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Essanay — the transitional period 53
to the ground, bends over her, kisses her, stabs himself, and falls dead over her prostrate form. But when the toreador enters and discovers them, Charlie's rear end suddenly revives: a spasmodic kick sends the toreador out of the scene, and the "dead" couple spring to life. In a final closeup Charlie mockingly demonstrates that the murder dagger is a fake — a collapsing toy.
Unfortunately "Carmen" was tampered with after Chaplin left Essanay, as was "Police," which he made about the same time. Chaplin had intended to release "Carmen" in December 1915 as a two-reeler. But the company, which he had left in the meantime, used discarded material and added new scenes to pad it into a four-reeler, which was released on April 22, 1916. A sub-plot, using Ben Turpin in scenes with the gypsies, was shot, independently of the main story, and was crosscut with the original film, Chaplin and Turpin never meeting. Most audiences, consequently, found "Carmen" repetitious, monotonous, and somewhat confusing, especially when the star was absent. Justifiably Chaplin sued Essanay for tampering with the film.
A new note, irony, makes its appearance in the Essanay films. It is marked in "Police" which begins with Charlie's release from prison ("Once again the cruel, cruel world"). He meets a reformer, who pleads, "Let me help you go straight." Charlie, overcome, wipes his streaming eyes on the reformer's beard as the latter looks heavenward. Later, when Charlie sees a drunkard leaning against a telephone pole with a watch dangling from his vest pocket, he remembers the reformer's words and resists the temptation, only to see the watch gone after the reformer has stopped to deliver a temperance lecture. Needless to say Charlie resists all subsequent "reformers."
Later he meets an old cell-mate and agrees to team up with him in a robbery. But they are discovered by a pretty girl who offers them food and tries to persuade