Chaplin appeared in at least 36 films during his year-long tenure at the Keystone Pictures Studio.  Unfortunately, these films are only available today, at best, in incomplete form, the official “restorations” released on home video in 2010 notwithstanding.

   Most of Chaplin’s Keystones are extremely rare, with many coming down to us through the years only in butchered versions, suffering from multiple edits and cuts. The new restorations still often offer only incomplete scenes, numerous cuts in the sequences, and errors in continuity and intertitles, although sometimes more complete and error-free prints are extant.

   This magazine series provides cast lists and analyses, inventories of available film sources, studies of available copies and versions and features an abundance of illustrations and bibliographical data.  It also provides, through reconstructive analysis, the most thorough set of complete shot continuities as is possible. Finally, the series offers a detailed review and challenge of the editorial decisions made as part of the recent “restorations”.

  On a film-by-film basis, Chaplin's gradual screen birth from January through December, 1914 will be documented.
 
  The extraordinary character that emerged would go on to become a legendary and universal screen icon.