That was an excellent one.

A lot of fun.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

ONE A.M. (Mutual, 1916), Written and Directed by Charlie Chaplin, is definitely a departure from the usual comedy shorts from this period. Being his fourth for the Mutual Studio, it's his one and only one-man show captured on film. Abandoning his tramp character with derby, baggy pants and cane for well-dressed debonair top hat character, there's also no usual stock players of Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell or Charlotte Mineau to support him. There is, however, Albert Austin in the opening minutes playing a taxi driver waiting for his fare with his hand out, but getting something quite unexpected. Virtually plot less, ONE A.M. is basically a twenty minute skit reminiscent from old-time vaudeville shows or forerunner to variety television programs as "The Red Skelton Show," where Red Skelton himself has made pantomime one of his notable works of art, no doubt inspired by Chaplin himself.ONE A.M., casts Charlie as a drunk returning home by taxi. Whether coming home from an all night party or a neighborhood bar is never fully detailed. It's for the audience to decide for themselves and what his background is. After leaving the taxi, he begins a series of struggles and tribulations starting with getting inside his home before further complications ensue while trying to go to sleep for the night.Though Chaplin is virtually a sole attention here, the cast support in brief bits might have helped add to the hilarity, such as casting the big and burly Eric Campbell as a good natured butler, or Edna Purviance as a girlfriend attempting to telephone Charlie but not being able to get connected, or some girl constantly getting the wrong number. Instead, props as liquor bottles, cigarettes, sliding floor mats, fish bow, staircase, giant pendulum from a clock or wall bed with mind of its own taking precedence in Charlie's troubles. Following this solo performance, Chaplin continued experimenting what comedy techniques work best for him in his future short/feature-length efforts for many years to come.ONE A.M. is one of the twelve Mutual shorts starring Charlie Chaplin to be available in various formats, with certain prints with missing or added inter-titles of dialog or description acts. Scoring differs, depending on distributors of either home video or DVD formats. Older prints formerly broadcast on public television or syndicated channels during the sixties and seventies usually from 1930s reissues with orchestration of ragtime compositions and sound effects. Current digitally remastered prints of clear visuals and accurate silent speed extension to 22 or more minutes (often from Kino Video) often consist of more modern or poor scoring (depending on taste) with violin playing that usually takes away the pleasure in watching silent comedies such as this. The scoring from the old Blackhawk/Republic distribution company in the 1990s makes it far more enjoyable, in spite of some edits. Interesting note about the title, ONE A.M. If it's lead to assume the Chaplin character returning home at that late hour, then why is the opening taxi segment appear to have daylight setting with noticeably passing cars and pedestrians seen in the background? Looks for it the next time there's another Charlie Chaplin festival on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 13, 1999), whether it be on prime time, daytime or at one a.m. Next Chaplin Mutual comedy: THE COUNT (1916). (***)

Except the train driver right at the beginning, this short film "One A.M.", which will be 100 years old in 3 years, is a complete one-man show by Charlie Chaplin. And while I can't deny, he delivers all his comedic talent, expresses his actions as clear as it gets and shows the world what a great entertainer he is, I still was a bit disappointed as the humor worked only once in a while for me. I love my Chaplin the most with a female playing his sweetheart or at least with an antagonist, who's two heads taller than Chaplin. When he interacts with these characters, that's when he's at his funniest for me.Here, he returns home after a night at the pub and faces all kinds of struggles when all he wants is get ready for bed. Oh poor Charlie. maybe you should just have laid down on the floor the moment you entered the door. He runs a.o. into slippery doormats, (allegedly) stuffed animals a giant pendulum straight from hell and finally the most stubborn bed I've ever witnessed. I'd recommend to watch the first five minutes maybe and then decide if you want to keep going. The humor is pretty much the same for the remaining 15 minutes. I personally think there's better Chaplin shorts out there.

In 1916 the Mutual Films company released eight Chaplin pictures, highlighting a marked decrease in his output but also a marked increase in the quality. This was a theme that was to continue throughout the rest of his career, as the following year he would release half as many again, though with increased results. Come the mid 20s and Chaplin's down to just one feature every three to five years, though most of them classics.As for the Mutual output in 1916, then despite the increased artistry, many of them are still a couple of steps away from "Chaplin as genius". Indeed, while well staged, shorts like "The Floorwalker" and "The Fireman" are really just an extended series of people being kicked repeatedly up the backside. One A.M breaks that mould, an upturn in quality that would continue into the equally brilliant "The Pawnbroker" and "The Rink" two more shorts that would showcase Chaplin as a tremendously gifted acrobat. "Behind The Screen" was another upturn in quality from this run, a film that combined a witty deconstruction of the slapstick genre along with a daring gay gag, quite shocking for 1916. But it was the stunts that were most notable for the year - if not quite death-defying, then certainly serious injury defying.One A.M. is another foray into Chaplin doing a non-Tramp character, this time a drunken aristocrat. While Charlie's immense physical gifts can be seen in most of the films of the age, many of them are of a type, in particular him falling backwards onto his shoulder blades. By marked contrast, then many of the stunts seen in One A.M. are truly extraordinary, combining both substantial physical danger along with witty innovation. A virtual solo piece, it's basically one joke extended for twenty minutes, yet it's a very good joke given enormous invention and considerable charm. A stand out of the year that culminated in the classic "The Rink".

Chaplin plays a drunk who spends the entire film trying to get into his house and go to bed. In a comedic experiment, Chaplin appears alone in this film, aside from Albert Austin, who briefly appears at the beginning as a cab driver. Chaplin draws the humor from his interaction with various objects around the house, most humorously with a hostile Murphy bed. Is this comic experiment successful? Yes, for the most part. It is a funny short, but, in my opinion, nowhere near his funniest. Still, one must admire Chaplin's boldness. When one watches this film, one sees a talented film maker testing the limits of skills. Bravo.