914)
* His Musical Career (1914)
* His Trysting Place (1914)
* Getting Acquainted (1914)
* His Prehistoric Past (1914)

|

Essanay Studios|

* His New Job (1915)
* A Night Out (1915)
* The Champion (1915)
* In the Park (1915)
* A Jitney Elopement (1915)
* The Tramp (1915)
* By the Sea (1915)
* Work (1915)
* A Woman (1915)
* The Bank (1915)
* Shanghaied (1915)
* A Night in the Show (1915)
* A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)
* Police (1916)
* Triple Trouble (1918)

Mutual Film Corp|

* The Floorwalker (1916)
* The Fireman (1916)
* The Vagabond (1916)
* One A.M. (1916)
* The Count (1916)
* The Pawnshop (1916)
* Behind the Screen (1916)
* The Rink (1916)
* Easy Street (1917)
* The Cure (1917)
* The Immigrant (1917)
* The Adventurer (1917)

First National|

* A Dog's Life (1918)
* The Bond (1918)
* Shoulder Arms (1918)
* Sunnyside (1919)
* A Day's Pleasure (1919)
* The Kid (1921)
* The Idle Class (1921)
* Pay Day (1922)
* The Pilgrim (1923)

United Artists|

* A Woman of Paris (1923)
* The Gold Rush (1925)
* The Circus (1928)
* City Lights (1931)
* Modern Times (1936)
* The Great Dictator (1940)
* Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
* Limelight (1952)

Later productions|

* A King in New York (1957)
* A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

See also|

* The Chaplin Revue (1959)

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