Charlie Chaplin Film by Film Thread

20 Minutes of Love (film #12)
Shipped March 38, 1914
Released April 20, 1914
One reel 10:37
Director: Chaplin & Joseph Maddern
Scenario: Chaplin
Producer: Mack Sennett
(Park comedy #2)

This is Chaplin's first time being allowed to venture behind the camera. There are somewhat varying stories about the roles that Chaplin, Maddern and Sennett had in directing and production but there is consensus that Chaplin came up with the plot and had a hand in directing. When Chaplin directed his salary got boosted from $175 (already up from $150) per week, by the addition of $25 per film - and at this point they were on a film per week schedule. To assuage Sennett's lack of confidence, Chaplin posted a $1500 bond against the possibility that his first directorial effort proved unreleaseable - which also likely led to the oversight of a second director here.

Given all this, it is not surprising that Chaplin's first outing broke little new ground and kept costs to a minimum. It was a park comedy shot in one day and followed in the footsteps of Between Showers with a dispute over a stolen object (here a pocket watch). While this is all familiar territory, it is better done here. Chaplin actually edits more ambitiously than his earlier directors here, and clearly gets film grammar the way he transitions between shots. This is impressive for someone that three months ago thought films were shot in order.

Some of the most enjoyable comedic moments in this film are: Charlie mocking a romantic couple in the opening, including him hugging a tree (which somehow isn't chewing the scenery); spinning the watch into his pocket; his surprise and then glee when a Policeman asks to see his watch and only wants to know the time; some skidding around corners; and a very well choreographed ending fight scene, including shaking his head to shake off the pain like a cartoon character, and culminating in most of the cast winding up in the lake. Then, for the first time ever, Charlie walks off with the girl on his arm to end the film.

We've seen this all before, but it moves a little more briskly and is a bit more inventive this time. Not enough to get a higher rating than I have given so far, but it is a very promising first effort.

Rating
Content 7/10
Print 3/10

 

Now we're talking! There are more laughs in the first minute of this film than in the entire two reels of "Mabel at the Wheel". Lots of funny moments, and this film moves along at a nice clip without the usual filler footage or a ton of exposition via pantomime. It's funny to me that you can read the lips of the lovers on the bench when the Tramp finally leaves them alone (for a little while anyway) - "Hallelujah!" This was probably the best of Chaplin's Keystones up to this point, and clear proof that Charlie was fit to oversee his own films. A lot of the Keystones are "historically important" or "entertaining when taken in context", but this one is a film that an audience would still laugh at 102 years later.

 

Maybe down the road when your thread on Chaplin is done?

 

Probably going to take some significant breaks during this thread. One after the Keystones if not before then. Racing through them is not the best key to enjoyment and I want to make sure I have the best versions to review wherever possible as new upgrades keep coming out.

It gets difficult to know which version to have with some of them, as there are debates about running speed and sync of orchestral tracks.

Keystone was easiest to figure out as even if running speed can be debated (some feel this set runs too slow), the improvement otherwise is so dramatic here over anything g else available.

Essentially the speed debate is as follows.

A. Nobody knows for sure the speed at which they were exhibited originally, and there may not have been uniformity.

B. In the early sound era they were always projected sped up, as sound films were shot at a higher frame rate for better fidelity, and silent were shown on the same projectors.

C. People developed as a result an expectation to see silent comedy sped up, and many feel it is funnier that way.

D. Chaplin manipulated speed himself somewhat when reissuing his work, but his choices should not be seen as definitive as the tech of the time often left him with only too fast and too slow options, while we now have greater control.

E. The best modern restoration efforts have tended to run the films only slightly faster than they were filmed ("natural speed").

F. Some critics complain that this movement towards natural speed robs the films of the humor and comic timing and attempts to treat them more like fine art or classical music rather than entertainment.

 

My memory is probably foggy because I was quite young, but as far as I can recall my first exposure to Chaplin was Channel 13 (PBS) in New York airing the Mutuals in the early to mid 70s. I didn't know the difference at the time, but I believe they were shown at 24 fps, and were as "flickery" as could be. Apart from running around the house (I was probably 8 years old?) trying to do the one-legged skid around a corner, we also found that you could make real life into a silent movie by blinking your eyes rapidly while you turned your head (hence my memory of the flickering). That all being said, I have no romantic or nostalgic attachment to silent films being shown at the wrong speed. But I don't fret over slight variations either - having the speed perfect didn't seem to keep anyone up back when they were making and exhibiting the films, I don't know that it should keep anyone up today.

 

Caught in a Cabaret (film #13)
Shipped April 11, 1914
Released April 27, 1914
Two reels 22:42
Director: Mabel Normand (with Chaplin assistance)
Scenario: Chaplin & Mabel Normand
Producer: Mack Sennett

This is Chaplin's second film with a behind the scenes role, co-writing with Mabel (likely taking the dominant role as the story revolves around him), and reportedly providing uncredited assistance to Mabel in directing. I have seen reports suggesting that each star directed the others' performance, which makes Mabel the main director as Chaplin got more screen time. Overall, the direction and editing is a good step up from the interminable Mabel Takes the Wheel, but not as tight as with 20 Minutes of Love. I wonder if the Keystone approach in general we more suited to one reels than two reels as this is the 2nd consecutive two reeler that feels padded out my subplot with the laughs not coming as fast and furious.

This film is a fair break from the past and forerunner of future Chaplin films in a number of ways. Chaplin is for the first time shown to be gainfully employed, in the first of quite a few appearances as a waiter. He doesn't do the job all that well, serving up food that he had spilled on the floor and helping himself to his customers leftovers. It is also the first instance of his masquerading as someone of higher class, here trying to pass himself as the Prime Minister of Greenland so as to gain admittance to Mabel's social circle and woo her. It also has some of the Tramp ' earliest interactions with Mack "Ambrose" Swain, one of his best oversized foils (here Charlie beats the bully by hitting him with an extra large mallet); and is the first time he has either a dog or child to take care of, in this case a daschund.

It is on a one hour break from his job as a waiter that he takes his daschund for a walk in the park and meets Mabel, coming to her aid by fighting off an assailant. He may decide he is more interest in taking care of Mabel than the daschund, as he lets go of the leash during the fight and the dog is never seen nor even looked for again (this possible continuity error pointed out courtesy of my 9 year old daughter - I had missed it on repeated viewings).

His masquerade comes to an end when Mabel's first suitor spies him going to work and leads Mabel and her friends to spend an evening "slumming" with the lower class at the cabaret, full of suggestive dancers, where Charlie works. He tries to keep up the ruse by posing as a customer, but this doesn't fly with his coworkers (including Chester Conklin and Edgar Kennedy).

Ultimately the whole thing ends in a bar room melee where Chaplin throws his first pie and gets clocked by Mabel in the final scene.

So this film has the first instances of lots of themes that would be major threads in later Chaplin films, and has a nicely developed plot for the era, that is easy to follow. It also has more total Chaplin content than any other fil., and he is largely sympathetic and even a bit of a hero for the first time. But it is not a laugh riot - I really can't recall much to Sigler out as very funny other than Chaplin just being the Tramp throughout. I believe it was the last time Mabel took any role directing Chaplin.

Rating
Content 5/10
Print 3/10

 

A step forward, followed by a step backward. "Caught in a Cabaret"'s most important contribution in the Chaplin canon is probably that it provided creative fodder - ideas that were revisited and much more fully developed in Mutual films ("The Count" and "The Rink"). It may show my lowbrow nature, but to me the funniest thing in this film is Charlie the waiter's habit of blowing his nose with the rag that he cleans the tables with.

Mabel is miscast here in the role that Edna would eventually fill - she gets almost nothing to do but be the "love interest".

As you mentioned in your summary, there are a lot of little hints of what is to come - Charlie with a little dog, Charlie as a waiter, Charlie dealing with an adversary who dwarfs him, Charlie pretending to be upper class.

Not having access to my DVDs, I went to YouTube and made the unfortunate choice of seeing a version of the film I had never seen, just for variety's sake. At some point (ya got me when), Syd Chaplin (I assume the brother, not the son), cut his own version of the film, adding a ton of corny, unfunny intertitles that push the film to almost 30 minutes. Yuck.

 

Caught in the Rain (Film #14)
Shipped April 18, 1914
Released May 14, 1914
One reel 11:10
Writer and Director: Chaplin
Producer: Mack Sennett
(Park comedy # 2 and Hotel comedy #2)

This is the one. This is the first film that I can't help laughing at loud at, even on repeated viewings.Finally Chaplin writes, directs, stars - and he undeniably hits paydirt bere. Chaplin does not attempt anything entirely new. Instead, it takes the best elements of his earlier firms, writes a plot that brings them all together logically (i.e., moving from park comedy to hotel comedy with a sleepwalking woman, stopping briefly into a bar en route and winde up with the Keystone Kops getting in on the act), substitutes funnier gags, edits it together tightly (we don't watch him drinking - he enters the bar, we get a cut away to other characters, and he exits the bar drunk), and crams about as much funny stuff into these 11 minutes as are contained in the dozen films that preceded this put together.

One of the best features is the full blossoming of the Chaplin - Mack Swain relationship - which survives long past Keystone all the way through the Gold Rush. Swain plays the Ambrose romantic rival character here, which he continues in many Keystone shorts.

Wheras for other films I pointed out the best physical gags, here there are too many to describe in any detail - really about 45 separate moments that at least evoke a grin crammed into maybe 9 minutes of Chaplin screen time, averaging one every 12 seconds. He squirts himself in the face with a water fountain, repeatedly falls down stairs, over benches and chairs and onto beds, lights a match on a cop, uses a cigarette as a key, brushes his hat, strips off his shabby clothes, gets caught on a balcony in a downpour in his jammies, and sends a posse of Kops tumbling by kicking a door open - and that's not the half of it (plus Ambrose is good for more than a few laughs on his own).

If you were to watch only one of the 21 films Chaplin completed in the first half of 1914, this is the one I recommend. If I were to judge a Chaplin film solely by the number of laughs per minute, this is hands down the winner and would get a 10. But that's not all there is to it and his films improved in many ways over the next several decades, so I am not going quite that high yet.

Given the wonderful content here, the quality of the print here is particularly disappointing. In addition to lots of scratches and splotches, at some points the entire image seems to wobble and for a while a row of artifacts are visible on the right side of the frame - I am not sure if these are connected to use of an optical soundtrack score at one point on this print or might be related to sprocket holes or edge abrasion.

This film also has the best score so far, and it really builds excitement towards the end. But this score is a post Chaplin addition that can't be considered integral to the film.

Rating:
Content: 8.5
Print: 1.5

 

Unfortunately, after this Sennett takes the director chair from Chaplin for the next 6 films, and the quality drops off noticeably (though he may be the best director for Chaplin other than Chaplin himself).

 

Agreed, a very funny film that zips along nicely. The bit at the beginning where Charlie "romances" Alice Davenport (who is disgusted) - handing her the flower he has just plucked off his rear end, and putting his legs across her lap on the park bench is pure Harpo Marx ... a decade before Harpo Marx. Lots of funny bits in the hotel lobby as well (with a little foreshadowing of "The Cure") - my favorite being Charlie whispering something about the girls he's ogling to the obviously offended desk clerk. This film marks the beginning of Chaplin truly distancing himself from every other comedy performer/film maker.

 

A Busy Day (Film #15)
Filmed April 11, 1914
Shipped April 18, 1914
Released May 7, 1914 (note - I made a mistake - CitR came out on May 4, not May 14, which is why it was listed first)
Split reel 5:57
Scenario: Chaplin
Director and Producer: Mack Sennett
(Drag comedy #1)

What we have here is basically a remake of Kid Auto Races but minus The Tramp and the subtlety Chaplin used in his portrayal. As with the earlier film, this was shot as a brief diversion from the making of an more involved film in process (here Caught in the Rain) - done by going out to a live event (here a parade) and shooting more or less spontaneously in front of a crowd. They spend 2 hours on this as opposed to the 45 minutes spent on the earlier film.

The notable feature of this film is that Chaplin appears in drag throughout - not cute or sexy drag but portraying a rude physically aggressive women. Mack Sennett also appears as the director shooting the film of the parade which Chaplin's character keeps interjecting herself into, and Mack Swain/Ambrose plays her husband (but paying more attention to a more feminine woman than he is to Chaplin's female character).

There is little to recommend this film apart from the novelty of seeing Chaplin in drag (his 6th non Tramp appearance in his first 15 films, and I believe the last time at Keystone he appears without at least his characteristic mustache). His female character here is arguably less feminine than his Tramp character often is. She is at least far more aggressive, with the sole source of humor being watching her kick people over (at times using both feet), with occasional variety introduced by watching her punch people or hit them with her umbrella. These aren't the sort of well choreographed and funny fights that appear in some of his films, just displays of anger. The print quality is also pretty bad.

Really the best thing I can say about this film is that it is over quickly, being the shortest film he ever appeared in during his year at Keystone. I suppose some psychoanalysts might also find it interesting that he portrayed his first female character so aggressively, a sharp contrast to the much younger and likely more submissive women he tended to become involved with. But commenting intelligently on that is above my pay grade.

So here we go from his best film yet, to his worst (excluding A Thief Catcher, which got such a low grade largely because he is in the film too briefly to salvage it).

Rating:
Content 1.5/10
Print 2/10

 

I have to admit to not really "getting" this little film. Are we supposed to be in on the joke that it's a man with women's clothing right off the bat? Does that explain why the violence (I won't even call is slapstick, it's just plain violence) directed at a woman by her husband and a policeman is "funny"? Am I applying too much 2016 sensibility to a 1914 film? Again, the funniest thing in an unfunny film is Charlie finding new, inappropriate places to blow his nose (in this case, on the hem of his dress). The physical comedy has no finesse, no grace and is disturbing for reasons I've already described. I think this is one that mature Charles Chaplin would have happily paid to have all known copies burned.

 

We seem to be viewing these films in a remarkably similar manner so far

 

The Fatal Mallet (Film #16)
Shipped May 16, 1914
Released June 1, 1914
One reel 13:53
Scenario, Director & Producer Mack Sennett
(Park Comedy #4 - (Caught in the Rain was actually #3)

To me this is a slightly improved remake of Between Showers. It marks the second time Chaplin really functions as a team with another comedian, in this case Mack Sennett himself - dressed as a cross between Chaplin and Tweedledum. And it brings me joy seeing Chaplin working briefly as part of a comedy team, even with him being the far brighter light in each case. His style is brought into sharper relief by the contrast with the older comedic style. There is also great interplay throughout with Mack "Ambrose" Swain and Mabel, as the three men vie for her attention.

This film is really pure slapstick with no real jokes other than funny use of cartoonish violence. There is a good amount of throwing bricks and knocking folks on the head with the giant mallet from Caught In a Cabaret. This film reminds me more of the Three Stooges than any of his other works. It's hard to put my finger on why the incessant violence is funny here while it's a boring turn off in A Busy Da. The appeal of the Tramp character (and really all the characters here are fairly appealing, more so than in Between Showers) does a lot to make it palatable and funny, as does the better choreography, semblance of a plot, and cartoon suspension of reality.

Unfortunately the image quality here is on the poor end of the scale.

A contextual point of interest: this and the following 4 (all Sennett directed) films were all made while Sennett was simultaneously directing a largely overlapping cast in the first comedy feature - Tillie's Puncturd Romance - which took a lot longer to edit in post productionand did not come out until December. Mallet shipped when about half the shooting for Tillie had been completed. After these films and Tillie, Chaplin had no more outside directors.

Rating
Content 7/10
Print 2/10

 

Her Friend the Bandit (Film #17)
Shipped May 22, 1914
Released June 14, 1914
One reel
Scenario: Chaplin
Director & Producer: Mack Sennett

This is the one Chaplin film for which no copy is known to survive. Of course when I became interested in Chaplin in 1971, there were 3 such films, and a few years ago there were two - so it could still turn up. It featured Mabel and the Keystone Kops, as well as Charles Murray playing Count de Beans, whose clothes Charlie snatches and dons to pose as an aristocrat at Mabel's reception (ala Caught in a Cabaret and some later films as well).

Obviously can't rate this, but wanted to give a brief entry to note its former existence.

 

I agree that this is an oddly charming film. Despite its surface simplicity, the "plot" is interesting as the rivals compete, temporarily team up, and compete again. There are lots of funny little bits here - my favorite being Chaplin feeling the need to "test" the power of the titular mallet on Mack's head, and Mack seeming to think that it wasn't such a bad idea as he reports in that yes indeed, the mallet is effective. I also like Charlie's very brief (blink and you miss it) invitation for Mabel to check out his bicep after he drives away the little boy.

Sennett's "rube" character is interesting to see. He seems to have the same "high kick" that Buster Keaton's father Joe was famous for, and it's funny to seem him push up the sleeves on his already exceptionally small suit jacket (where the sleeves come nowhere near his wrists already). His predilection for humor related to spitting I could do without!

In this film we get Mabel in a role more suited for her (and one that Edna could NOT have played). Playing the field and doing some physical comedy.

Overall, another film that I think would get laughs from a 2016 audience (assuming sympathetic live music and a halfway decent print).

 

The Knockout (Film #18)
Shipped May 29, 1914
Released June 11, 1914
Two reels 30:03
Director & Producer: Mack Sennett
(boxing comedy #1)

This film, primarily a Fatty Arbuckle vehicle is a mixed bag, with Chaplin is on screen for less than 3:30. It could have been a very nice single reel film, the 60% before we see Chaplin I find so dull that it is tough to pay continuous attention to it. About the only thing worth remarking on in the first reel is Fatty's "break the 4th wall" moment of motioning to the person shooting this film to raise the camera to give him some privacy while he changes into boxing shorts

Of course the film steps up greatly when Chaplin makes his appearance (not with Tramp clothes, but with his mustache so he appears more or less to be the same actor if not the exact same character) about 19 minutes in, as the referee in a boxing match between Fatty and Edgar Kennedy. The whole boxing match is so well choreographed it is actually interesting to watch in slow motion, though it is funnier at full speed (which seems a bit sped up beyond life speed). Chaplin of course does not just referee, but gets and gives blows, falls down, pulls himself along the ropes, pulls the boxers apart, and and generally inserts himself in the mayhem in every way possible. This scene does however suffer from exclusive use of a completely static wide angle camera (catching a view even wider than the full ring), which makes watching a boxing match much less involving.

Remarkably the energy and comedy level does stay high even after Chaplin departs, as it leads into a really wonderful chase scene featuring the gun wielding Fatty being chased by a troupe of bumbling Keystone Kops, traversing rooftops and crashing into an elaborate set from Tillie's Pnctured Romance (which was being filmed at the same time as this). When the Kops catch him, Fatty uses his strength to spin the whole lot of them on a rope and pull them after him into the ocean.

If the film was a one reeler that included all the stuff noted above and cut out the early dull scenes, I would be tempted to give it a 5, but would probably go no higher than a 4 as it would still only have 3.5 minutes of Charlie. As is, with the oh so dull first half of the film, I can't go higher than a 3. This is the third 2 reeler Charlie has appeared in, and all three have shown that Keystone should stick to one reelers.

Rating:
Content 3
Print 3

 

The Keystones that feature Charlie in a small supporting role, or the rare few that I've seen that don't include him at all (such as "Bangville Police") serve to remind us the state of film comedy pre-Chaplin (which is generally forgettable). Arbuckle was a "star" at Keystone, but his better films definitely came after he left the company.

I'm in agreement with you about the first 2/3rd's of the film - they're pretty dull with hardly a chuckle to be had. Chaplin's appearance definitely picks up the film. The static wide shot you described for the boxing match actually forces the viewer to choose between competing action - it's impossible to watch both Charlie and Mack Swain, for example. Of course Charlie is the one who commands the eye (even more so than the star of the film).

We disagree on the last third of the film. From the point where Arbuckle draws Mack Swain's guns out of their holsters, the film takes on an entirely different tone and language - either surreal or idiotic, take your pick. In this surreal world, a man can draw and hold pistols with boxing gloves on his hands, and can even, miraculously, pull the trigger to fire the guns while wearing boxing gloves. The six shooters have bottomless capacity, as Arbuckle must get off a hundred shots before the film ends. The bullets, thankfully, sting but only temporarily, and only ever hit anyone in the rear end. Apparently Arbuckle is aware of the non-lethal quality of the bullets, or this otherwise decent man wouldn't be spraying bullets through a crowded area while hunting down a man whose only crime seems to have been to better than him at boxing. We also have policemen who are dragged along the road by Arbuckle for a considerable length, but this too must be fairly painless since none of them choose the very obvious option of letting go of the rope! I know it's a slapstick comedy and all, but this one just pushes beyond the boundary into an entirely new cartoonish world - sort of like a human version of Tom & Jerry (with a dab of acid thrown in).

 

You certainly have to check your commons sense at the door when watching the film's finale, but I am not troubled by that and like your description of it as surreal. I have also described a fair number of elements of these films as cartoon like. Of course contextually it is worth keeping in mind that it was here the style originated that later survived in cartoons. The first real popular cartoon character Felix the Cat came 6 years later at a time when Charlie had made 68 films, and, when dressed as the Tramp, Charlie was already the most recognized person in the world (a status which he probably still retains, as M.Mouse is not a person).

On my past viewings of this film, I was pretty much with you on not caring for anything but the Chaplin bits. This time, however, I got some enjoyment from the fast paced absurdity of the finale as well.

 

Mabel's Busy Day (Film #19)
Filmed May 17, 1914
Shipped May 30, 1914
Released June 13, 1914
One reel 12:39
Director & Producer: Mack Sennett

Chaplin gets roughly equal time with Mabel in this fairly average Keystone quickie (also featuring Chester Conklin as a Keystone Kop), though the two of them don't appear together until more than half way through the film. Chaplin sports the Tramp's mustache here, but is a bit better dressed with a lighter colored derby and jacket, with the jacket actually fitting him and sporting a flower. Though he looks a bit better off than The Tramp, that doesn't prevent him from spending the film scamming away into an auto raceway without a ticket (this is the 3rd time Chaplin has been in a film shot at a live event - and there are plenty of gratuitous shots of autos rounding a curve with none of the actors in the frame), stealing Mabel's hotdogs and opening a woman's purse (he doesn't find anything of value).

The best part of the film is Chaplin's fight with a Kop (not Chester) in the first half, which is really the closest to dance Chaplin has yet gotten in one of these fights. It's not hilarious, but I find it beautiful to behold this kind of movement. one of these fight. This bit also has one of the earliest instances of his rolling his hat down his arm - I think he also did this in Fatal Mallet. He also flirts with women (somehow winning one over even after being caught going through her purse) and tries to impress on of them by making a show of saving Mabel by beating up someone trying to steal a hotdog from her. He clearly does this just to show off, not out of concern for Mabel, as shortly afterwards he goes on to steal Mabel's entire hot dog selling set up. He has some fun interactions with Chester, stepping on his head and somehow slipping Chester's billy club away from him and using it on Chester himself. Then somehow all is forgiven and Charlie and Mabel are arm in arm to end the film.

While there is a decent amount of funny stuff from Charlie here, this film really does not hang together in any sense and drags quite a bit in spots, making it on the whole unsatisfying. I find it harder to suspend disbelief about women he robs suddenly finding him charming a minute later than I do for the cartoonish violence that is a regular feature of Keystone films. Basically Chaplin is quite good, but the scenario and direction leave a lot to be desired. Sorry Mack. When you gonna let Charlie take the wheel again? Print quality is also sub par.

Rating:
Content 4/10
Print 2/10

 

I have recently been telling people I am writing a book on Chaplin on line. With Ray S as my co-author, perhaps I stand a chance of getting it published

 

Considering the audience our little conversation has drawn, I don't know that the iron is hot for a Chaplin Keystones book.

 

This is one I definitely like more than you do. Chaplin is in full force here. That little routine he does while the cop (Slim Summerville I believe) just stands still is priceless. Charlie just has loads of funny bits (he's funny nearly every second he's on screen). His interactions with the society ladies seem improvised and are funny (again there's a Harpo Marx absurdity here, particularly when he starts digging through the purse - more mischievously than maliciously. It's also fun to see the people in the crowd who are obviously not extras smiling and laughing at Charlie's antics.

I found it weird that Mabel doesn't seem to be using hot dog ROLLS for her hot dogs. So I wondered - were they even invented yet? Wikipedia says that they date back to 1871 ... so maybe the store was out that day so they used hamburger rolls instead (The re-issue title of the film was "Hot Dog!" after all.)

 

Mabel's Married Life (Film #20)
Shipped June 6, 1914
Released June 20, 1914
One reel 14:38
Scenario: Chaplin and Mabel Normand
Director: Mack Sennett (or Maybe Chaplin)
Producer: Mack Sennett
(Park comedy #5)

While the definitive Flicker Alley Keystone set lists Sennett as the director here, some sources list Chaplin, which I would believe due to the longer shots generally used. He clearly had a behind the scenes hand in it, as he and Mabel were co-writers. Either way this film marks Chaplin's turning point from apprentice to proto-auteur. While previously he had only written or directed a couple films, after this he is the sole writer and director of every film in which he appears (other than Tillie, which finished shooting before this was released, and The Rounders which co-star Arbuckle co-directed) - a combination of roles which prior to this he had only once - on the stand out Caught in the Rain.

In this film Charlie looks mostly like the Tramp, other than wearing a top hat, but it is kind of Bizarro Tramp we get here. Rather than pining after someone's other girl and pulling pranks on people, here Chaplin is married (to Mabel) and is defending her against the advances of Mack Swain (not Ambrose here - no mustache) and getting bullied and mocked himself (ok that happened a bit in Cruel Cruel Love)

The film starts promising in the park with shots that show Charlie and Mabel affectionate but squabbling a bit, with Mabel mocking Charlie's worn through shoes and sharing his banana. When Charlie retreats to a bar, Mack starts hitting on Mabel. Charlie returns but is absolutely powerless against Mack (who does not even notice Charlie's punched and kicks - a nice bit reprising similar stuff in The Fatal Mallet). Ultimately Mack's wife arrives and does what Charlie was powerless to do.

While Charlie is back in a bar, stealing drinks and getting bullied before ultimately getting a fight going that clears the room, Mabel happens upon a boxing training dummy which she decides to buy so Charlie can learn how to defend her honor. This is offered for $14, which I imagine must have been a very large sum of money in those days. Weren't loaves of bread at most a couple pennies?

Back at their apartment, Mabel is pretty funny as she mocks Charlie's walk and tries out the boxing dummy herself. Every time someone knocks the thing down, it springs back up, often smacking the person back. Which is funny once or twice.

Charlie arrives home drunk, mistakes the dummy for Mack, and gets in a fight with it. While this is supposed to be the film's payoff, the problem is it is much too predictable. An element of surprise, at least from timing, is pretty essential to physical comedy. This boxing dummy springs back with the same timing every time so it gives the viewer more of a "wait for it" feeling than a laugh at a surprise. And while extending the gag with one prop for a long time is a departure from the earlier 4 gags a minute approach and foreshadows some of his later work (like 1 am), here it more feels like it drags on too long.

So better plot and character development than the last Mabel but less funny stuff leads me to the same Content rating.

Rating:
Content 4
Print 4

 

If a disagreement consists of someone digging a film more than me, I am all for it