Charley Chaplin's half-brother, Syd, who stars in this movie, had a considerable movie career on his own, although he was never too busy to help his brother negotiate a better contract. Like Charley, Syd was known to chase the ladies and his career was cut short when he had to leave the country when a young woman objected. Looking at this movie in which Syd -- or "Gussle" as his character was known -- is too fond of the ladies for his own good, brings that thought to mind.
You can tell Syd is Charley's relative right from the beginning. Whether it's because they are related, because they both worked in Fred Karno's pantomime troupe or because Syd was intended purely as a replacement for his brother, they move alike and do the same "interrupted line" gags.
This one is set in a department store, a natural site for a comedy, since the comics can exhaust the potential of one department and move on to the next. Much of it is set in the shoe department, a popular location for men to flirt with young ladies since Porter's THE GAY SHOE CLERK a dozen years earlier.
A LOVER'S LOST CONTROL is not a great Keystone comedy. By 1915 the studio had learned its business, figured out precisely what its audience wanted and knew how to give it to them via half a dozen plots stringing together the gags. However, in the hands of the highly skilled cast and crew, there are plenty of laughs for people who like their slapstick. It's certainly more than good enough.
You can tell Syd is Charley's relative right from the beginning. Whether it's because they are related, because they both worked in Fred Karno's pantomime troupe or because Syd was intended purely as a replacement for his brother, they move alike and do the same "interrupted line" gags.
This one is set in a department store, a natural site for a comedy, since the comics can exhaust the potential of one department and move on to the next. Much of it is set in the shoe department, a popular location for men to flirt with young ladies since Porter's THE GAY SHOE CLERK a dozen years earlier.
A LOVER'S LOST CONTROL is not a great Keystone comedy. By 1915 the studio had learned its business, figured out precisely what its audience wanted and knew how to give it to them via half a dozen plots stringing together the gags. However, in the hands of the highly skilled cast and crew, there are plenty of laughs for people who like their slapstick. It's certainly more than good enough.