3.0 out of 5 stars
Chaplin in drag, August 18, 2008
This review is from: The Masquerader (1914) (DVD)
Niche market DVD purveyor RCF's dubs are "best available source," with quality that varies from only fair to very good.
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By the time THE MASQUERADER (aka "The Female Impersonator") was released in 1914, Charlie Chaplin was really making a name for himself. He wrote/directed and starred in this one-reel story of a man who tries his hand at acting, keeps messing up during filming and gets himself fired. He returns to the studio disguised as the "Beautiful Stranger" and pulls off the charade successfully-- for a while. Eventually, the unfortunate guy in drag ends up at the bottom of a well!
Chaplin makes a very convincing woman here. He shares the bill with a comedian whose fame preceded his-- Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, plus Fatty's first wife, Minta Durfee, Chester Conklin (the Keystone Cop with the walrus mustache) and Charley Chase, the star of a series of sophisticated comedy shorts in the last years of silent movies.
This truly all-star cast includes (in uncredited roles) the most renowned comedienne of the silent era, Mabel Normand, and Billy Gilbert-- he was the angry homeowner in Laurel & Hardy's Oscar winner, "The Music Box." Jess Dandy, who appeared over 4,000 times in the stageplay "The Prince of Pilsen" (where he popularized the line, "Vos You Efer In Zinzinnati?") is here, as is Glen Cavender, another of Mack Sennett's famous comic policemen.
For another Chaplin/Arbuckle pairing, try
THE KNOCKOUT (also from REEL CLASSIC FILMS).
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Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 IMDb viewer poll rating.
(5.7) The Masquerader (1914) - Charles Chaplin/Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle/Chester Conklin/Charles Murray/Jess Dandy/Minta Durfee/Cecile Arnold/Vivian Edwards/Harry McCoy/Charley Chase (uncredited: Mabel Normand/Billy Gilbert/Glen Cavender)
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