A look back at Charlie Chaplin's early life and career, from his rough childhood and music hall success in England to his early Hollywood days and the development of his enormously popular character, the Little Tramp, also called Charlot.

A derelict, huddled under the steps of a missionary church, feels enlightened by the sermon of a passionate preacher and infatuated by the beauty of the congregation's pianist, in such a way that he tries to improve his life of poverty by becoming a policeman. His first assignment will be to patrol along Easy Street, the turf of a vicious bully and his criminal gang.

Mother, father and daughter go to the park. The women doze off on a bench while the father plays a hide-and-seek game with a girl, blindfolded. Charlie leads him into a lake. Both dozing ladies on the bench fall for Charlie and invite him for dinner. The father returns home with a friend. Charlie rushes upstairs and dresses like a woman, shaving his mustache. Both men fall for Charlie.

Charlie is released from prison and immediately swindled by a fake parson. A fellow ex-convict convinces Charlie to help burglarize a house.

An impecunious customer creates chaos in a department store while the manager and his assistant plot to steal the money kept in the establishment's safe.

After amusements working in a restaurant, a waiter uses his lunch break to go roller skating.

A pawnbroker's assistant deals with his grumpy boss, his annoying co-worker and some eccentric customers as he flirts with the pawnbroker's daughter, until a perfidious crook with bad intentions arrives at the pawnshop.

Although only a dental assistant, Charlie pretends to be the dentist. After receiving too much anesthesia, a patient can't stop laughing, so Charlie knocks him out with a club.

During the troubled shooting of several movies, David, the prop man's assistant, meets an aspiring actress who tries to find work in the studio. Things get messy when the stagehands decide to go on strike.

The Little Fellow finds the girl of his dreams and work on a family farm. He helps defend the farm against criminals, and all seems well, until he discovers the girl of his dreams already has someone in her life. Unwilling to be a problem in their lives, he takes to the road, though he is seen skipping and swinging his cane as if happy to be back on the road where he knows he belongs.

Firefighter Charlie Chaplin is tricked into letting a house burn by an owner who wants to collect on the insurance.

As Colonel Nutt is experimenting with explosives, a new janitor is joining his household. The inept janitor proceeds to make life difficult for the rest of staff.

A janitor at a bank is in love with a secretary and dreams that she has fallen in love with him too.

To show his girl how brave he is, Pug challenges the champion to a fight. Charlie referees, trying to avoid contact with the two monsters.

Charlie and his wife are in the park when he encounters Ambrose and his wife. Each man is attracted to and shows unwanted attention to the other man's wife. A policeman becomes involved.

Two drunks fight with their wives and then go out and get even drunker.

Charlie plays an actor who bungles several scenes and is kicked out. He returns convincingly dressed as a lady and charms the director, but Charlie never makes it into the film.

In a dance hall, two members of the orchestra and a tipsy dancer fight over the hat check girl.

A tramp gets drunk in a hotel lobby and, upstairs, causes some misunderstandings between Mabel, two hotel guests across the hall from her room, and Mabel's visiting sweetheart.

A fun-loving little boy's magic lantern show exposes some indiscreet moments between his landlady mother and her star boarder.