The third installment of the Celebrate Chaplin series presented four silents from 1916 and 1917. I didn’t post about the previous program, all from 1916, and all from Essanay Studios, because they were very formulaic and quite similar to each other. Having said that, I commented to someone, just before going to the third installment, that variation would be nice to see—and that’s exactly what we got on Saturday!
In 1916, Chaplin went from Essanay to Mutual Film Corporation in what was a very lucrative deal. More to the point, Chaplin had more of a hand in writing and directing his own films and it made a huge difference, at least to me. The gags were still very similar, but they were staged and controlled well, in terms of length of time per gag and length of time between gags, and I found that that really made a big difference for the better. Also, in the four films that were shown on Saturday, The Count (1916); The Pawnshop (1916); The Immigrant (1917); and The Adventurer (1917), Chaplin was working with the equivalent of a stock theater company cast. A lot of the same performers were in all four films, but their characters and performances were varied enough that it really worked well.
The Count had some very funny stuff right from the start. Chaplin is a tailor’s apprentice, measuring a rather matronly client. But he’s measuring her ear. And the width of her smile. He eventually gets to her shoulders and arms, and (conspicuously) glosses over her bosoms. When he gets to her waist, he flings the tape measure over her head and behind her back—but also behind the back of the dress dummy behind her. His visual ‘takes’ are very funny. Eventually, the tailor takes over and is astounded when he reads Chaplin’s handwritten list that includes: Waste – 5'. In another bit of wordplay fun, when Chaplin imitates the Count at a fancy party, he presents his card: Count Broko. When the real Count arrives (and before the cops are sicced on Chaplin), the real Count presents his card: Count Vroko.
I believe I’ve seen The Pawnshop before, but it’s still darned funny, with slapstick props such as a feather duster being chewed up by an electric fan, a double bass turning into Chaplin’s body, the ever-present ladder hitting everyone coming and going, and a disemboweled alarm clock.
The Immigrant is a rather touching love story, though still with plenty of gags and plenty of laughs. And The Adventurer has Chaplin as an escaped convict who ends up at a fancy party, after saving ‘The Girl’ and her mother from the sea. When the cops arrive looking for him and his photo is in the newspaper, he quickly adds a beard (exactly matching that of one of his tormentors), thus causing even more confusion. The chase sequences, up and down staircases, jumping off of the balcony (multiple times—hey! if it’s funny the first time, it’s funny every time, right?), and impersonating a floor lamp, added to the general mirth and mayhem.
So after some so-so (by comparison) 1916 films, Chaplin’s growth in artistry and writing/direction made these four 1916/1917 films, accompanied by Ben Model at the Steinway, a lot of fun. I was not the only one to truly LOL!
ConcertMeister
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