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.
