A Long Lost Charlie Chaplin Movie Discovered

A long lost Hollywood silent movie starring a young Charlie Chaplin has been discovered at an antiques fair.The 1914 film with a cameo appearance by Chaplin is now being shown at a film festival in the US state of Virginia for the first time.

The film ‘A Thief Catcher’ is a 10-minute comedy, which was discovered last autumn by film historian and preservationist Paul Gierucki.

It was found in an antique trunk and bought for around 65 pounds.

"I opened the can, unspooled it and I immediately recognized the title as an early Keystone," Sky News quoted him as saying.

"So I bartered with the guy, bought the film, brought it home. It needed some repair.

"So I put it on a shelf and it sat there since November of last year. I was busy working on another project. I kind of forgot about it," he added.

‘A Thief Catcher’ was filmed between January 5 and January 26, 1914, and released on February 14 the same year.

It stars Ford Sterling, Mac Swain, Edgar Kennedy and features Chaplin making a three-minute cameo as a policeman in the film.