Zepped
| Zepped | |
|---|---|
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin |
Release dates |
|
Running time | "Over six"[1]-seven minutes[2][3] |
| Language | Silent |
Zepped is a 1916 propaganda comedy[1] short film about a German Zeppelin attack on London during the First World War. Charlie Chaplin appears in the film, although it is unlikely he himself was involved in the production;[3] Zepped uses previously unknown outtakes of three[3] or four[1] earlier Chaplin films: His New Profession (1914), A Jitney Elopement (1915) and The Tramp (1915), and according to Bonhams, also By the Sea (1915). Another notable feature is the very early use of stop-motion animation.[1]
The only known copy was unknowingly purchased by Morace Park, who bought an old film reel tin on eBay for £3.20 (about $5) in September 2009 and found the nitrate film inside.[1][2][3] He put it up for auction in June 2011 with Bonhams, but the sole bid did not reach the reserve price of £100,000 ($160,000).[2][3]
Although the owner discovered a 1917 advertisement in the Manchester Film Renter announcing a trade viewing, it may only have been shown in Egypt.[1] An October 1917 entry in the British Board of Film Censorship's Ledgers says it was "For Export Only", and a Ministry of Interior film censorship certificate displayed at the beginning of the film states it was "Passed for Exhibition in Egypt".[1]