Topeka ? A long-lost reel showing Charlie Chaplin as a Keystone Cop will be among the highlights of a silent film festival next month in Topeka.

The 1914 film, “A Thief Catcher,” turned up in 2009 at an antiques sale in Taylor, Mich. Film historian Paul Gierucki thought he was buying just another Keystone Studios comedy and didn’t watch the 16mm film until last March.

The discovery of a new Chaplin performance marked the first film added to the famed actor’s roster in 60 years.

Gierucki has been trying to introduce the film to a wider audience.

Now, he will speak Feb. 26 at the White Concert Hall at Washburn University before the audience watches Chaplin bumble onto the screen and slap around some hooligans. Chaplin is on screen for all of three minutes in the film starring Ford Sterling, Mack Swain and Edgar Kennedy.

The focus of the rest of the 15th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival will be “The First Academy Awards 1927-28.” Film historian Denise Morrison will introduce the films during the festival’s run from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27. Accompaniment for the films and shorts will be provided mostly by organists or the Mont Alto Orchestra, a five-piece chamber ensemble that recreates the small local orchestras that were popular in America from 1890 through 1930.

Festival activities are free, as is a presentation by film preservationist David Shephard on Feb. 25 at the Marvin Auditorium of the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library. He will show clips from the film “Chaplin at Keystone” as well as discuss the historical significance and the restoration process of the early Chaplin work.