Short Forms in Film
$1.95
film studies
presentation
published 04/12/2007
review : Completed
level : General public
requested 3 times
Charlie Chaplins The Immigrant (1917) is a slapstick comedy that also addresses social issues. The film has a simple plot with four main characters, one of them Charlie Chaplin. He plays a penniless foreigner who wins money from playing cards on a ship to America. He then meets Edna Purviances character, who is another penniless immigrant. Out of sympathy, Chaplin decides to slip the money into her pocket, but later gets accused of being a thief after the money disappears. Purviance clears his name, and they arrive in America. Chaplin ends up roaming the streets of New York alone, poor and hungry. He comes across a coin on the sidewalk and decides to buy himself a meal. Little does he know that he has a hole in his pocket, which the coin falls through. After running into Purviance at the restaurant, Chaplin orders a meal for both of them. When he realizes that he no longer has the coin, he performs a series of comedic acts in order to distract the server from giving him the bill. As luck would have it, a famous artist comes by and Chaplin manages to get him to indirectly pay for their meal. The 20-minute film ends in Chaplin convincing Purviance to marry him.
Table of Contents
- Charlie Chaplin's The Immigrant.
- The boat scene.
- The second half of the film.
- Charlie Chaplin's films were mainly for the working-class audience.
