A Chaplin short made during a lull in production by the
former prolific film maker, Pay Day
is an above average and clever film that finds Charlie Chaplin as an expert
bricklayer on pay day. Following building site shenanigans Chaplin discovers
that his pay is short and that his overbearing wife wants more than her share.
After managing to hide some from her he heads out for a night on the town.
Chaplin once described Pay
Day as the favourite of his short films which is a bold statement as he
made over seventy of them. This isn’t my favourite Chaplin short and it is far
from his funniest but it’s a very clever film which features some intriguing camera
and editing processes and a fine story plus just enough jokes to keep the
audience laughing.