A Woman (1915 Silent Comedy film)

A Woman was Charlie Chaplin's ninth film for Essanay Films. It was made in Los Angeles at the Majestic Studio and released in 1915.

Plot
A well-to-do family of three is asleep on a park bench. The father (Charles Insley) is awakened when a pretty girl (Margie Reiger) trips over his outstretched feet. The father is an incorrigible womanizer and immediately follows the girl to another park bench while his wife (Marta Golden) and adult daughter (Edna Purviance) remain asleep. He briefly departs to buy himself and the girl drinks from a refreshment stand. As soon as he leaves, Charlie arrives at the park bench where the pretty girl is seated.

Notes
Censors initially refused permission for A Woman to be shown in Great Britain. The reason is not entirely clear, but it could have been because a married man is trying to seduce a much younger woman or because of the transvestitism hinted at by Charlie disguising himself as a female. The ban on the film was lifted in 1916.

Margie Reiger, the youthful actress who played the pretty girl in the park, is a bit of a mystery. Her acting credits show 13 appearances in silent films—all in 1915. Why her career suddenly ended and what became of her is unknown. Furthermore, no researcher has been able to find a date of birth or death for her.

A Woman is the third and final time that Chaplin played the role of a female on film. He played a woman in two Keystone films: The Masquerader and A Busy Day.

Cast
Charles Chaplin - Gentleman/'Nora Nettlerash'
Edna Purviance - Daughter of the House
Charles Inslee - Her Father
Marta Golden - Her Mother
Margie Reiger - Father's Lady Friend
Billy Armstrong - Father's Friend
Leo White - Idler in the Park