Reel Life (1916-1917)

East)) Street" m, w/acft My C/tayle? Spencay Cftaplin chef considerable ASY STREET,” the ^ latest Chaplin-Mutual comedy, to be released February 5, cost as J much per foot of negative as the re¬ ported cost of “In¬ tolerance.” Of course, “Easy Street,” is not so popular nor so fashionable a thor¬ oughfare as was Belshazzar Avenue. Babylon, but the people of “Easy Street” are a busy lot and, withal, expensive to do business with. “Easy Street” is a far more pre¬ tentious ’production than any pre¬ vious Chaplin offering has been, being one of those studio rarities — a Chaplin pet. To put it plainly Chap¬ lin himself was so obsessed with the merits of “Easy Street” from its first rehearsal, that he wouldn’t release it until it was up to his standard of ex¬ cellence. “Easy Street” has taken three weeks longer to produce than does the average Chaplin comedy, Mr. Chaplin’s determination to have everything just right causing the de¬ lay, which appears to have been justified, because critics who have followed Chaplin from his begin¬ nings on the screen insist that this is the best thing he has done. Just how it is possible to get hit on the head with a redhot stove tossed from a third story window, and still survive, is one of the amaz¬ ing problems developed in “Easy Street.” Chaplin’s adventures as “The Sparrow Cop,” who dons police¬ man’s uniform to protect pretty Edna Purviance, organist of “Easy Street” mission, from insult by “Bully” Campbell, are excruciat¬ ingly funny. Campbell is six feet four inches high and Charlie is five feet four. Campbell is twenty-eight inches across the shoulders, has a fist like a York ham, an arm like a leg, a leg like Caesar’s column and a head so hard that twenty-two policemen belting it with clubs can’t even make a dent. The sight of Chaplin in police uni¬ form, swinging his club with un¬ utterable swagger, suddenly con¬ fronted with this tremendous bully “THE FLOORWALKER” In which Charlie obtains a job in a department store and immediately thereupon begins to make things hum, especially the wax dummies. “THE FIREMAN” Charlie joins the fire department and through his heroism wins the hand of the fair Edna. “THE VAGABOND” Our friend Chaplin becomes a “knight of the road.’’ Of course he meets a fascinating country girl. “ONE A. M.” At One A. M. Charlie comes home much inebriated and sets out to get acquainted with the slippery floors and stuffed animals in his home. “THE COUNT” From tailor’s assistant to a count and one who manages to get a wonderful of the slums who is bent on his an¬ nihilation, bespeaks action, and ac¬ tion there is without delay. Chaplin gets behind Campbell and whales him eight times over the head with his club, but the giant doesn’t even know he has been touched. feed and make love to a beautiful girl is the gamut run by the inimitable Charlie in this production. “THE PAWNSHOP” We discover Charlie as a clerk in the pawnbroker’s shop, who captures some daring thieves and partakes of some of Edna’s cooking. “BEHIND THE SCREEN” A glimpse into the life of the assist¬ ant director of a motion picture com¬ pany. Charlie upsets all of the “sets” and the attractive Edna dons overalls and helps him. “THE RINK” Charlie proves his ability as a champion roller skater and cuts quite a figure in the rink. “EASY STREET” The funniest of them all. Chaplin appears as a policeman for the first time in his career. REEL LIFE — Page Four