---
name: "Albert Austin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/albert-austin"
fi1m_id: "albert-austin"
imdb_id: "nm0042317"
tmdb_id: 21306
wikidata_id: "Q1137229"
roles: ["Assistant director"]
born: "13 December 1882"
died: "17 August 1953"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-25T06:07:34.415446+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Albert Austin

## Identity

Albert Austin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/albert-austin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** albert-austin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0042317
- **TMDB ID:** 21306
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1137229
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Austin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1137229, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042317/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21306

Assistant director. Born 13 December 1882 in Birmingham, England, UK. Died 17 August 1953.

## Details

- **Work:** Assistant director
- **Born:** 13 December 1882, Birmingham, England, UK
- **Died:** 17 August 1953
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 3: 1 crew, 2 other
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1920s 86 (2), 1930s 89 (1)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Austin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1137229, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0042317/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21306

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*City Lights*](https://film.one/film/city-lights.md) (89), [*The Kid*](https://film.one/film/the-kid.md) (84)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Albert Austin

> Albert Austin is worth noticing for the dry, precise reactions that make Chaplin's misbehaviour funnier. His supporting parts rarely make him the main attraction; the clock customer in *The Pawnshop* gives a clearer account of his gifts.

In *The Pawnshop* (1916), Albert Austin is the customer whose alarm clock Chaplin dismantles. Austin's deadpan reaction makes the damage seem more outrageous, and we laughed because he gives the customer a reason to mind. He has a precise sense of how much response a gag needs. It is supporting work worth watching for itself, even when the comedian beside him has the busier part.

The dry manner and painted handlebar moustache made him a useful foil in Chaplin's stock company, which he joined in 1916. His work there also extended to assistant direction. A leading part as Horace Greensmith opposite Mary Pickford in *Suds* (1920) was an exception to a career built around supporting other performers. With the coming of sound, his work narrowed to shorts and tasks behind the camera.

*The Kid* (1921) is a good place to see how small his part in a substantial film could be. He appears uncredited as a car thief and a man in a shelter; the affection that makes the comedy work belongs chiefly to Chaplin and Jackie Coogan. We rate the film highly, though Chaplin's sentiment occasionally needs less encouragement than he gives it. Austin is part of the supporting company here, and those looking for an extended example of his timing should look elsewhere.

The same distinction matters in *City Lights* (1931), where he is an uncredited street sweeper and burglar as well as an assistant director. The precision of the physical jokes makes the romance persuasive, and the occasional slackening of pace does not undo that care. This is the stronger of the two features, but neither offers Austin the concentrated opportunity of the clock scene. He also helped Chaplin develop plots and gags, work that cannot be judged simply by the size of his roles. For a proper look at his acting, start with *The Pawnshop*.

## Biography

Albert Austin (13 December 1882 – 17 August 1953) was an English actor, director and screenwriter, best known for his work in Charlie Chaplin films.

Born in Birmingham, England, he began as a music hall performer and travelled to the United States in 1910 with Chaplin as part of the Fred Karno troupe. He appeared in numerous Chaplin productions, often uncredited, including *The Immigrant* (1917), *Shoulder Arms* (1918), *The Kid* (1921), *The Gold Rush* (1925), *The Circus* (1928) and *City Lights* (1931). He also worked as an assistant director and contributed to scripts for Chaplin, receiving a sole screen credit as collaborator on *City Lights*.

Austin had a leading role in Mary Pickford’s *Suds* (1920) and appeared in films with Jackie Coogan and Mack Sennett. His brother was the actor William Austin. After his film career declined, he worked as a security guard at Warner Bros. studios.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

### Crew (1) — the average rests on these

- *City Lights* (1931), Fi1m 89, as Street Sweeper / Burglar (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/city-lights.md)

### Also credited (2) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *The Gold Rush* (1925), Fi1m 89, as Prospector (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-gold-rush.md)
- *The Kid* (1921), Fi1m 84, as Car Thief / Man in Shelter (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/the-kid.md)

## Complete filmography (35)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Chaplin Revue* (1959), as Various (archive footage)
- *The Charlie Chaplin Festival* (1941), as Various Roles (archive footage)
- *Good Time Henry* (1934), Story
- *The Cohens and Kellys in Trouble* (1933), Writer
- *City Lights* (1931), as Street Sweeper / Burglar (uncredited) · Assistant Director — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/city-lights.md)
- *The Circus* (1928), as Clown (uncredited)
- *Should Men Walk Home?* (1927), Writer
- *Keep Smiling* (1925), Director
- *The Gold Rush* (1925), as Prospector (uncredited) — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/the-gold-rush.md)
- *The Misfit* (1924), Director
- *A Prince of a King* (1923), as (uncredited) · Director
- *Trouble* (1922), Director
- *Pay Day* (1922), as Workman
- *My Boy* (1921), Director
- *Grief* (1921), Actor
- *The Kid* (1921), as Car Thief / Man in Shelter (uncredited) — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-kid.md)
- *Suds* (1920), as Horace Greensmith
- *The Professor* (1919), as Man in flophouse
- *Shoulder Arms* (1918), as American Soldier / Clean Shaven German Soldier / Bearded German Soldier
- *The Bond* (1918), as Friend
- *Triple Trouble* (1918), as A Man
- *A Dog's Life* (1918), as Crook (uncredited)
- *How to Make Movies* (1918), as The Genie/Laboratory Supervisor/Golfer(uncredited)
- *The Adventurer* (1917), as The Butler
- *The Immigrant* (1917), as A Diner / Immigrant
- *The Cure* (1917), as Sanitarium Attendant
- *Easy Street* (1917), as Policeman / Preacher (uncredited)
- *The Rink* (1916), as The Cook
- *Behind the Screen* (1916), as Stagehand (uncredited)
- *The Pawnshop* (1916), as Clock Client
- *The Count* (1916), as Guest (uncredited)
- *One A.M.* (1916), as Le chauffeur de taxi
- *The Vagabond* (1916), as Trombonist (uncredited)
- *The Fireman* (1916), as Fireman
- *The Floorwalker* (1916), as Shop Assistant

## Gallery

- ![Albert Austin and Charlie Chaplin in The Adventurer (1917)](https://film.one/media/person/102730/gallery-3d944a017a33.jpg) Albert Austin and Charlie Chaplin in The Adventurer (1917) — Mutual Film Corporation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Albert_Austin_and_Charlie_Chaplin_in_The_Adventurer.jpg/1280px-Albert_Austin_and_Charlie_Chaplin_in_The_Adventurer.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Albert Austin](https://film.one/media/person/102730/gallery-62e68771f29e.jpg) Albert Austin — Nestor Film Studio (1915)
Hal Roach Film Studio (1923)

United Artists (1920), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Albert_Austin_at_United_Artists_Studio.jpg/1280px-Albert_Austin_at_United_Artists_Studio.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Albert Austin](https://film.one/media/person/102730/gallery-cc74aa411796.jpg) Albert Austin — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/albert-austin