Charlie Chaplin was known as “the Tramp,” so this film is sort of like the title track of his filmography. I’m trying very hard to appreciate him, but I’m still having a lot of trouble getting into his films. I could barely make it through this one. Had this not been a Chaplin film, and especially had it not been called The Tramp, I’d likely have never watched it to begin with, and I may have stopped watching midway through if I had. I know Chaplin commands massive respect among film-lovers, and to this day he remains one of the two or three biggest stars in the history of cinema, so I’m not giving up on him, but I’m currently struggling to figure out what’s so great about him.
I wonder if my lack of appreciation for Chaplin could be due to me discovering him so late in life. I mean, I’ve always known he existed, but I never had the chance to see his films until I launched this podcast, and it may be hard to delve into his work so late in life. I was 26 when I first saw Buster Keaton onscreen, and I immediately became a massive fan of his. However, when I later tried to watch Keaton films on a television, I was far less impressed, and had I not seen him first on a cinema screen, I wonder if my love of his work would have been the same. So perhaps Chaplin is suffering because I’ve been watching him on a laptop screen so far.
Mostly, Chaplin seems to me like any other of the comedic actors of his era. He runs around acting silly, falls down, gets hit on the head, and does all the other things everyone else was doing at the time. He maintains an air of aloofness, and/or confusion throughout that I find off-putting, but maybe that is what appeals to some? Buster Keaton always kept a stone-faced demeanor, but in his case it was endearing. Chaplin always looks creepy to me, and a little bit mean-spirited.
In any event, I don’t care much for his work… yet; but I’ll keep watching.
This film is nearly plotless. Chaplin meets a girl who was almost robbed, and accidentally beats up the trio of would-be robbers. He goes home with her, and is put to work on her father’s farm, where he falls down, pokes a guy with a pitchfork, and drops heavy bags on people’s heads. The trio of bandits show up again, this time to rob the farm, but Chaplin chases them off. He’s fallen in love with the girl, but her boyfriends shows up, so he sadly walks away. And then the audience wakes up.
You can watch here, and tell me what I’m missing.
Next I’m watching: Fanchon the Cricket [1915], directed by James Kirkwood.
The Tramp (Apr. 12, 1915)