With its all-star cast and fizzy blend of sophistication and flat-out slapstick, Tillie’s Punctured Romance is a landmark in film history for several reasons. Besides providing Marie Dressler with her screen debut, and being the first feature film for both Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin, it is believed to be the first feature-length comedy film ever. Expanding the comic film from its usual one- or two-reel length to six reels gave filmmaker Mack Sennett a broader canvas to better display his stars and the comedic innovation with which he had made his name.

The film’s reputation suffered over the years as it was available only in drastically re-cut and shortened versions. The UCLA Film and Television Archive’s recreation of the originally released version culls footage from over a dozen sources, resulting in a print more than nine minutes longer than the most complete prints previously available. The restored Tillie’s Punctured Romance reveals itself as an interesting hybrid. Much of the action is staged frontally on sets, as befits Dressler’s theatrical background and Chaplin’s music-hall roots. At the same time, many scenes are shot on location, and Sennett intercuts deftly between as many as four different locations. The film’s final reel is a comedic crescendo, building from a brief pie fight to mayhem caused by Tillie firing a pistol indiscriminately, culminating with a farcical chase on a pier featuring the Keystone Kops on land and sea.

This evening’s program features live musical accompaniment by Tillie’s Nightmare. This five-piece ensemble (clarinet, piano, cornet, banjo and percussion) combines the talents of some of Boston’s best musicians. Ken Winokur — whose other silent film ensemble, the Alloy Orchestra, has enlivened the silents for more than a dozen years — put this group together for tonight’s performance, stating: "There are a lot of other groups performing music for silent films, but none like Tillie’s Nightmare. We’re attempting to bring the verve and excitement back into the films of the early 20th century. Ragtime and the other popular musical styles of this period had a grip on that generation’s imagination. The music was full of energy and innovation. We’re hoping to have audiences on the edge of their seats, tapping their feet, ready to spring into the aisles and dance."

Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914). Directed by Mack Sennett.

Keystone Film Co. Producer: M. Sennett. Based on the play "Tillie’s Nightmare" by Edgar Smith and A. Baldwin Sloane. Starring: Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Charles Bennett, Mack Swain, Chester Conklin. 35mm, silent, 82 min.

Preservation funded by The Film Foundation, UK Film Council, and Saving the Silents, a Save America’s Treasures project organized by the National Film Preservation Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Parks Service, Department of the Interior. Support for this program provided to the UCLA Film and Television Archive by Hugh Hefner.