Runtime: 38 minutes
Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
Starring: Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Sydney Chaplin, Loyal Underwood, Henry Bergman
From: Charles Chaplin Productions
“The password… it’s wet”. An actual intertitle, and no comment on the password.
Boy, things have not been so hot for me since early yesterday afternoon; don’t worry it’s not as horrid as this past May-rather, it’s many minor things piling up. The fact that Hurricane Ian may very well pass over where I live in a few days is naturally weighing on my mind. Thus, perhaps as soon as tomorrow I’ll make a post noting that I’ll peace out until I know normalcy has returned.
While not my favorite silent by any means or even the highest-rated Chaplin short I’ve experienced, at least this was amusing and was pretty good overall. In this 38 minute short, the setting is World War I and despite how brutal the Great War was-part of this was set in the trenches-comedy was still able to be mined from such a scenario. Chaplin’s regiment might as well be known as F Troop, they are such a bumbling band of misfits. Various gags occur, which include needing to use a gas mask once a shipment of Limburger cheese arrived. Then, a heroic mission occurs which includes Chaplin… disguised as a tree. Not sophisticated yet I laughed.
In addition, Ol’ Charlie impersonates a German (an officer, to be specific), meaning that The Great Dictator was not the first time this happened. Overall, not the worst choice for me given that it was a last minute decision & was selected because it was in high quality on the Criterion Channel.
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