In the life of many directors there are moments when the filmed film becomes not just another in filmography, but a real milestone, milestone, iconic. Having invented in 1914 the image of a man with a cane, huge baggy pants, trampled shoes, a bowler hat and short antennae, Charlie Chaplin worked for a long time on the character of his hero from film to film. If in the films of the studio “Keystone” it was a cheeky, ladies’ man, a bully, then with the arrival of Chaplin on “Esseny”, his character began to show more tragicomism, appreciate human attitude, respect animals. So in a sense, released in April 1915 the short film "The Tramp" allowed to finally form the image of the comedian with sad eyes, as the world and remembered Chaplin for roles in feature films.
Of course, as in Chaplin’s previous works, there will be many of the elements that make up the sitcom. There will be hammer blows to the head, and kicks in the ass, and flour throwing and other gags. Personally, I remember Chaplin’s wonderful comedy tandem with Paddy McGuire. It is simply impossible not to look without laughter at the suffering of the farmer’s assistant from the actions of the Tramp, who knew nothing about agriculture. And the antagonists picked up colorful. This trinity of robbers in the face of a large verzila (Bad Jamieson), a skit with a sharp nose (Leo White) and a lanky one (Lloyd Bacon) resembled the trinity of the Coward-Balbes-Season in the comedies of Leonid Gaidai. But in the rest, "The Tramp" is strikingly different from Chaplin's previous works. After all, it is here that the personality of the Tramp, his kindness, compassion and self-sacrifice came to the fore.
Perhaps for me the disadvantage was the image of the Girl ("Edna Purviens"), which was not sufficiently disclosed. I’m sure if the film was full-length, it would have been given even more screen time.
It seems a little unusual and the final picture. According to the traditions of cinema of those years, it was supposed to be either an open finale (heroes continue to fight until the final credits) or a happy-end (the disaster ended / good won / everyone fell dead without feelings). But Chaplin offered a different interpretation: tragicomic. It seems that good has triumphed, but the Tramp is so called that he cannot take and stay where he feels good. He needs to go away for new adventures.
Despite the fact that for me, The Tramp (1915) is one of Chaplin’s favorite short films, I still can’t help but recommend it to those who still think what to see from the talented Chaplin after a series of feature films. Yes, it is the same Tramp from “Baby”, “Gold Rush”, “Circus”, “City Lights” and “New Times”. This is the same lonely and vulnerable person with a big heart who is ready to do great things. And if there is a desire to see the early Chaplin, but in the usual role of the Tramp - this is the same.
10 out of 10