A Burlesque on Carmen

The opera "Carmen" is spoofed by Chaplin as he plays a soldier sent to catch a band of gypsies in the south of Spain, only to fall in love with their leader, the seductive Carmen. Chaplin shot this as a two-reeler before leaving Essanay Studios. After his departure, the studio included two more reels which Chaplin had shot, featuring the screw-eyed Ben Turpin ogling a Rubenesque woman and some slapstick dueling scenes. Chaplin tried to sue the studio, but he lost the case, and so the film survives with all four reels.