Director: Mack Sennett
Cast: Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain
Have I Seen it Before: Never. As big a fan I am of Chaplin, I’m a little surprised about that as well. But this is certainly a different thing, so I think I can be forgiven.
Did I Like It: Not only the first feature length appearance of Chaplin, but the first feature length comedy of any kind, I’m also willing to forgive the Keystone comedy for not quite knowing what to do with something that was supposed to last over an hour. Sennett brings all of his slapstick tricks to bear, but there’s a reason that if you went out onto the street and asked random people if they have heard of any of the people involved in this film, most would say yes to only one name.
I really do believe that if Chaplin had somehow died young and never fully become the Tramp that we know today, it would be impossible to take your eyes away from him in this film. He’s already thinking about what this form can do. He’s unpredictable. He’s dynamic. He’s graceful. Above all else, he’s funnier than anybody else in the movie, and even funnier than the movie itself. There may be moments where he—and everyone—really, feel an inexplicable need to look at the camera and speak so that no one can hear them, but considering a few short years ago the entire cast was performing on Vaudeville stages, this, too, can be forgiven.
You might have a different reaction as the film unfurls. Seeing Chaplin in garb other than that of the Tramp might cause one to dismiss the entire film before realizing that Chaplin didn’t even direct it. But let me offer a perspective that might be only really of use to moviegoers of the 21st century: In my head, this is an origin story. Charlie, the City Slicker here wears clothes that don’t quite fit (it makes him funnier) and eventually acquires a bowler hat. This is an origin story of the Tramp for me. Canonical concerns be damned, but from this moment on the funny little man feels the need to atone for his ways here, leading him all the way through adopting a child, all the way through having a breakdown in the middle of a factory, all the way through to impersonating the dictator of Tomania.