Film · Biograph · 1904
Pass it on
The Chicken Thief
5Leave it.
Blackface, a chicken theft, and a chase. Not for children. Don't laugh.
Take controlThis scores 5. The Chicken Thief cannot be blocked by name on this shelf. The lock is the phone. Block it
The review
Chickens, a chase, and a painted face. A white actor in blackface steals the birds and runs. Wallace McCutcheon, 1904. Not for children. The laugh is a libel. I won't play it for the joke, and I won't hunt a kinder meaning under the makeup.
The chase exists so the libel can move. Laughing along would mean agreeing that this face and this theft belong in one gag. They don't. A late night is a bad reason to hand that to a child, or to take it myself and file it under harmless old comedy.
Journal
Keep The Chicken Thief in the record.
No house has filed a sentence for this yet.
Live Historic number 5. Yours can differ.
The glance
Industry and Household and Piety and Courage and Republic and Temperance and Truth and Stewardship are the thin ones.
Does anyone here do a real job, and does that job matter?
This phone is set for a grown person, just me. Change the ages.
Consider this
The Wolf of Wall Street
16 instead of 5
The Wolf of Wall Street is still a comedy film, and it scores 16 instead of 5. What you gain is industry: Hustle without a product.
The eight
- 1Industry
Chicken theft is the gag, not work with any stake.
- 1Household
No child or marriage belongs here, and kids stay out.
- 0Piety
Nothing in the chase lets a conscience cut the laugh.
- 1Courage
Running from a theft joke risks nothing worth the loss.
- 0Republic
Black neighbors are handed a libel and told it is comedy.
- 1Temperance
The chase is there so the laugh can keep going.
- 0Truth
A painted face is a lie, and the theft joke is the libel.
- 0Stewardship
It leaves a libel and nothing a family ought to save.
Where to watch
Finding the page.
Live Historic · The Chicken Thief · 5IMDb
