Fat Man on a Bicycle

A clumsy oversized cyclist causes chaos in this knockabout silent comedy.

The clownish Pimple - one of the most popular British comic characters of his day - struggles to teach an oversized friend the art of riding a bicycle in this tantalising surviving fragment of a longer film. Chaos naturally ensues as the pair collide with a fruit trader and a pram-pushing young nanny, and the film would no doubt have concluded with the clumsy duo chased by an irate mob.

Pimple, a lovably childlike oaf in clownish make-up, was the creation of Fred Evans, who in the mid-1910s filmed some 200 skits, parodies and spoofs in an endearingly shambolic style. Evans wrote and directed as well as starred, mostly in partnership with his brother Joe. The two came from solid showbiz stock - their uncle Will Evans was an acrobatic music hall performer, while great-uncle Fred was a pantomime star.