Mike Murphy As Picture Actor

Cut! An aspiring thespian runs amok on a film set in this slapstick silent comedy.

Mayhem hits a film studio when comedy Irishman Mike Murphy turns up. Crashing through the set and interrupting shooting, Mike brings chaos wherever he goes. In what was a popular comedy format in the silent period, Murphy (played by Ernie Westo) had several film adventures as mountaineer, cowboy and marathon runner among other careers. This is the only title in the series known to have survived.

Comedy series were thick on the ground in the early 1910s, with the likes of Winky, Charley Smiler and Pimple pulling audiences back to the cinemas again and again. Meanwhile, Britain's most successful comic film star was just getting going on the other side of the Atlantic - Charlie Chaplin made his screen debut early in 1914.