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.
