Product Details

• Actors: Charles Chaplin, Henry Bergman, Edna Purviance, John Rand, Albert Austin
• Directors: Charles Chaplin
• Writers: Charles Chaplin, Maverick Terrell, Vincent Bryan
• Producers: Charles Chaplin, Henry P. Caulfield
• Format: AC-3, Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Image Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: November 19, 1997
• Run Time: 196 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305075832
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #170,450 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 3" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

By 1916 Charlie Chaplin was the most popular comic actor in America, but it was the 12 brilliant comedy shorts he directed during his 16 months at Mutual Studios that turned Chaplin from an inventive comedian to one of the greatest directors of the American cinema. "Fulfilling the Mutual Contract, I suppose, was the happiest period of my life," he wrote in his autobiography, and no wonder: with unprecedented freedom, an enormously lucrative contract, and a company of creative artists at his personal disposal, Chaplin turned the studio set into his creative playground. Always one to latch on to the comic possibilities of inventive props, he turned an escalator into the centerpiece of The Floorwalker, his first film for the studio, where his rapscallion clerk continually incites the store's crooked manager (Eric Campbell). In One A.M. , Chaplin steps out of the Tramp persona to play an inebriated gadfly at war with his home, battling everything from a staircase to a suit of armor to a resistant Murphy bed, all seemingly set on keeping him from getting to sleep. The Pawnshop shows the Tramp in a more aggressive role than we're used to, goofing and playing practical jokes on his coworkers, while The Rink puts him on roller skates for a burlesque ballet on wheels. Each short becomes a comic workshop as Chaplin investigates the slapstick possibilities of an array of props and situations while refining his persona as the down but not out everyman. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

Features four films made for the Mutual Film Company: One A.M., The Pawn Shop, The Floorwalker, The Rink. Includes new digital stereo scores by Michael Mortilla.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good quality!, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 3 (DVD)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's amazing how fast later comes if you get this now, January 27, 2009

By 

Matthew G. Sherwin (last seen screaming at Amazon customer service) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 3 (DVD)

Volume Three of The Chaplin Mutuals gives us four excellent short films produced, directed and written (even though silent) by the great Charlie Chaplin. The action never stops and Chaplin worked so hard to make us laugh--and he made it look so easy as if he never had to think it through at all. The cinematography is very strong and the quality of the print is remarkably good considering the age of these four films--they were made between 1915 and 1917. There is also the great acting skill of Edna Purviance who was a perennial favorite of Chaplin's, so much so that he kept her on company payroll well after she stopped acting in Charlie's films.

There are four films on the DVD. The first one we see is entitled One A.M. Charlie plays a comparatively wealthy fellow who comes home late at night from a party--totally drunk. (Never mind the fact that the taxicab drops him off at his home during the daytime.) There are enough props in the house to showcase Chaplin's incredible skill at both acrobatics and slapstick comedy. I can't believe how well Charlie Chaplin was able to fall down and get right back up again as if it were as easy as breathing. Incredible! The second film we get is entitled The Pawnshop; and here The Little Tramp plays games on co-workers although he has amusing fights with them, too. The antics are hilarious and I enjoyed every minute of it. The Little Tramp also pokes fun at the boss to appeal to the average working person who went to the movies for a treat once a week. When a crook comes in, will he be able to rob the store? Also look for a solid performance by Edna Purviance cast here as the boss's daughter who takes a liking to The Little Tramp.

The other two films are similar in that we get The Little Tramp and/or variations on him with more slapstick than anything else; Chaplin had not yet expanded his character to display true pathos and more. The Floorwalker has Charlie playing the dual role of the tramp and one of the crooked bosses of a department store who is just about to rob the store. The editing is superlative for its time; we really see TWO Charlie Chaplin characters on the screen very convincingly! The store escalator is used a great deal for sight gags and the store shoppers play their roles very well. The last film is The Rink; and in my opinion The Rink is the funniest film of these four shorts. In The Rink, Charlie plays a waiter in a fancy restaurant who is always somehow able to make fun of the stuffy rich patrons; and he plays this to the hilt. The Rink ends with Chaplin and most of the main cast on roller skates in a skating rink and the chase scenes are very funny! I can't believe how in one short span of just five or ten seconds how much Chaplin is able to make it look like he's slipping and just about to fall although he doesn't. Will Chaplin's character get away from the people he has alienated? Watch The Rink and find out!

The DVD comes with no extras but the material is so well done you can practically forgive it. Others have written that the print is not that good but I was more than satisfied considering the age of these films.

Overall, Chaplin's fans and perhaps even fans of silent film in general will enjoy the four movies on this DVD. It's highly recommended!

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This DVD was great, but the new restored 90th Anniversary Edition is better., June 24, 2006

By 

Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Chaplin Mutuals, Vol. 3 (DVD)

Up until 2006, these were the best copies on DVD. But now David Shepard and Image Entertainment have restored the missing footage and re-mastered the films , addressing the complaints mentioned below.

So buy the "Mutual Restored 90th Anniversary Edition" instead of this edition.