The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 3

Rating:
Summary: You have to watch it silently
Review: If you start wondering in the middle why this isn't remotely funny (as I did), it's because of the time gap in the Barney-like music juxtaposed with a film of some 80 years ago - because it was really meant to be viewed in a nickelodeon.

But you have not lost your sense of humor. In "The Rink" you will see that these comedies are the result of Chaplin's tireless choregraphy and perfectionism. And it's not just for film,English, or theatre students, but any curious person watching these films to judge if he was truly a genius or not -in lieu of his personal life. It would be hard not to find something enduring and unexplainable about them. END.

Rating:
Summary: The final quartet of Chaplin's classic Mutual two-reelers
Review: The third and final volume in the Chaplin Mutuals collection ironically has the first of his efforts for that studio. Mutual built Chaplin his own studio at a point when he was the most famous movie star on the face of the planet enjoyed a creative twelve-month period, which he often called one of the most inventive, liberating, and happiest of his fabled career:

"The Floorwalker" (Released May 15, 1916) was Chaplin's first comedy for Mutual. The Tramp gets mistaken for a floorwalker (Lloyd Bacon) who has stolen the money from the till of a department store. The store manager (Eric Campbell) was in on the plan, and now he is after Charlie, who has ended up with the money. Chaplin's leading lady Edna Purviance is the manager's secretary. This is not one of the better comedies Chaplin did for Mutual, because it does not do much new with the old mistaken identity idea, although Chaplin's encounter with the escalator is pretty good.

"One A.M." (August 7, 1916), the fourth Mutual comedy, has Chaplin once again playing a drunk instead of the Tramp (or a drunk Tramp). All he wants to do is get to sleep, but he has to deal with everything that is in his way, which includes a staircase, a suit of armor, and an overly aggressive Murphy bed. What makes this one stand out is that it is basically a one-person show, and of all the drunks Chaplin played from the Keystone days to "City Lights," this is the one where that is all the comedy is really about.

The sixth Mutual two-reeler, "The Pawnshop" (October 2, 1916) is another one where the Tramp has to deal with inanimate objects. Charlie and another pawnshop assistant (John Rand) are butting heads, when Charlie is not trying to take apart an clock or coming up with comic bits involving a ladder and a feather duster. Edna is the daughter of the Pawnbroker (Henry Bergman), but this one has to do more with Charlie trying to keep his job than any real romance. Fortunately Charlie gets to redeem himself by dealing with a burglar (Eric Campbell).

"The Rink" (Released December 4, 1916), the eighth Mutual comedy, was based on a Karno Company sketch called "Skating" that was written by Charlie's brother, Syd Chaplin. Chaplin was often inspired by the business of serving food and here he ends up a waiter who ends up in a roller skating rink trying to keep upright. Of course, if you have already seen "Modern Times" you know that Chaplin in a virtuoso on wheels when it comes to roller skating. This time around Edna Purviance is the Girl, while Eric Campbell is one of her admirers, Mr. Stout, and Henry Bergman plays both Mrs. Stout and an angry diner (you can imagine what Charlie does to make a diner angry). In terms of the slapstick, "The Rink" is the most creative of the Mutual two-reelers.

I have no idea why the dozen Mutual two-reelers Chaplin made are not simply presented in chronological order, although there is no real logic to that order. We do end up with a couple of classics on each of the three volumes, with "One A.M." and "The Rink" being the two on this videotape. "The Floorwalker" is really the only one of the Mutuals that I really do not care for, but the best of Chaplin is always worth the effort and if you are interested in Chaplin's comedy shorts the Mutual two-reelers are always worth a look.

Rating:
Summary: Good quality!
Review: Unlike Madacy, Image Entertainment obviously cares about quality. The prints are good, though I'm sure some film archive somewhere has better. The DVD doesn't have any extras to speak of except a short essay on the box, but all in all it's a good DVD because of the video quality. I only wish they'd put the films in chonological order across the three volumes.