There’s One A.M. with Charlie coming home drunk and does battle with a clock pendulum and a Murphy bed. There’s Behind the Screen where Charlie discovers a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to get a job movies. And the lovely The Immigrant. Among several others. Like, everything…LOL
Really, really difficult to decide. You would think the less films made for a period would make it easier. But nooooooo. We’re talking Chaplin here. It only gets harder with each following era. All of these are superb! I feel like throwing a dart on a list and see where it lands (or where it lands nearest to) to determine which one I like best.
The one I watch the most, so I’m going with it as my answer: Easy Street. Yeah, I know, it’s a cliche answer (at least, I feel it is), but I really like this one. It’s a bit autobiographical (Chaplin grew up on the slums of late Victorian London streets. The more autobiographical he got, the more I loved the film; i.e. Limelight). There’s gang violence in the streets, and Charlie has to temper the ruffians.
Eric Campbell. Now there’s a classic old fashioned bad guy. But I’m getting ahead of myself. And the lovely Edna! I really love the way she is introduced with that angelic light on her as she plays the piano.
Highlights of the film
Charlie literally gaslighting the heavy (Chaplin actually hurt himself with the lamppost. Needed some stitches on his nose. Sacrifice for the sake of the art!), feeling sorry for the woman who he catches stealing food for her large family so he steals more, the cute little kid who scares the police, and the chase at the end where the heavy gets…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it 😉
