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| The Little Tramp is temporarily caught |
Starring Charles Chaplin, Eric Campbell, Lloyd Bacon, Edna Purviance
Produced by Lone Star Studio
Time to return to Charlie Chaplin again for another short. The Floorwalker follows two storylines until they converge in the middle of the film. First, we meet the floorwalker (a sort of security guard without the badge) at a department store who conspires with the manager to steal from their employer. Then, we follow Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character as he creates havoc on the sales floor. When the floorwalker and the the tramp get in trouble, both notice they bear a passing resemblance to each other. Maybe if they switch places...
The Floorwalker is Chaplin's first film under his new contract (discussed here). There's more confidence in the execution here then in his previous shorts as the camera doesn't focus on Chaplin for long stretches of the film. There's more plot here than in his previous work. The execution of some of the comic set pieces made me smile, but I can't say I laughed much in this one.
The funniest moments involve Chaplin and an escalator. He is repeatedly getting knocked onto the moving stairway with impeccable timing to great comic effect. I particularly like a sequence later in the film where the tramp is chased by Eric Campbell's manager in the wrong direction down the stairs. Both actors pull off what could have been a meh moment with a great sense of fun.
Less successful is a mirror scene between Chaplin and his doppelganger. They attempt to imitate each others movements, but never quite pull off the timing. The fact that the actors are noticeably different sizes doesn't help.
All in all, I enjoyed this one. I know I have not gotten to the Chaplin classics yet, so I'm looking forward to how he grows in the medium. Definitely worth a watch (and is less than 20 minutes).
Watched on YouTube as Part 1 and Part 2
Photo from Seattle International Film Festival
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