Amazon.com
Charlie Chaplin doffed his duds and his ubiquitous mustache for the first time since leaving Keystone and the last time in the silent era for "A Woman," a hilarious short in which he disguises himself as an elegant society woman. As he flutters his eyelids and flirts with two leering men, including his sweetheart's married father, she watches in tickled amusement. In "The Bank," one of his best Essanay shorts, he waddles up to the bank vault only to pull out a bucket, a mop, and a smock. Chaplin smoothly combines pathos and slapstick in this story of a dreamy, lovesick janitor, the first of his Essanay films to approach the level of his later Mutual classics. "Shanghaied" is classic silent situational comedy involving a boat, a stowaway, a dastardly plot to sink the ship, and plenty of sea-borne humor. Chaplin's gags flow smoothly through a cohesive narrative, building to an organic climax (as opposed to the often arbitrary conclusions of his first Essanay efforts), while his talents as a physical comedian are in full display as he balances a dinner tray on a stormy sea and dances a spontaneous jig. G.M. "Bronco Billy" Anderson's "His Regeneration" is an added bonus, a drama in which the Tramp makes a brief but memorable appearance. His name appears under Anderson's with the credit "slightly assisted by Charlie Chaplin." Apart from a very rough patch in the middle of "Shanghaied," the print quality of this video is fine.
--Sean Axmaker
