The plot (I think) involves Chaplin working in the house of
a scientist/Count (Leo White) as a janitor. Having got into his trademark trouble
and briefly bumping into a Maid (Edna Purviance) whose role is not expanded,
the janitor finds a bed for the night at a flophouse. While there a pickpocket
enters and starts stealing from the residents. The janitor attempts to stop him
and then for some reason runs away from the police. Later the janitor meets an
old friend who convinces the cleaner to help him to steal from his employers.
Showing posts with label Bud Jamison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bud Jamison. Show all posts
Monday, 30 July 2012
Triple Trouble
Charlie Chaplin’s final Essanay film is probably his most
controversial. Unlike the controversy his films created in the 1930s and 40s,
the controversy surrounding Triple
Trouble comes from its very existence. The two reel film was created in 1918;
two years after Chaplin left Essanay and was compiled by Chaplin regular Leo
White. White directed some sequences and took other scenes from Police as well as the ending from Work and some unused footage from the
never completed Life. The result is a
hodgepodge of half completed jokes, tired scenes and uneven continuity.
Labels:
1918,
3/10,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Comedy,
Edna Purviance,
Leo White,
Short,
Short Film,
Silent,
Silent Comedy,
Triple Trouble,
Wesley Ruggles
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Police
Charlie Chaplin’s penultimate film for Essanay is regarded
as amongst the best of his output for the company. The film was actually
released after his first film for the Mutual Film Corporation The Floorwalker, over five months after
his previous Essanay film Burlesque on Carmen. Another interesting release related fact is that Police released over two years before
his finally Essanay film Triple Trouble which
was created in part by Chaplin regular Leo White by piecing together unused
shots from other Chaplin films including this and the unfinished feature Life.
Police stars
Chaplin as a recently released convict trying to make it in a cruel and hostile
world. The initial plot follows along the same lines as much of Chaplin’s work.
There were portions of Police that
reminded me of Modern Times and the
idea of the Tramp struggling to survive was used by Chaplin time and time
again. It has been suggested that Chaplin borrowed the plot from Broncho
Billy’s His Regeneration for which he
had an uncredited cameo and I agree that the character development at least is
shared between the two.
Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Shanghaied
A ship owner intends to scuttle his ship and asks his
Captain to round up a crew. The Captain in turn hires a Tramp (Charlie Chaplin)
to help him ‘Shanghai ’
(forcibly conscript) some sailors. This backfires for the tramp though as he
himself is Shanghaied. On board ship the Tramp attempts to help out with a
variety of different tasks but unsurprisingly is useless at all of them.
Meanwhile the ship owner’s daughter (Edna Purviance) has stowed away aboard
ship in an attempt to stop the crime of scuttling and save her lover, the
Tramp.
After the wonderful highs of The Bank, this film was a huge come down. It is by far my least
favourite Charlie Chaplin film to date although there are inevitably some good
moments to be found.
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
By the Sea
While on a windy beach The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) turns his
attention to two married women and ends up getting in trouble with their
husbands. This film feels like a bit of a step back after Chaplin’s previous
films. It feels much closer to His New Job than the likes of The Champion or
The The Tramp in that it is a knockabout
comedy and a farce which lacks character development. Despite this there is
still much to like.
5/10
I especially enjoyed Chaplin’s use of string attached to his
jacket and hat which stops his hat blowing away in the wind. It’s a great idea
and it’s almost a shame it didn’t catch on! The idea is used successfully in a
couple of ways; Firstly in a scene in which Chaplin and Billy Armstrong get
their strings intertwined and end up tangled up and inevitably fighting and in
a second scene while trying to woo Bud Jamison’s wife. In this scene Chaplin
manipulates the string behind his back to make it seem as though the hat is
jumping off his head. It’s a simple, clever and very funny idea.
Apart from those two examples and a brief fight involving
ice creams there isn’t much else of note in this film. There are of course Bud
Jamison’s over the top eyebrows and the background setting of an almost
deserted Los Angeles beach is quite interesting but compared to Chaplin’s later
films this feels a little weak.
5/10
Thursday, 14 June 2012
The Tramp
A Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) is on the road when he rescues a farmer’s daughter (Edna Purviance) from thieves out to steal her money. As a reward the Tramp is taken in and offered work by Edna’s father (Ernest Van Pelt). On the farm the Tramp is asked to halt a second attempt by the criminals and ends up in a love triangle.
This was Chaplin’s 6th Essanay film and the first
I had seen before watching the studios output in full. It marks the first time
that the Tramp is seen fully formed although Chaplin had played the character
before. Here the tramp is a much more rounded character and although he still
looks out for number one he is more inclined to help others and in fact ends up
leaving the farm so that he doesn’t get in the way of Edna and her boyfriend.
This is a quite different Tramp from say In the Park and The Champion.
Labels:
1915,
7/10,
Billy Armstrong,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Comedy,
Edna Purviance,
Ernest Van Pelt,
Film,
Leo White,
Lloyd Bacon,
Movie,
Review,
Short Film,
Silent,
Silent Comedy,
The Tramp
Friday, 8 June 2012
A Jitney Elopement
Edna (Edna Purviance) has been betrothed to a rich Count by
her father (Ernest Van Pelt) but she already has a secret love, The Tramp
(Charlie Chaplin). Edna persuades her love to save her and he impersonates the
Count at tea with Edna and her father. Once the Count (Leo White) turns up with
his fantastical facial hair The Tramp is thrown out. Later in a park the
foursome come together again and the two young lovers attempt to elope in an
act that brings about a prolonged car chase.
There are two very distinct halves to this film and I
believe that the first half is amongst Chaplin’s best Essanay work to date.
Having come off In the Park which was
fast and a little bit messy, the first half of A Jitney Elopement was surprisingly slow, calm and more reminiscent
of his later feature films. The second half though features a full on frenetic
car chase which takes place in and around San Francisco and makes this Chaplin’s
most sprawling film to date. The title incidentally comes from the type of
vehicle that the couple attempt to run away in – a kind of shared taxi.
Friday, 1 June 2012
In the Park
Chaplin’s first one reel farce for Essanay is set in a park.
A lady has her handbag stolen by a thief who then attempts to steal Chaplin’s sausages.
Chaplin ends up with the bag and it goes from person to person with each
usually ending up with a brick to the face or foot to the bottom until one man
tries to kill himself and another ends up in Police custody.
For such a short film In
the Park has a surprisingly large cast. Chaplin regulars such as Edna
Purviance, Leo White, Ernest Van Pelt and Bud Jamison all appear along with three or four other
bit players. Considering the film is only fourteen minutes long it feels like a
lot happens and is more reminiscent of Chaplin’s Keystone pictures rather than
say The Champion which was released
just a week earlier than this.
Labels:
1915,
6/10,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Edna Purviance,
Ernest Van Pelt,
Film,
In the Park,
Leo White,
Movie,
Review,
Silent Comedy
Monday, 28 May 2012
The Champion
Chaplin’s third Essanay picture and he finally appears to
have found his feet with the new studio. Chaplin’s tramp, destitute and famished
spots a sign offering money to act as a sparring partner. He watches as three
men go in before him and return battered and bruised. Chaplin however has a
trick up his sleeve or rather in his glove; a lucky horseshoe, which he uses to
knock out his larger, more adept opponent. Spotting his potential a trainer
prepares the slight Chaplin for a big fight against the champion Bob Uppercut
(Bud Jamison) but Chaplin has other things on his mind, namely the trainer’s
daughter Edna Purviance.
I was so glad that this film was good. I was really
disappointed with Chaplin’s first two Essanay films His New Job and A Night Out.
This is a real return to form. The idea was actually taken from a Fred Karno
sketch that Chaplin performed before entering the movie industry. Perhaps one
of the reasons for the film’s success is that Chaplin knew what he was doing
before he went in rather than partially making it up as he went along.
Labels:
1915,
6/10,
Ben Turpin,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Edna Purviance,
Ernest Van Pelt,
Film,
Leo White,
Movie,
Review,
Short Film,
Silent Comedy,
The Champion
Thursday, 24 May 2012
A Night Out
Charlie Chaplin’s second film for Essanay saw him move
production to their Californian studios for the first time. Chaplin and Ben
Turpin are on a night out and end up getting very drunk. They go to a nice
restaurant where they cause trouble for a smartly dressed gentleman. The head
waiter arrives and throws the pair out but not before Chaplin has caught sight
of the waiter’s girlfriend Edna Purviance. Back at their hotel Chaplin and
Turpin bump into Purviance once more and again cause trouble for themselves and
get thrown out of their hotel. Onto another hotel and Chaplin alone this time
meets Purviance again, but will the waiter get in the way of his affections?
This film is a bit of a mess, though it isn’t easy to say to what extent this is Chaplin’s fault and how much time is to blame. The version I saw seems to have been made up of three or four different copies and as a result it changes from black and white to sepia and back quite often. The editing is also pretty poor, often cutting away in the middle of a gag. The story also makes little sense and Turpin just disappeared altogether half way through the film. Most of the gags are simple door in face or fist in face sort of things which is a shame.
This film is a bit of a mess, though it isn’t easy to say to what extent this is Chaplin’s fault and how much time is to blame. The version I saw seems to have been made up of three or four different copies and as a result it changes from black and white to sepia and back quite often. The editing is also pretty poor, often cutting away in the middle of a gag. The story also makes little sense and Turpin just disappeared altogether half way through the film. Most of the gags are simple door in face or fist in face sort of things which is a shame.
Labels:
1915,
4/10,
Ben Turpin,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Edna Purviance,
Leo White,
Short Film,
Silent Comedy
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