Work (1915) Online

The short films Charlie Chaplin made for the Essanay company during 1915 mark a transitional stage in his development as the world's favorite comedian: they're generally better than the chaotic slapstick comedies he cranked out for Keystone during his apprenticeship in 1914, but not as good as the first-rate films he would produce for the Mutual Company within a couple of years. Judged on their own merits the Essanay films are a mixed lot, although a few of them (such as The Bank and Police) are quite impressive. This particular ode to knockabout comedy, simply titled "Work," ranks somewhere in the middle range of Chaplin's Essanay output: no great shakes in itself, but generally enjoyable with some good gags and amusing sequences, especially in the first reel.

A key element that distinguishes these Essanay films from the earlier ones is that Chaplin started taking pains at this point to influence viewer sympathy. In the Keystone comedies Charlie was often belligerent, drunk, rude to women and generally nasty. In one infamous Keystone release called The Property Man he works backstage at a theater, and is downright cruel to his elderly assistant. In Work, however, the tables have properly turned, and it's Charlie who is the lowly assistant, working as a household contractor and slaving away under a sadistic supervisor. In the opening sequence we see him pulling his boss and all their equipment through the streets in a rickshaw- like cart, hauling the obviously heavy load for miles, uphill and across train tracks, all the way to the mansion they've been hired to fix up. Thus, from the very outset we're rooting for Charlie and hope to see him avenge himself on his heartless boss.

Chaplin the maturing filmmaker is also careful to establish that the rich couple who've hired the workmen are not such pleasant people themselves, so, naturally, when their house gets trashed we aren't especially sympathetic. When we first see the husband he's demanding breakfast from the maid, shouting and fuming. His haughty wife is no better: as soon as the workmen arrive she issues a series of fussy demands, then insults them by ostentatiously locking away her valuables. Charlie retaliates by tucking his own "valuables" into an inside pocket -- one of my favorite gags in the film. Back in Keystone days Charlie would do anything for a laugh and didn't care whether we liked him or not, but here we see the stirrings of a more sophisticated sensibility, with just a touch of social commentary. The maid, surprisingly, is played by Chaplin's longtime leading lady Edna Purviance, who was more often cast as patrician types. But Edna is a working girl this time around, almost as downtrodden as Charlie, and as soon as Charlie arrives they strike sparks and bond instantly. Their sweet, playful scenes together are a highlight of this short.

Work speeds up and turns pretty silly in its latter portions, when a highly unlikely (but amusing) farcical twist involving the haughty wife's secret lover is abruptly introduced into the mix. Before long everyone is getting spattered with paste and running around at high speed as the kitchen stove blows up repeatedly. Things get strenuously wacky by the end, but in a good-humored sort of way, as if Charlie and the gang were giving us a big wink and saying "Isn't this ridiculous?" It certainly is, and quite entertaining, too.

"Work" is among the better of Chaplin's early comedies. It has a humorous situation that sets up some good comedy, and a good assortment of material. The story has Charlie as a paper-hanger, going with his supervisor to do a job in a home that already has enough problems. It does squander some screen time on material that isn't very funny, but then there are some very good moments that make up for it. There are also a couple of good subtle gags along with the more obvious physical comedy. It's the kind of setup that in later years Chaplin could have used to make a real classic. Here, it's unrefined, but it's still good entertainment. If you like Chaplin's earlier, less polished comedies, you should find this one worth a look.

Izzy Wake (Charles Inslee) a paperhanger and his assistant (Charlie Chaplin) slowly make their way to the house of Billy Armstrong and Marta Golden where they are due to hang wall paper. After experiencing difficulty even getting to the house, once they get there things go from bad to worse.

This film made me laugh, a lot, but overall it was messy – much like the on screen action. I didn't really get any sense of who any of the characters were and to be honest apart from inhabiting the house at the centre of the story, Billy Armstrong and Marta Golden's characters weren't really necessary. They and Leo White were only really used during the films frenetic ending which is somewhere between a chase and a farce. That being said, there is still much to like about this Chaplin Essanay effort.

I liked the clever camera angle that Chaplin used to give the sense that he was pulling his bosses cart up a steep hill. It looked pretty good and added a bit of humour to a scene which was stagnating a bit. The cart pulling scene contained some good moments but dragged on too long for my liking. Chaplin wiping sweat from his forehead then ringing out an obviously pre soaked handkerchief was a highlight. When the action turns to the house there are many great moments. As you can imagine, Chaplin plus wallpaper paste creates some hilarious business. The film on the whole made me snigger in several places rather than laugh throughout and as I said previously the plot felt somewhat forgotten and was confusing. A confusing plot isn't something you want from a film that is under thirty minutes in length.

The romantic plot also took a bit of a back seat here and didn't really come to the fore until close to the end. Chaplin and Edna Purviance's Maid had a couple of cute scenes though. Overall this short is much more slapstick driven than plot driven and while funny in part, is slightly disappointing.

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By this point in his career, Chaplin had almost fully developed the character of the little tramp, although he had not come close to perfecting the performances or truly refining his personality. But the character that the world soon came to know and love is clearly there by this point. This is one of the more complex stories for Chaplin's earliest work, with several story lines taking place simultaneously and coming together at the end.

The thing about slapstick is that so often it's only funny once, and sometimes even only mildly amusing that one time. The problem is that when you know what's going to happen, you can see the actor setting up for whatever sight gag is coming, even if it's only a slight indication of movement or preparation, but Chaplin was so good at it that in a film like this there are numerous sight gags and stunts that you can rewind and watch two or three times and they're still good. Chaplin had a natural style about him that looks like what we're watching isn't even a performance.

This film, simply titled Work, has plenty of amusing and memorable gags, particularly the wallpapering and the exploding stove. The end of the film is very high energy and even action packed, but it still strikes me as a bit of a descent into chaos. It's the kind of punching and kicking and throwing and falling and swinging and breaking stuff that we see a lot of in the Keystone films but that I feel tend to get boring after a while.

Then again, it's not until about 22 minutes into this 24 minute film that Chaplin first kicks a man over backwards by shoving his foot into the man's chest, so clearly other elements of storytelling are becoming more important to him....

This isn't a great short movie by Chaplin standards, though compared to many other slapstick films of the time, it's pretty good. In fact, the operative word for this film is "slapstick", as this movie has a larger than normal for Chaplin amount of pratfalls. Falling, hitting, exploding ovens and buckets of wallpaper paste getting tossed about is pretty much all this film is about from start to finish. This is funny, I guess, but it certainly doesn't look like a film about "the Little Tramp". And, now that I think about it, it looks like an early Chaplin film fused with a Three Stooges short. Kids will probably like it, but devoted fans of Chaplin will probably feel a tad disappointed.

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

From his Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'Work' is not one of his very best or even among the best of this particular period. It shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career, from 1914, The Essanay period is something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. Something that can be seen in the more than worthwhile 'Work'.

'Work' is not one of his all-time funniest or most memorable, other efforts also have more pathos and a balance of that and the comedy. The story is still a little flimsy, there are times where it struggles to sustain the short length, and could have had more variety and less more of the same repeition.

On the other hand, 'Work' looks pretty good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work (even when deadlines were still tight) and not churning out as many countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.

While not one of his funniest or original, 'Work' is still very entertaining with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight.

Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, particularly Billy Armstrong.

In conclusion, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

WORK is one of the early silent shorts that Charlie Chaplin made before he'd quite got to grips with his famous 'little tramp' character. In this one he plays a painter and decorater who gets put upon by his boss before wreaking havoc in a typical house. Despite the short length I found this film dragged a little, with lots of scenarios featuring repetitive slapstick gags and jokes which go on and on and on. Saying that, there are some fun incidents involving a bucket of wallpaper glue and an explosive stove, and Chaplin works hard at all the pratfalls and jokes, so it's still enjoyable.

"Work" is a black-and-white silent short film from 1915, so this one is another work directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin from over a century already. You won't find too many of his regular cast members in here this time. The version I watched ran for 25 minutes roughly, but I see here on imdb that versions of 31 and even 41 minutes exist apparently too. Not sure if some scenes were lost, but I think it's rather all about the frames per second. Anyway, it's not important anyway as regardless of how long it is, simply too much happens in here for the film to feel authentic and realistic and more than shoving us one (not so) funny scene in the face. In this one Charlie's shenanigans, but also the other characters' messing up in their rage mostly have an impact on that and maybe a guilt too. It's a long and (in the truest sense of the word) messy road to that as a lot of dirty stuff happens in here (but not in the sexual sense obviously, hey these are the 10s, kissing was controversial back then already). Overall, I think the script was the main problem here as Chaplin and also others are far better actors and the constant shots at comedy made it difficult for the cast to shine or the movie to deliver in any genre as the chance was definitely there, but it almost seemed like they did not want it to happen. The slapstick just gets too much at some point, which is no surprise really as the mere quantity of jokes almost rules out that all, or even most, of them could have been convincing. One of the more known Chaplin shorts, not most known probably, but definitely not one of the best. Only watch if you really love Him (then you will also understand the capitalized H). I give this one a thumbs-down though.

Work is a rather messy Chaplin short but feels overlong as some of the situations drag on.

Chaplin plays a workman on his way to decorate a house, we see him pulling his boss on a cart who also whips him, there are several scenes where he crosses a train track just before the train passes through and then he struggles to get up a hill. In one scene the boss invites a friend to hop on the cart. You can see Chaplin is already taking a stand against exploitative capitalism already!

Once they arrive at the middle class house, there is all kinds of slapstick as they try to wallpaper the house, there is an exploding stove, Chaplin takes a shine to the maid, and the householder's wife is visited by her secret lover.

This is the first Chaplin short I have seen in some years, they just do not get repeated as often as they used to be on television. In Work Chaplin has not found his 'tramp' persona but there is some good skills used to for the slapstick but it gets too repetitive.

Charlie Chaplin, in what was probably his most anarchic phase, was now basing many of his short comedies around a normal, "straight" setting, into which his little tramp character could blunder, causing mayhem as he went. Work is probably the most carefully constructed and effective in this respect.

The picture begins with a couple of extremely regular shots establishing the house in which most of the action is going to take place, and introducing us to its prim middle-class residents. Everything appears very formal, all composed of straight lines and neat areas of black and white. We then suddenly cut to Charlie chugging down the street with his boss's cart behind him. Everything in this shot has to do with disorder, with wonky telegraph poles, extras cutting across the frame, not to mention the ramshackle contraption the tramp is pulling. When we arrive at the harmonious household, the camera set-ups from the opening shots remain the same, but gradually the tramp's chaos begins to spread. The neatness and formality disappear while the mess and clutter builds up as, one by one, the rooms (and their occupants) are thrown into disarray.

Of course, Chaplin's popularity was not just founded on his comical capers. His satirical streak, here in full swing, would have struck a chord with many in his audience. I have certainly had a fair few employers who take after Chaplin's boss, and it's great fun to see this kind of character lampooned. And as in most of Chaplin's shorts there is a heart amidst the havoc, here in the form of the "sad story" scene. Even then, Chaplin wisely keeps the comedy going and stops the moment from getting too serious and saccharine.

Work is by no means the most hilarious of the Essanays, and certainly not the best developed in storyline, but on its own terms it is a pure work of genius, and positive proof that Charlie Chaplin was not just a funny little man. When it came to film-making, he knew exactly what he was doing.

And last but not least, the all-important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 2 (2 against)

Chaplin again edited, wrote, directed, and starred in this film where Chaplin plays a put upon paper hanger. Chaplin has fun poking jabs at authority figures and upper-crust hypocrisy in a film more heavily plotted than his other films of the era. The film opens with visual gags of Chaplin pulling a work cart with his boss literally cracking the whip and the difficulties he faces. They arrive at a home of a snobby husband bossing his wife around. Once the wall-hanging paste is mixed, Chaplin plays with it like a musical instrument, creating havoc in the house while taking a shine to the maid (played by Edna Purviance). Chaplin's boss is literally up to his ears with wall-hanging paste (which appears more like plaster), the stove explodes several times, and the wife's secret lover (hilariously played by Leo White), dressed like a 19th century dandy, arrives much to the chagrin of the snobby husband. More chaos ensues as Chaplin, his boss, the lover, and the couple participate in a melange of slapstick punctuated by the husband firing shots, the stove exploding, and the house's interior reduced to rubble. The film is well edited, paced, and directed with a balance of plot and slapstick. **1/2 of 4 stars.

The first scene of Chaplin in this movie is of him drawing a carriage while his masters sit in the back as he tries to take them up a hill to amusing results. That's all you need to know to appreciate this treatise on work and the pains that man goes to achieve it. We all have to work to pay the bills, but the characters homes he visits in the movie don't have to work, the way he does, that is the hard labor of using one's hands and seem precarious of it. Chaplin loved to spoof the rich or the idle class as they are known. Maybe, he felt being born with a golden spoon is bad. There is nothing wrong with that. It's how one lives with such advantages and disposes of his willed upbringing that castigates the self. But not to Chaplin, who goes on to wreck havoc in a series of set pieces that ends with destruction and a wink to the camera; an act of farewell and goodbye. Is it farewell to work and a hooray for idleness, I cannot say but like a cartoon character who has preyed the deed, he takes us along and makes us laugh, even if I do not agree with his accusations.