u/britannicauctions

We came across this original 1919-era still while cataloging a collection and ended up doing quite a bit of research on it.

The photograph shows Chaplin as the Tramp with a caged bird. Based on the set decoration, Chaplin’s costume, and the birdcage itself, it was clearly photographed on the set of Sunnyside.

What's interesting is that this bit doesn’t appear in the finished film, or in the known cut Sunnyside material later used in The Professor. We also went through the available Chaplin daily production records for the making of the film and couldn’t find any mention of the birdcage sequence there either.

Chaplin was constantly experimenting during production, so this may document a deleted gag, an abandoned idea, or something staged on set that simply never made it any further.

We haven’t run across this particular image anywhere else and thought people here might enjoy seeing it. If anyone has seen another copy, or has come across any reference to the birdcage bit, we’d be interested to hear about it!

For anyone who has gone down the rabbit hole of the enormous model used in the 1953 Titanic, here’s a little tidbit to add to its story.

We know this model has been discussed here several times over the years, including its later modifications, other screen appearances and where it ultimately ended up. Those relevant older threads have long since closed, so we are just starting a quick new one here for anybody interested.

While going through some of the older material in our auction house reference archives, we ran across a copy of the 1971 20th Century Fox studio auction catalogue in which the model was actually offered for sale.

It appears as Lot 810. The catalogue describes it as having been “built for ‘Titanic’ in 1953” and later altered to create a model of the Queen Mary. It records the model as more than 28 feet long and, wonderfully, notes that the Titanic funnels were still in storage and included with the lot.

Attached are photos of the original catalogue description and the full-page photograph accompanying the lot.

We haven’t yet found a prices-realized list from the 1971 sale, so we still don’t know what Lot 810 actually brought at auction or who bought it. If anyone here has ever come across that information, we’d be very interested to hear it.

Just sharing this for those who have been searching for information on the model over the years.