Purely Joyful Movie!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I don't mean this as in the film is some kind of abstract comedy, it's very grounded as all Chaplin's films were: it's just whether genuine comedies or some of his more dramatic works they always have a strong moral that is totally obvious by the end. This one has more fun, it's Chaplin in all his spontaneity and lightness. The ending in particular is more symbolic than an obvious spelled out moral, it contributes to the fun of the whole piece rather than taking itself more seriously.Just a quick digression: it's surprisingly interesting the church and its practices would be criticized and mocked so openly way back in a mainstream film from 1923. But apparently that sort of thing was going on even back then.Funny as always, full of spirit, lots of mimicking and situational comedy going on. 7/10.

In his last movie for First National, Charlie is once again a convict who just escaped from jail - and to disguise himself, stole the clothes of a priest! And, as fate would have it, on his train trip to 'nowhere', he gets off in a small Texan town where the people are just awaiting their new parson... So, without ANY knowledge about his new 'job', he's got to play the role - and his first church service becomes, of course, an INIMITABLE farce! (While he, from force of habit, always keeps an eye on the boxes with the collection money...) The only story from the Bible he seems to know is that of David and Goliath (and that's NO coincidence at all - for that was the very part Charlie played so often in all kinds of variations in his films!); and he tells it in a WONDERFULLY funny pantomime, which of course was ONLY possible back in the good old silent days...Then, he gets to know the family where he'll live; and the lovely daughter is, of course, once more Edna Purviance (this is the last movie he made together with her), and a romantic bond develops immediately... But very soon, complications turn up for the fugitive: his old jail mate happens to come to the same town - and although he plays the 'nice guy' in the beginning, in fact he intends to steal the family's money Edna's mother keeps in a drawer... So what is the 'parson' to do now?? Just like all the comedies Charlie Chaplin made for First National, "The Pilgrim" is another WONDERFUL example of comedy at its VERY best, FULL of funny scenes (like the one where the neighbors come to see Edna's family with their spoiled little boy; and Charlie has got to pull himself together while the brat keeps slapping him and pouring water over him - not quite unlike W.C. Fields in "The Old-Fashioned Way"...), not without a meaning, and with beautiful sentiments throughout, which however never slip into 'sentimentality' - a TREASURE for every fan of classic movies, and a PERFECT way to get the younger generations to know and love silent cinema!

CHARLIE CHAPLIN is an escaped convict mistaken for the new pastor upon arriving in a small Mexican town and greeted by Deacon MATT SWAIN and a few members of his congregation.Although there are pratfalls for the comedian right from the start, this is a mistaken identity comedy that depends more on sight gags than frantic slapstick and has some charming moments.One of the funniest sequences has him delivering his first sermon at the church, based on the tale of David and Goliath, amusing mainly for the young boy who doesn't find the sermon boring. Some funny business with baking a cake while distracted and pouring the dough over someone's bowler hat stands out, as does the business with his former jailmate who wants to steal money from the Deacon but meets with resistance from Charlie who has fallen in love with an innocent girl (EDNA PURVIANCE) and wants to go straight. There's also the scene with the hyperactive little brat, a boy who drives Chaplin and brother SYD CHAPLIN insane with his unrelenting pranks.Chaplin was still polishing his craft at this time, but it's not one of his best comedies. Needless to say, even lesser Chaplin is worth watching and so is this one, given a brisk background score including a ballad written by Chaplin.

Over-shadowed by such classics as THE GOLD RUSH or CITY-LIGHTS, THE PILGRIM is a delight and is perhaps Charlie's finest 'short'. Dropping his 'Little Tramp' character, Chaplin is now an escaped convict, heading out West disguised as a clergyman and who is mistaken for the new Pastor of a small Western town.Sentiment is kept at a minimum and THE PILGRIM is filled with inventive sight gags and sequences, with perhaps the stand-out being the middle-section, where Charlie suffers from the attentions of a little boy (the bowler hat covered with custard and served as afternoon tea is a wonderfully surreal touch)..The 1959 re-issued version is perhaps the version to see, as it comes with a wonderful score by Chaplin and a specially written theme song, 'Bound For Texas' sung by Britain's own Matt Monroe. It's a memorably jaunty song which you will be humming for days afterwards.