Nice effects though.

Absolutely Fantastic

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

AS IS THE case with so many of Mr. Chaplin's two reel comedies, they pack as much action and bang for the buck as would a feature film. Having absolute control of his films from inception to completion, Charlie would shoot and re-shoot scenes until he got it exactly the way that he wanted it.THE RELIANCE ON so many of his trusted thespians who constituted a most capable repertory company, helped to ensure that the finished product would be the best version of the movie that it could be. The roster, which included names such as Edna Purviance, Henry Bergman, Eric Campbell and Albert Austin, among others, knew their trade and plies it in the manner that Charlie wanted.AS FOR OUR film of honor today in its specifics, THE PAWNSHOP (Lone Star/Mutual, 1916), as with so many other memorable movies, begins with a simple premise. A youthful male employee comes to work for a rather elderly boss. Added to the mix, we have the pawnbroker's vivacious, young (woo, woo, woo, woo!) daughter, some varied characters as customers and interplay with the mechanical world.IT ALL SOUNDS so simple. But it is no sure-fire formula for success; as it needs proper intensity and the carefully crafted timing, balance & variety of the selection of gags. It also takes old fashioned L-U-C-K!OUR FRIEND, SCHULTZ, says that "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity!" Schultz says he once read that in a fortune cookie at Harmony Chinese Restaurant on Archer Avenue in Chicago.

Charlie Chaplin's sixth film for Mutual is one with very high highs and disappointingly low lows. It features a scenario and story which doesn't really go anywhere but also features several moments of slapstick that are amongst his best to date.Chaplin stars as a pawnshop assistant and gets in a long running fight with fellow employee John Rand. Typically inept at his job, Chaplin is eventually fired only to be taken back on straight away after his boss Henry Bergman has a change of heart. Meanwhile Chaplin's attentions are drawn to Bergman's daughter Edna Purviance who is busy baking in the back of the shop. Trouble appears late on as a thief, Eric Campbell enters the shop intent on taking it for everything it's got.As I mentioned the plot is a little basic here. There is no character development and the romantic component is only hinted at. Where the film is successful is with its slapstick elements. Two areas stand out for me. The first is Chaplin's long fight with John Rand. Chaplin portrays a peculiar but extremely funny fighting style and his character in general looks like he's off his head on something. The standout though is while the fight is happening; Edna Purviance hears the ruckus and comes to investigate. Although Chaplin is beating Rand to a pulp, when he hears Edna approaching he falls to the floor and into a foetal position, faking pain. Edna immediately starts yelling at Rand for hitting the poor, defenceless Chaplin and while she does so Chaplin repeatedly checks out her bum and turns to the camera with a cheeky grin on his face. It's a fantastic scene.Other great moments include Chaplin being ordered to wash up and putting the crockery through a mangle and a scene in which he values a clock by taking it to pieces, destroying it and then turning it down as it's broken. Moments like these remind me just how inventive and clever Chaplin was capable of being with his comedy. It's just a shame here in The Pawnshop that the comedy isn't coupled with a more impressive plot.www.attheback.blogspot.com

Chaplin's The Pawnshop was the sixth film he edited, wrote, directed, and produced for the Mutual Film Corporation in 1916. It's another one of his occupational comedies. This time Chaplin plays a shopkeeper's assistant who tries to stay busy in front of the boss while battling with a co-worker. Like many of his Mutual films, this one contains a lot of energy and some highly inventive sight gags. Chaplin begins by destroying a feather-duster in an electric fan. He follows that up with trying to bring a long step ladder outside while fending off his antagonistic co-worker. The athleticism and physicality of the stunts with the ladder recall some of Buster Keaton's finest moments. Chaplin continues feuding with his co-worker while waiting on customers in between. The gag with the "poor" guy selling his wife's wedding ring is a classic bit repeated many times since. Chaplin then tries to assess an alarm clock as if he was a surgeon before rejecting it. This is one of the funniest bits. In between he has a dough fight, romances the pawnbroker's daughter (Edna Purviance), and saves the shop from a would-be crook played by Eric Campbell. This is another comic gem from Chaplin. *** of 4 stars.

This is definitely one of Chaplin's top 5 or 6 shorts. The part with Albert Austin and the clock is just so hilarious, and I really like the end of that bit where the drunk gets pushed down, just because it makes no sense. I think this is the exact point in Chaplin's oeuvre in which he matured to the point in which he could make masterpieces. Don't get me wrong I like many of his earlier shorts, but everything he did from this point on could be argued as a masterpiece of comic cinema.It is true that there isn't a great amount of pathos in this one, but I like the fact that there a just so many ridiculous situations that come one after the other. A+ grade.