The Convict is a 1910 American silent short comedy produced by the Thanhouser Company . The film begin with a convict walking down the road , he is spotted and it begin a wild chase with more people becoming involved in the pursuit as it continue . The convict get in a carriage and leaps away , successfully eluding all the pursuers except for a little girl . The convict then run to the water and take a boat from another accomplice and the chase continue in water and on land . The convict get ashore and escapes , taking a car and flee to town . The police are notified and set a trap , but the convict avoid the growing crowd of pursuers until he arrive at the theater . There " the convict " take a pose under an advertisement and the pursuers understand it was all an advertising ploy , they purchase tickets and go to see the film . The film was released on September 23 , 1910 , it was the first part of a split @-@ reel production that included A Husband 's Jealous Wife . The film was met with positive reviews though the film is presumed lost .