Ben turpin films

 

SURVIVING BEN TURPIN FILMS

⭐ ESSANAY ERA (Chicago & Niles, 1909–1915)

Turpin’s Essanay period is the best documented, thanks to the Essanay survival catalog. Many films survive; some are fragmentary.

Key Surviving Essanay Titles (complete or substantial):

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• The Fable of the Roistering Blades (1915)

• His New Job (1915, cameo with Chaplin)

• A Night Out (1915, cameo)

Essanay’s official list marks surviving titles with an asterisk; many Turpin films appear there.

⭐ KEYSTONE ERA (1915–1917)

Survival is mixed — some complete, some fragmentary, some lost.

Surviving Keystone Titles:

• A Hash House Fraud (1915)

• Love, Speed and Thrills (1915)

• A Movie Star (1916)

• Bright Lights (1916)

• A Scoundrel’s Toll (1916)

• A Maid to Order (1916)

• A Tugboat Romeo (1917)

Many Keystone shorts survive because they were widely distributed, but prints vary in quality.

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⭐ FEATURE‑LENGTH APPEARANCES (1920s–1930s)

Turpin rarely starred in features but appeared in many.

Surviving Feature Appearances:

• Cracked Nuts (1931) — survives; Turpin cameo

• Saps at Sea (1940) — survives; Turpin cameo as plumber

• Million Dollar Legs (1932) — survives

• Make Me a Star (1932) — survives

• Ambassador Bill (1931) — survives

• Show of Shows (1929) — survives

⭐ LATE‑ERA SHORTS & CAMEOS (1928–1940)

All known late‑era appearances survive.

Surviving Shorts:

• Keystone Hotel (1935)

• The Little Big Top (1935)

• Bring ’Em Back Alive (1935)

• Hollywood on Parade series (multiple entries survive)

⭐ SUMMARY OF SURVIVAL STATUS

Era	Survival Status
Essanay (1909–1915)	Many survive; well‑documented via Essanay archives
Keystone (1915–1917)	Mixed