A Thief Catcher

A Thief Catcher is a one-reel 1914 American comedy film, produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone film company, directed by Ford Sterling, and starring Sterling, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and Charles Chaplin as a Keystone Cop.

Plot
Three armed burglars stop atop an embankment to divide the loot from a recent crime. When one of the men complains about how the shares are split, a fight erupts. The complainer is eventually pushed over the embankment by the other two thieves. By chance, a police chief (Ford Sterling) who was out with his dog and his camera, takes a photo of the burglars. They spot him and pursue him. Eventually the police chief flees unknowingly to a barn which the burglars have been using as their hideout. The police chief appears to be cornered in the barn but he dispatches a note with his dog who takes it to police headquarters. The bumbling police force arrives and eventually captures the burglars, but not without considerable difficulty.

Cast

 * Ford Sterling: Chief
 * Charles Chaplin: Policeman (uncredited)
 * William Hauber: Policeman (uncredited)
 * George Jeske: Policeman (uncredited)
 * Edgar Kennedy: Crook (uncredited)
 * Rube Miller: Policeman (uncredited)
 * Mack Swain: Crook (uncredited)

Preservation status
The film was believed lost, and Chaplin's appearance was unknown, until a vintage 16mm print was discovered by director/film historian Paul E. Gierucki in 2010 at a Michigan antique sale. Chaplin had stated in interviews that he had played a bit-role as a policeman while at Keystone Studios.