Mack Swain
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Mack Swain (born Moroni Swain, February 16, 1876 – August 25, 1935) was an early American film actor, who appeared in many of Mack Sennett's comedies at Keystone Studios, including the Keystone Cops series. He also appeared in major features by Charlie Chaplin. In the early 1900s Swain had his own stock theater company, which performed in the western and midwestern United States. Swain worked in vaudeville before starting in silent film at Keystone Studios under Mack Sennett. While with Keystone, he was teamed with Chester Conklin to make a series of comedy films. With Swain as "Ambrose" and Conklin as the grand mustachioed "Walrus", they performed these roles in several films including The Battle of Ambrose and Walrus and Love, Speed and Thrills, both made in 1915. Besides these comedies, the two appeared together in a variety of other films, 26 all told, and they also appeared separately and/or together in films starring Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle and most of the rest of the roster of Keystone players. Swain later took his Ambrose character with him to the L-KO Kompany. Having already worked with Charles Chaplin at Keystone, Swain began working with him again at First National in 1921, appearing in The Idle Class, Pay Day, and The Pilgrim. He is also remembered for his large supporting role as Big Jim McKay in the 1925 film The Gold Rush, for United Artists, written by and starring Chaplin. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Mack Swain received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 1500 Vine Street.
The Gold Rush
as Big Jim McKayA gold prospector in Alaska struggles to survive the elements and win the heart of a dance hall...
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The Eagle
as Innkeeper (uncredited)Vladimir Dubrouvsky, a lieutenant in the Russian army, catches the eye of Czarina Catherine II....
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The Pilgrim
as DeaconThe Tramp is an escaped convict who is mistaken as a pastor in a small town church.
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Caught in a Cabaret
as Tough Patron / Party Guest / Boy's Father (uncredited)Charlie is a clumsy waiter in a cheap cabaret, suffering the strict orders from his boss. He...
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Pay Day
as ForemanA bricklayer and his wife clash over his end-of-the-week partying.
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The Chaplin Revue
as Various (archive footage)Three Chaplin silent comedies "A Dog's Life", "Shoulder Arms", and "The Pilgrim" are strung...
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The Idle Class
as Edna's Father (uncredited)At an upper class golf resort, a tramp discovers he's the lookalike of a rich man with a...
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Tillie's Punctured Romance
as Tillie's FatherA womanizing city man meets Tillie in the country. When he sees that her father has a very large...
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Getting Acquainted
as AmbroseCharlie and his wife are in the park when he encounters Ambrose and his wife. Each man is...
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Mabel at the Wheel
as Race Spectator (uncredited)A villain, competing with his rival's race car, kidnaps the rival before the race. Mabel decides...
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His Prehistoric Past
as King LowbrowSet mostly in the Stone Age, a prehistoric king, with a harem of wives, rules a beach. Charlie...
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Laughing Gas
as PatientAlthough only a dental assistant, Charlie pretends to be the dentist. After receiving too much...
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Caught in the Rain
as Husband (uncredited)When a married couple become separated in the park, a tramp sits with the lady and is beat up...
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Mabel's Married Life
as Wellington, a LadykillerMabel goes home after being humiliated by a masher whom her husband won't fight. The husband...
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A Muddy Romance
as Desk Sergeant / Park AttendantTwo rivals for Mabel's hand play a series of dirty tricks on each other. Finally, one of them...
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The Fatal Mallet
as Rival Suitor (uncredited)Three men compete for the attentions of a pretty girl. One of them, a little tramp, plays dirty.
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His Musical Career
as Mike, Charlie's PartnerCharlie and his partner are to deliver a piano to 666 Prospect St. and repossess one from 999...
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His Trysting Places
as AmbroseOn his way to a restaurant, Ambrose, a happily married man, obliges to mail a letter for a woman...
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A Busy Day
as HusbandA jealous wife is chasing her unfaithful husband during a parade, after he starts to flirt with...
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The Knockout
as Gambler (uncredited)To show his girl how brave he is, Pug challenges the champion to a fight. Charlie referees,...
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That Little Band Of Gold
as Audience Member (uncredited)A happy young couple become engaged, and soon afterwards they are married. But after their...
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A Thief Catcher
as Crook (uncredited)Two criminals chase a plainclothes policeman who, while taking out his dog, witnesses their crime.
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Gentlemen of Nerve
as Mr. WalrusMabel and her beau go to an auto race and are joined by Charlie and his friend. As Charlie's...
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The Beloved Rogue
as NicholasFrançois Villon, in his lifetime the most renowned poet in France, is also a prankster, an...
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Torrent
as Don MatíasA young girl and her father are kicked out of their house by a cruel noblewoman, and the girl's...
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His Bitter Pill
as Jim - a Big Hearted SheriffJim, the apple of his mother's eyes, is the big-hearted galoot of a man and is sheriff of his...
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Mockery
as Vladimir GaidaroffThere is hunger in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. One day while dim-witted peasant Sergei...
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The Sea Bat
as DutchyThe sister of a sponge diver killed by a stingray loves an escaped convict posing as a priest.
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The Last Warning
as Robert BunceA producer decides to reopen a theater, that had been closed five years previously when one of...
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Soup to Nuts
as First Fat Diner (uncredited)Mr. Schmidt's costume store is bankrupt because he spends his time on Rube Goldberg-style...
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Kiki
as Pastryman (uncredited)Kiki, a poor young woman who sells newspapers on the street corners of Paris, is able to land a...
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The Locked Door
as Hotel ProprietorOn her first anniversary, Ann Reagan finds that her sister-in-law is involved with a shady...
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The Pullman Bride
as Rover Peabody - the Chosen OneThe Pullman Bride is a 1917 American silent comedy film directed by Clarence G. Badger and...
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Leading Lizzie Astray
as Cafe Patron - In from the MinesA city slicker tries to woo a country girl while her boyfriend fixes his tire.
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Caught in the Fog
as Detective RyanWealthy Bob visits his mother's Florida houseboat in order to remove her jewelry and stumbles...
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Yesterday and Today
as (archive footage)A compilation of early-day silent films that serves as a glimpse back to the formative days of...
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Footloose Widows
as LudwigDepartment-store models Flo and Marian set their sights on wealthy young soft-drink magnate J....
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Hands Up!
as Silas WoodstockJack, a southern spy during the Civil War, must try to capture a shipment of gold. His task is...
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Fatty Joins the Force
as Cop at Station HouseFatty rescues the daughter of the police commisioner and is given a job as an officer as a...
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The Late Lamented
as Boarder (unconfirmed)The Late Lamented is a 1917 Comedy short.
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The Nervous Wreck
as Jerome UnderwoodHenry Williams, out in Arizona looking for a cure for his imaginary ills, stops at the ranch of...
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Star Power: The Creation Of United Artists
as Big Jim McKay (archive footage)The careers of D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charlie Chaplin are...
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The Midnight Patrol
as uncreditedA cub reporter rashly makes a promise to solve a murder mystery within 24 hours, then must make...
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The Gusher
as Villager / CopMabel has two suitors - an oily con man, whom she mocks in a very funny scene where she is shown...
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Love, Speed and Thrills
as AmbroseAfter Walrus has been shot, Ambrose takes him into his house. When Ambrose sees Walrus flirting...
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Madcap Ambrose
as AmbroseAmbrose likes his mother's assistant, but when she inherits a fortune, the obstacles to their...
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Fatty's New Role
as Ambrose SchnitzFatty gets kicked out of a bar, and then the place gets a bomb threat.
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My Best Girl
as JudgeJoe Merrill, son of the millionaire owner of a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores, poses as Joe...
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Finn and Hattie
as Le BottinThe Haddocks are going on a European vacation and from their reception at the station, where the...
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Hello, Mabel
as The Married FlirtHello, Mabel (also known as On a Busy Wire) is a 1914 American short silent comedy film directed...
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The Girl from Nowhere
as Wilbur AshcraftDress shop owner, Tillie Tucker, lands a job at a Hollywood film studio and brings her boyfriend...
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Willful Ambrose
as Pa AmbroseMarksman Ambrose accidentally shoots a beer stein his wife has bought for him as a gift, so he...
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Redemption
as MagistrateIn Russia in the early 1900s, Fedya, a handsome, self-indulgent womanizer, falls in love with...
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A Texas Steer
as BraggLaconic cowboy Maverick Brander just happens to be a very wealthy rancher, but the money doesn't...
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Lighthouse Love
as Captain Wiggins - the Lighthouse KeeperTwo marines stationed in the Chinese port of Hang Chow decide to swear off women and join the...
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Mabel Lost and Won
as Mabel's Rival's HusbandMabel has just gotten engaged during a housewarming party of which her mother is the hostess....
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Tillie's Punctured Romance
as Tillie's FatherThe ring master is plotting to get the circus owner done away with in a lion cage so he can take...
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The Girl from Everywhere
as Wilfred Ashcraft - DirectorMack Sennett comedy short subject spoofing filmmaking, with girls, lions, and limburger cheese.
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Pitfalls of a Big City
as The Vamp's HusbandPitfalls of a Big City is a 1923 short comedy
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Ambrose's First Falsehood
as AmbroseAfter running into a friend and two ladies, a married man sends his wife a note saying that he's...
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The Shamrock and the Rose
as Mike KellyThe neighborly "feud" between a Jewish and an Irish families escalates when two of their...
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Thirst
as AmbroseA woman has moved to a small town boarding house to seek peace and quiet. All too soon she finds...
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The Home Breakers
as AmbroseBankers Mack Swain & Chester Conklin courting each other's wives.
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Ambrose's Nasty Temper
as AmbroseAmbrose's nasty temper gets him in trouble when he accidentally puts his boss's attractive...
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Whispering Wires
as uncreditedA woman hears of a murder plot through a whispered voice on the telephone.
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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
as Sir Francis BeekmanGold digging blonde Lorelei and her brunette friend Dorothy are searching for rich husbands....
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A Movie Star
as Handsome JackThe star of a film attends a public showing.
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Happy Times and Jolly Moments
as (archive footage)This short film takes a nostalgic look at the Mack Sennett comedies of the silent cinema era.
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Ambrose's Little Hatchet
as AmbroseMack Swain is making a dress for Louise Fazenda. He discovers his dressmaker's dummy requires...
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Hogan's Romance Upset
as Fight SpectatorCharles Murray out romancing in the park.
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Her First False Hare
as UnknownFour men are out rabbit hunting and encounter a beautiful young lady, who promises to marry the...
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Sea Horses
as Bimbo-BombaSea Horses is a 1926 American drama silent film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Becky...
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