Most of the 35 movies Chaplin made at the beginning of his career in 1914 were pretty dreadful with a few glimpses of comedy. That's because Chaplin's lovable persona hadn't fully been developed as well as the slapped together way they made the films. Instead of planning the films, they had just the broadest of outlines or story ideas and just improvised it--sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Most of the time, the comedy stalled and actors often stood around trying to be funny by bonking or kicking each other. Some die-hard Chaplin fans adore and revere these films, while Chaplin himself didn't like this style and left Keystone in order to make rehearsed and well-plotted films.
Despite the overall dreadfulness of these Keystone films, by mid-1915 he was probably the biggest star in the world and the films finally began to improve dramatically. Of all the 1914 films, HIS TRYSTING PLACE stands out as the best because it actually appears to have a complete script and plenty of laughs. While towards the beginning there is an over-reliance on slapstick as opposed to plot (in the restaurant scene), the rest of the film sticks to the plot quite well and really delivers a punch.
Charlie is married and has a young son. Mack Swain is a newlywed and seems very happily married. At the same time, another woman has written a letter to her boyfriend asking that they meet in the park to neck (kiss). As Mack is leaving his apartment, this lady asks him to mail this letter. But instead of immediately mailing the letter, he stops at a restaurant where he meets up with Charlie and they begin to fight for no particular reason. In the confusion, they accidentally take each other's coat. Chaplin has no idea there's a love letter inside and Swain has no idea there's a baby bottle in the pocket of the other coat. When they return home, Chaplin's adoring wife (Mabel Normand) finds the letter and thinks Charlie is cheating on her. While I am not always a huge fan of extreme slapstick, watching her slap him silly is pretty funny. She then chases him into the park where Mack and his wife are sitting on a bench. Mack hears Charlie's screams and goes to help--during which time his wife finds the baby bottle in his coat. Soon, all four of them are slapping each other around until they realize that the coats were switched. Everything seems perfect...until Mack's wife finds the letter and thinks it's for him! About the only negatives about this cute and funny short are the quality of the existing print (it's very dark and needs restoration) as well as the prop baby. Again and again, Mabel and Charlie toss the baby around or hold it by the throat while they are arguing! It's obvious that they forgot the wrapped up bundle was supposed to be a baby and they should have probably re-shot a couple scenes (though Keystone hardly ever re-shot anything). Still, despite these two minor problems, it's a great comedy and one of the best of the 1910s.
Despite the overall dreadfulness of these Keystone films, by mid-1915 he was probably the biggest star in the world and the films finally began to improve dramatically. Of all the 1914 films, HIS TRYSTING PLACE stands out as the best because it actually appears to have a complete script and plenty of laughs. While towards the beginning there is an over-reliance on slapstick as opposed to plot (in the restaurant scene), the rest of the film sticks to the plot quite well and really delivers a punch.
Charlie is married and has a young son. Mack Swain is a newlywed and seems very happily married. At the same time, another woman has written a letter to her boyfriend asking that they meet in the park to neck (kiss). As Mack is leaving his apartment, this lady asks him to mail this letter. But instead of immediately mailing the letter, he stops at a restaurant where he meets up with Charlie and they begin to fight for no particular reason. In the confusion, they accidentally take each other's coat. Chaplin has no idea there's a love letter inside and Swain has no idea there's a baby bottle in the pocket of the other coat. When they return home, Chaplin's adoring wife (Mabel Normand) finds the letter and thinks Charlie is cheating on her. While I am not always a huge fan of extreme slapstick, watching her slap him silly is pretty funny. She then chases him into the park where Mack and his wife are sitting on a bench. Mack hears Charlie's screams and goes to help--during which time his wife finds the baby bottle in his coat. Soon, all four of them are slapping each other around until they realize that the coats were switched. Everything seems perfect...until Mack's wife finds the letter and thinks it's for him! About the only negatives about this cute and funny short are the quality of the existing print (it's very dark and needs restoration) as well as the prop baby. Again and again, Mabel and Charlie toss the baby around or hold it by the throat while they are arguing! It's obvious that they forgot the wrapped up bundle was supposed to be a baby and they should have probably re-shot a couple scenes (though Keystone hardly ever re-shot anything). Still, despite these two minor problems, it's a great comedy and one of the best of the 1910s.