With the 1918 move to First National, Chaplin became Producer as well as Director of his films. There was a bit of a delay getting his first films made with First National, as he had a new Hollywood studio custom built to his own specifications before starting work here. The outer facade of the studio was made to look like a connected series of homes in a style one might find in an old English village. The studio was later acquired by Jim Henson for use on Muppet projects, and he placed a statue of Kermit the Frog in a Little Tramp outfit atop the building. Three of Chaplin's First National films have never been re-issued in their original form on Blu Ray, and are similarly out of print on DVD in that form. The reason for this: in 1959 Chaplin released a feature film called The Chaplin Revue, which contained versions of A Dog's Life, Shoulder Arms and The Pilgrim, along with some additional introductory material he narrates to introduce each film and a score he composed to accompany each film. At present there are no stand alone releases in print of the original versions of these films - they are only available as part of The Chaplin Revue. The edits of the films in The Chaplin Revue are noticeably distinct from the original releases of these films. There are two reasons for this. 1. Chaplin was unhappy in 1959 with the degraded image quality in the best surviving prints he could find of the original films, and did not feel they were of a quality he could present to modern cinemas as a current feature film. Instead he went back to the surviving uncirculated film elements - some from the second camera (he used at least 2 cameras on all his shoots by this time), and when those did not survive either he would use footage of alternate takes - as he was a perfectionist who filmed each gag multiple times. So in many cases in the Chaplin Revue versions of these films we are seeing versions of the scenes that he did not originally deem the best takes. 2. Because he was presenting these films, with his score and between film narration, as a sound film - it would have to be projected at 24 fps (sped up from the silent projection rate- there is some debate about exactly what this rate was - and in any case most silent films were not shot at a uniform rate as they were shot on hand cranked cameras). This means that one of two things is true of every shot in the film - either the action is sped up considerably compared to how it was originally viewed; or Chaplin attempted to make the speed the way he originally intended it by using a process known as "step-printing", which duplicated certain frames (typically every third frame). While Step-Printing gets the action closer to its originally intended speed, the action become less smooth as it halts for 1/24 second 6 times per second. My write up will be based on the Chaplin Revue re-edits of these three films.
Apart from the use of different shots and/or takes, the issues introduced by incorrect projection speed and/or step-printing, the films included in the Chaplin Revue share 2 characteristics that make them distinct from all earlier films discussed. 1. As a result of these versions being edited from film elements that had never been circulated - and then being preserved with the reverence with which his films were treated after he had created all his masterpiece features - the image quality vastly exceeds that of any of his other shorts. 2. Because the Chaplin Revue includes the soundtrack composed and recorded by Chaplin in 1959, as captured on the recording medium of the film itself, it is both monaural and lower in fidelity than the musical tracks that accompany the current reviewed releases of many of the earlier films with more recently commissioned and recorded scores. So in a nutshell these 3 films have - non-original edits and footage - timing artifacts that change tempo and/or temporal smoothness of originals - higher image quality - lower sound quality - Chaplin composed scores with recordings approved by Chaplin
A Dog's Life April 14, 1918 3 Reels. 33:05 Chaplin launches his First National era, 6 months after his last for Mutual, by directing his first film exceeding 2 reels. A well balanced film which melds slapstick elements like chases and fights, fine motor comedy that verges on sleight of hand, and some sentimentality for the down on his luck Tramp and Scraps, the stray he takes in. Several of the comic sequences are extended longer than he would have in earlier films, increasing in absurdity and pace as they go. These are among the highlights of the film. Examples include - rolling back and forth under a fence to elude police - having others beat him out repeatedly to get to the unemployment office windows - grabbing food from the counter of a lunch cart when the salesman looks away. Salesman is played by brother Sydney Chaplin - and Charlie pairs beautifully him - perhaps building on a comic rhythm developed when both were at Karno. - gestural comedy as he acts out a whole scene with his hands - pretending they are the hands of an unconscious thief he is hiding behind. This last one is my favorite comic passages in the film. Charlie's relationship with Scraps the dog is a centerpiece of this movie. Parallels between the two are introduced in the opening scenes, though they do not actually meet until 7 minutes in. They take care of each other - Charlie rescuing and feeding Scraps, Scraps letting himself be used as a pillow (Fleas!?!), teaming with Charlie to filch food, and twice saving the day by finding for Charlie a wallet full of money. Interwoven with this is Charlie's relationship with Edna. She exhibits some comic flare here with her awkward attempts to wink at and flirt with Charlie. Their relationship doesn't get as deep as in some earlier films, but it ends on one of the happiest notes yet in a Chaplin film - the two of them moving to the country and starting a family with Scraps and his new brood. The score Chaplin composed for this film (4 decades after its release) works very well with the images, with drum beats timed just as Scraps' tail hits a bass drum, a bowed saw for Edna's sad singing, and a raucous band when we see a large ensemble playing on screen. Chaplin clearly rated this film very highly as it was the first of 3 shorts he chose to edit together into The Chaplin Revue (see notes about that in posts above). Personally I don't think it's quite as great as The Immigrant from the year before, but I donrank it quite highly. Image quality is the best yet, for the version preserved as part of The Chaplin Revue feature. Rating Content 9.5/10 Image 9.5/10
66. The Bond April 14, 1918 1/2 Reel. 9:39 A real oddity among Chaplin's films. It had been 22 films over 3 years since he had made a film under 22 minutes; 42 films over 4 years since he made one under 10 minutes; only 4 films he appeared in (all made in his first 7 months at Keystone) were shorter than this; and he had never directed a film under 14 minutes. Oddly some of his Keystones that are even shorter are called one reelers while this is called a half reeler. The reason for the brevity is this was designed less as a film than as a self financed PSA for Liberty Bonds (which funded the US in WW1). Chaplin was getting some flack for not being a soldier (not his fault- he tried to enlist and was rejected for being too short) - so he did this to help the war effort and get some better PR. It was clearly done as a brief interlude in the following more significant film he was working on (his best yet IMO) as it shares one of the same characters. There is nothing deep or great in this film, and the sets are close to non existent, but it is kind of elegant in its simplicity as a format to display genres of silent acting. The concept is different types of bonds - and it is structured as a series of brief vignettes against black backgrounds. The bond of Friendship shows the Tramp interacting in a friendly way with Albert Austin, til he gets hit up for cash and becomes wary. hits up for money. The bond of Love shows off flirtatious interaction with Edna - fun to see her show her stockinged ankle flirtatiously. This is my favorite of the vignettes, with Charlie hanging his cane on the cut out crescent moon and baby cupid making an appearance. They go on to tie the knot in The bond of Marriage- which devolves into the clergy and wedding staff plying him for cash and throwing a shoe at him. The Liberty Bond shows a US soldier fighting the German Kaiser (Sydney Chaplin) for Lady Liberty (again Edna). Through Liberty Bonds, people (Charlie) fund Uncle Sam who funds US Industry who arm our soldiers. The final scene has our Tramp doing in the Kaiser with a blow from a giant "Fatal Mallet" It is slight but fun. Of his under 10 minute shorts it pales next to Kid Auto Races and is not quite as good as Tango Tagles, but is better than the others. Unfortunately the print quality is pretty abysmal and there is no score at all on the Blu Ray version. Rating Content: 4/10 Print: 3/10
To watch Chaplin films from beginning to the end is a strange adventure. It's amazing to see how he has progressed, from brick battles to masterpieces full of humanities!
A pretty good time for me to restart actually, as my non-Chaplin fan girlfriend just ended our relationship today
Shoulder Arms October 20, 1918 4 Reels. 37:41 (original version 46 minutes) One of Chaplin's greatest purely comic films, without much of the sentimentality introduced in films like Vagabond, Immigrants and Dog's Life - and which became a key element of most of his features. Only moments of sentimentality, nicely done, are when he receives no mail and then reads anothers mail and mirrors his expressions, and Edna caring for him. Also his longest film yet, even in the edited version which is all that is presently available for purchase, as part of the Chaplin Revue feature. Would love to one day see what was in the missing 20% of the film. Technically he does not play "the tramp" character here, but the character is so close as to be interchangeable - basically they made him take off his cat and sub a rifle for a cane when he joined the army. Maybe even more than A Dog's Life, this has a very satisfyingly structured narrative, with each scene flowing naturally and logically into the next without the episodic feel of most of his two reel films. It also provides a cool window into trench warfare (getting brave before crossing to the next trench and combing his hair to leave a handsome corpse; then using the stream of gunfire above the trench to open a liquor bottle and light a cig); and gives a glimpse of a cool piece of archaic technology - a crystal wireless telegraph transmitter. Among the most classic comic bits in the film are the drill scene - with Charlie's legs getting twisted and his feet repeatedly bouncing out to his Charlie walk. Buck Privates clearly owes a debt to this film. Also a lot of fun in the flooded bunker, waking up a snorer by making a wave in the water, and then with a hot foot raft, and then using a phonograph horn as a snorkel to sleep under water. Then waking up thinking his foot is numb from the cold, then realizing it is someone else's foot. Also there are some cool use of props like a Mousetrap pendant (not sure why he worked this) and using a cheese grater as a back scratcher One of the most indelible images from the film is Charlie's use of a tree costume to go behind enemy lines, with the limbs having a fatal mallet like impact on the German soldiers, and then running into a forest and climbing on a stump to evade his pursuers. I also like him Pantomime to French speaking Edna, who wonders if he is German due to their language barrier once he waes, that he is an American soldier. The final segment shows Charlie engaging in a surprising degree of heroism: rescuing Edna, impersonating a German officer, and capturing a group of other officers. But then he wakes to find him still in boot camp - it was all a dream. Which makes for a satisfying ending. The BlueRay includes an unused pre-Army segment which does chow Charlie as the tramp - explaining the similarity in characters apart from Army attire. He enlists to escape an unseen henpecking/abusive spouse, runs around the enlistment examiners office half naked trying to escape being seen by women, and does a great visual bit in shillouette behind a frosted door- enabling it to appear that a variety of improbably objects are entering and being ejected from his mouth. Add this to the original 46 minute length, and he had enough material to make this a feature film by that era's standards. But he made the decision to focus on the actual "in the army" part of the film, and had one of his greatest successes with it that way. Rating Content: 10/10 Print: 9.5/10 (if one disregards all that is missing as a result of Chaplin's 1959 re-edit).
just saw this film for the first time- excellent! And great review! Interesting that it was done when trench warfare was new- a topical film ! And yeah, the granddaddy of buck privates, stripes, love and death and any other “our hero gets drafted “ comedy of the next 100 years..,
68. Sunnyside May 15, 1919 3 Reels. 29:45 After a string of very impressive films (not counting The Bond PSA) this one feels like a major step back - not only losing the conceptual and emotional underpinning of his last few, but neither are the gags coming as fast and funny as in the Mutual years - this is more at the level of his less stellar Essanay work. Reading about this period of his life, critics talk about him experiencing something of a "writers block" in this period and it shows. There really is not a plot driving this forward and the sequence of events seems to unfold more or less randomly. It also feels a bit like two even shorter films stitched together. One about Charlie in the countryside with a mean boss, and another about a love triangle with Edna and a "city slicker" suitor. The opening sequence is perhaps the best part with Charlie trying a series of strategies to get some extra sleep while his boss is trying to rouse him to work. I like him taking off his sleeping gown and being fully clothed underneath it, making walking sounds with his shoes on the floor to sound like he is out of bed, and sneaking back to bed through the window. There are a few more gags thrown in as he makes breakfast but they seem a bit predictable. I enjoy the silly walk he does herding cattle and his doing a double take to make sure a heavy man is not one of his herd. Sunnyside is most famous for a dream sequence that has Charlie dancing with a nymph like bunch of women, then falling onto a cactus and his sore but transforming his dance into more of a jig. It is amusing and I always enjoy seeing Charlie dance. The romantic sequence with Edna seems really there to pad the film out more than anything, as it does not touch the quakity or depth of the romantic subplots they acted out in so many earlier films. There is an extended (8 minute) slapstick deleted scene showing Charlie as a barber mistreating a customer that could use some editing but is at least as fun as a lot of what made the final cut. Rating Content: 7/10 Print: 9/10
On further reflection overnight I would lower my Sunnyside content rating down to a 6. It is worse that some of the earlier shorter films that have no more going for them, due to it being padded out into something longer. Too many gaps between the gags and aimless lulls without any real emotional content to fill these spaces.
Would you recommend tracking down the First National Collection DVD? I currently own the Flicker Alley DVD and blu ray boxsets for the earlier studio releases.
I got this complete set of First National Films on BluRay THE CHARLIE CHAPLIN COLLECTION (11-FILMS BOX SET) [Blu-ray] [Region B/2] - USED 5021866173405 | eBay In order to recommend it though, I need to add the caveat that it is a Region 2 (UK) release - so if you are in the US you will need to get a region free BluRay player to view them. That's what I did. I believe a Sony region free player was around $100 - and given the time I am investing in my Chaplin project, it was well worth the expense to view these in optimal quality. I do have most of the First Nationals on US viewable DVD as well. If you are having trouble finding them I would consider parting with those. PM me if interested.
Is that set going to have the unedited First National shorts? I’m curious to see them in unedited form. I used to have an unedited A Woman of Paris but not sure where it went.
