FILMBRATS - REVIEWS

A sad single mother who believes she has no other options, places her baby into an empty car. It turns out that two thugs are driving the vehicle. Since they do not want the crying newborn to foil any of their plans, they dump it off into the alley. Shortly thereafter, our hero, the tramp comes along and discovers the child. He tries his best to place it with someone who can help, but a lurking police officer who is under the impression the baby belongs to the tramp won’t let that happen. And so a man who can hardly take care of himself must now find a way to provide for two.

Writer/director Charles Chaplin once again brings us his lovable tramp character; this time in a longer scale. At 61 minutes, this film runs almost twice the length of most of the previous entries in the series. Luckily, there is enough here to keep your interest for virtually the entire picture. Unluckily, it’s not side-splittingly funny. Some of the attempts at throwback humor instead come across as trying to sell the same joke again as new, especially the run-ins with the cop. Perhaps if the situations offered some variance, then it would be funnier. Mostly the gags are clever, and they’ll induce a good smile, but they aren’t strong enough to illicit a huge response. For instance, I loved the ingenuity the tramp used when improvising the materials needed for a baby that he can’t afford, such as placing a nipple on the tea kettle or putting some ropes on the cloth so the young boy can sleep hanging and rocking. But these devices didn’t make me laugh out loud, I simply appreciate the inventiveness.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some great jokes. The film includes some solid slapstick situations and the flying dog is great. However, I think the film really shines in its details. The simple things go a long way. There are some great compositions. The make-up on the extras adds a nice touch. They gave the tramp a mended door to make it easier to differentiate. And the sets are breakaway, as evidenced in the silly fight scene between Chaplin and a bully (Charles Reisner). But although some elements of the production were subject to great detail, other aspects weren’t as greatly scrutinized. On the whole, I found the main set piece to be a little bit too bland and stagy. I’d have liked to see more dilapidation and destitution to fit the look of the extras. I also don’t understand the reasoning behind hiring Reisner and putting him in a padded suit instead of hiring an actual big muscle man. I don’t think the suit made it funnier, I think it made it lazier.

On a grander scale, I thought the story was extremely basic and somewhat drawn out up until the ending, which comes suddenly and leaves us uncertain if it is simply a continuation of an interesting, yet obvious dream sequence that proceeds it. But with all this working against it, the film is still interesting thanks to Chaplin’s creative touch and young Jackie Coogan’s marvelous acting. This kid is really good at playing to the camera without looking at it, and he also fully understands what is comedic about a situation and how to take advantage of it. The two make a great team that may not make the film great, but certainly worth watching.

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