Charlie in Turkey

Charlie Chaplin dreams of Turkey -- the country, not the bird -- and of escaping with a harem girl in this cartoon from the Pat Sullivan Studio.

Sullivan is best remembered for Felix the Cat, but he had been producing cartoons for two years -- with time off for jail -- before he began to evolve Felix. In 1917, he got in touch with Chaplin, who was agreeable to the idea of a cartoon version; today we'd say he thought the brand extension would strengthen his main product. Originally Sullivan planned a feature cartoon, but by the time it was released, it was a series of cartoons. In the end Sullivan produced nine cartoons starring his cartoon version of Chaplin, plus at least one cameo in FELIX IN HOLLYWOOD.

Although Sullivan and his staff -- principally Otto Messmer -- took great care in replicating Chaplin's shuffling waddle, this is a standard sort of slapstick comedy for the era. The cartooning technique is admirable, with clear, simple images -- a decision based on economy, doubtless, but carried out handsomely -- and the animation, while not full animation, is used to make the sort of clever gangs about itself that would be a mark of the Felix cartoons. They were a-coming. The next cartoon from Sullivan would be FELINE FOLLIES, now considered the first of the Felix cartoons.