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| The Tramp get the better of a policeman |
Starring Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Wesley Ruggles, James T. Kelly
Produced by Essanay Film Manufacturing Company
Police follows the misadventures of our lovable tramp (Chaplin) after he is released from prison. A preacher offers to help the tramp go straight, but the fraudulent minister really just wants to pickpocket our hero. The tramp is refused access to a flophouse because he cannot pay, finds and quickly loses a job in a kitchen and runs into an old cellmate asking him to help with a burglary. Does the tramp return to a life of crime? Or can he stay on the straight and narrow?
Okay, it's yet another short from Chaplin. What can I say? I am really enjoying his early work. I was not previously familiar with him except for some random clips, so I am really coming to appreciate Chaplin as a storyteller. Police actually was filmed and released prior to The Floorwalker
This is darker than any of his previous work as Chaplin's tramp is clearly a victim of both circumstance and several characters in the film, but he is also a criminal (just released from prison and pulled back into a life of crime). The short is most assuredly a comedy, but also provides a social commentary on the conditions and treatment of the poor. When the tramp finally agrees to participate in the robbery, the viewer does feel like he is out of options.
The comedy is amusing, but not laugh-out-loud funny. The funniest moments for me were smaller moments: Chaplin using the preacher's beard to dab the tears away, the brief attempt to steal a piano by carrying it under one arm. Much of Chaplin's stay in the flophouse and the robbery attempt also made me smile, but was not hysterical.
Police continues to establish Chaplin's tramp as a loveable loser. He's Bugs Bunny in a world of Elmer Fudds. He gets challenged and tempted, but always ends up on the right side of events. And he makes you smile along the way.
Watched on YouTube: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 (mislabeled). NOTE: Part 1 is a documentary that I did not watch.
Photo from The British Film Institute
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