Charlie works on a farm from 4am to late at night. He gets his food on the run (milking a cow into his coffee, holding an chicken over the frying pan to get fried eggs). He loves the neighbor’s daughter Edna but is disliked by her father. He rides a cow into a stream and is kicked off. Unconscious, he dreams of a nymph dance. Back in reality a city slicker is hurt in a car crash and is being cared for by Edna. When Charlie is rejected after attempting to imitate the slicker, the result is ambiguous—either tragic or a happy ending. Critics have long argued as to whether the final scene is real or a dream.

Starring:

Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Olive Ann Alcorn

Genre:

Comedy, Short