In 1914 Chaplin appeared in 34 shorts and the first ever feature length comedy for the Keystone Studios. While there's a notable step up when he takes over directing himself (in particular, the literary The Face on the Barroom Floor), the majority of them are generally pretty awful affairs, full of kicks up backsides and falling into rivers, with precious little else. In fact, many of the earliest ones resemble family home movies of today, with the stars encouraged to ad lib in random locations with no script at all.
What's interesting is that at least half a dozen, possibly more, feature Chaplin out of character (sometimes he'll appear as the Tramp, but married, or with a steady job, so it's questionable). In this final short for the Keystone Studios he does appear in character though as a prehistoric version of The Tramp.
A bizarre idea that Laurel and Hardy would adopt thirteen years later for Flying Elephants (though not as monolithic versions of their regular personas, as here) the "cave man comedy" niche isn't really one that works as well as you might expect. There are some nice lines of subtext/innuendo ('A thousand wives for every man? I wish I had brought a bigger club.') and, as usual, Chaplin's work is significantly above that of the usual Keystone fare. Just watching some of the turgid shorts from this period (His Favourite Pastime/The Fatal Mallet et al) helps to get in perspective just how revolutionary Chaplin was in terms of plot, scale and ambition.
That said, he's still hampered by the Studio line, and even taking into account the improved technical range with Chaplin's hand on the reigns, only around ten of the Keystone movies are above average. There's a reason why film historians always talk about the sentimental, everyman version of the tramp character, and neglect to talk about the spiteful, woman-beating, cigarette-smoking version found in these films. It's the same reason why people refer to The Kid as being Chaplin's first feature, whereas Tillie's Punctured Romance admittedly the last film where Chaplin didn't write or direct, but instead just acted has a longer duration. The films Chaplin did for Mack Sennett under the studio, are, simply, good for historical value only, but offer little worth in terms of entertainment or artistry. His Prehistoric Past is an average and forgettable short that presages his immediate move to the Essanay Studios.
What's interesting is that at least half a dozen, possibly more, feature Chaplin out of character (sometimes he'll appear as the Tramp, but married, or with a steady job, so it's questionable). In this final short for the Keystone Studios he does appear in character though as a prehistoric version of The Tramp.
A bizarre idea that Laurel and Hardy would adopt thirteen years later for Flying Elephants (though not as monolithic versions of their regular personas, as here) the "cave man comedy" niche isn't really one that works as well as you might expect. There are some nice lines of subtext/innuendo ('A thousand wives for every man? I wish I had brought a bigger club.') and, as usual, Chaplin's work is significantly above that of the usual Keystone fare. Just watching some of the turgid shorts from this period (His Favourite Pastime/The Fatal Mallet et al) helps to get in perspective just how revolutionary Chaplin was in terms of plot, scale and ambition.
That said, he's still hampered by the Studio line, and even taking into account the improved technical range with Chaplin's hand on the reigns, only around ten of the Keystone movies are above average. There's a reason why film historians always talk about the sentimental, everyman version of the tramp character, and neglect to talk about the spiteful, woman-beating, cigarette-smoking version found in these films. It's the same reason why people refer to The Kid as being Chaplin's first feature, whereas Tillie's Punctured Romance admittedly the last film where Chaplin didn't write or direct, but instead just acted has a longer duration. The films Chaplin did for Mack Sennett under the studio, are, simply, good for historical value only, but offer little worth in terms of entertainment or artistry. His Prehistoric Past is an average and forgettable short that presages his immediate move to the Essanay Studios.
