Charlie Chaplin: Zepped. Experts need your help. 'UFO'?

Don't know if this been posted but couldn't find it anywhere.

'The Rarest Film in the World?'

When in late 2009, Morace Park from Essex, England successfully bid for a reel of nitrate film on eBay for just £3.20, he could not have foreseen the consequences of his purchase. The film, ‘Zepped’, features the iconic Charlie Chaplin but when no record could be found of the film’s existence, Morace enlisted the help of friend and self-confessed film buff, John Dyer. With the vintage film in a constant state of decay, the pair opt to embark on an obsessive whirlwind journey of investigation into the film which evolves into an adventurous road trip taking in locations in the United States and Europe. With film historians and experts baffled by the film’s content but confirming its significance, the story quickly triggers major headlines around the world. However, discovering a rare cultural treasure becomes both a gift and a burden for the pair resulting in an emotional rollercoaster for our two protagonists and their film crew. Is this the rarest film in the world? Will they unravel the truth behind ‘Zepped’ before this ticking time-bomb of a film is lost forever?

Rare and unseen footage of what appears to be an airship abounds in 'Zepped'. If that's what it actually is. With experts dumbfounded by the imagery, maybe you can help identify Charlie Chaplin's UFO.

Now ATS what do you think this is?
Is it a blimp, prop or something completely different?
I looked at it and it seemed like a blimp, but it looks 'damaged'. I find this interesting, as I hope you do to.
The experts can't seem to agree on what it is and they need your help.
Maybe some of you subject matter experts can come up with something.

Sources:
www.clearchampion.co.uk...
www.youtube.com...
More videos of the docu:
www.clearchampion.co.uk...

Thanks,
OnlyLove.

I think its a zeppelin model
"The unearthed film, called Charlie Chaplin in Zepped, features footage of Zeppelins flying over England during the First World War, as well as some very early stop-motion animation"
bioscopic.wordpress.com...

and look at the poster, to me it seems it shows the same zeppelin as in the footage
bioscopic.files.wordpress.com...

reply to post by ItsJustaRide01


Yes i thought the same thing. yet the owners of the film think it's 'strange'. This isn't a Ufo video in the 'alien' way, but still amazing after being lost for all this time.
Just wanted ats to have a looksie

I give this a S&F for a couple of reasons. One being the fact that after close to a 100 years, Chaplin is still considered one of the greats. Two, its a lost peace of history that now, is no longer lost. I want to see this film.

reply to post by NuroSlam


Thank you.

I believe you can make a request on the website for the film.
And yes Chaplin is one of the greats, he made motion pictures to what it is today.

Originally posted by ItsJustaRide01
I think its a zeppelin model

"The unearthed film, called Charlie Chaplin in Zepped, features footage of Zeppelins flying over England during the First World War, as well as some very early stop-motion animation"
bioscopic.wordpress.com...

and look at the poster, to me it seems it shows the same zeppelin as in the footage
bioscopic.files.wordpress.com...

Didn't the short doco just then say that they took the image to a zeppelin master ( ) who suggested it's no known zeppelin?

This is another one of those strange instances surrounding Charlie Chaplin, such an interesting man it wouldn't surprise me if he deliberately hid something in everyone of his films. example the lady man and the phone/walkie talkie in his hand.

reply to post by Scaledown


Yes there is a thread of that topic right here
Very interesting thread, highly recommended.

I've been a big fan of Chaplin for many years. But I've got to say that I've never heard of this project called "Zepped", but I find it to be a very compelling quandary of film history (if true).

One would believe that in such a movie called "Zepped", that there would be "Zeppelins" in it. To have the Zeppelin historian say that the Zeppelin in the Movie is unknown, is not such a stretch for me as they did make models for movies back then.

But it's been awhile since I've been drawn to an outside 'older' mystery, and so am quite curious as to what might turn up. So I thank you for bringing it to ATS for us to theorize and scrutinize over.. Very curious.. yes, very curious indeed..!


Johnny

reply to post by JohnnyAnonymous


Well it seemed it was made as a propoganda movie for WWI.

Phillips explains that "the footage turned out to be the obscure Chaplin short [Zepped], a World War I propaganda effort designed to buck up British morale, combining stop-motion animation and outtakes and unused alternate shots from films Chaplin made for both Keystone and Essanay studios.

Source

I'm thinking of putting in a request for the film, see if I can get some stills. I will contact the owner(s) and will direct them to this site, maybe they have some extra data.
Still digging.

ETA: I mailed the owner(s) with a request for some stills or maybe more, also invited them to join the discussion.

S&F OP. I love it when a thread like this comes along. Good ol' Charlie. Still entertaining us after all these years.

And surprising us too, obviously. He's definitely got my curiousity aroused.

obviously a flying bus. doiiii

hehe how strange!

Got a little more.



Still no word from the owners, sadly.

its a viral campain for Clear Champion Ltd. and the "blimp" was later added to the chaplin movie, probably the whole movie is a hoax

It's an early model Zeppelin. They are rare but nothing incredibly special. My parents went out on a Zeppelin ride last week, I kept a watchful eye for people claiming they have seen a cigar shaped UFO in the North Philly area since.

reply to post by Hessdalen


Got any proof of that or are you just trowing out random thoughts?

reply to post by OnlyLove


Awesome find. S&F. Love these kinds of things. It's what keeps me totally coming back to ATS, along with some other unusual stuff.

Thanks!

reply to post by TheRealTruth84


Tell me why the Zepplin expert who works at a Zepplin museum for some reason did not come up with this conclusion?

reply to post by Jo Jo


FWIW: My very first impression was that it was my mother's old relic of a vacuum cleaner. The impression I had of the angle was that we are looking at it from the bottom of a pool.

Now if a Zeppelin expert doesn't even know what it is and neither does anyone else, then that doesn't surprise me. It just goes to show that craft are still being tried and tested and nobody has a clue what the hell is flying above our heads most of the time.......

Great piece of footage though.....

reply to post by OnlyLove


Chaplin encounters a Zeppelin in this free to download 1916 stop-motion short. The animator is John Bull and most likely the source of the animation used in "Zepped". The wheelchair-bound Chaplin caricature appears towards the end as a zeppelin flies overhead.

John Bull animation