Charlie Chaplin: from best to worst
I have not watched all his short movies. Other films will be included to this list as I watch them.
Other characters played by Chaplin besides the tramp:
Adenoid Hynkel (The great dictator)
Jewish barber (The great dictator)
Calvero (Limelight)
Henri Verdoux (Monsieur Verdoux)
King Igor Shahdov (A king in New York)
Darn Hosiery (Burlesque on Carmen)
Upper-class drunkard (The idle class; The rounders; One A.M.; Mabel's strange predicament; and possibly Mabel's married life)
The middle class alcoholic (The cure)
An actor (the Tramp is a character of him!) (The masquerader)
The swindler (Making a living)
Professor Bosco (The professor)
Mr. Pest (A night in the show)
Mr. Rowdy (A night in the show)
Upper-class brawler Charlie with no mustache (Recreation)
The painter? (The Face on the Barroom Floor) - read the "P.S." below.
Jobs for the Tramp: Plant blue-collar (Modern Times), Construction Industry Worker (Pay Day), Gold Prospector (The Gold Rush), Boxer (City Lights; The Champion), Boxing Referee (The Knockout), Sailor (Shanghaied), Policeman (Easy Street), Fireman (The Fireman), Private (Shoulder Arms), Robber (Police), Street Musician (The Vagabond), Actor (His New Job), Circus Artist (The Circus), Theater Employee (The property man), Janitor (Triple-Trouble), Piano Mover (His Musical Career), Tailor's Assistant (The Count), Pawnbroker’s Assistant (The Pawnshop), Dentist's Assistant (Laughing Gas), Farmer (Dog's life and Sunnyside).
P.S.: As we see in The Face on the Barroom Floor (if we seek any continuity among the films, which are supposed to be independent to each other), we could interpret that the tramp had been previously a rich painter (although the tramp seems to be much more solitary), perhaps being the upper-class drunk man from other short movies. Though, it would hardly be the case, as he was clearly a working class man without etiquette knowledge, as it is clear in "The Count". Therefore, perhaps the painter (a character taken from a poem) is a different character both from the drunk rich guy, although he also has drunk a lot after losing his muse, and from the little tramp. Though, that drunk rich character may also be the Trump after the gold rush, which would happen after 1917 short film The immigrant. Therefore, some stories with the poor Trump would happen before his rich and drunk life, and others would happen afterwards.
Other characters played by Chaplin besides the tramp:
Adenoid Hynkel (The great dictator)
Jewish barber (The great dictator)
Calvero (Limelight)
Henri Verdoux (Monsieur Verdoux)
King Igor Shahdov (A king in New York)
Darn Hosiery (Burlesque on Carmen)
Upper-class drunkard (The idle class; The rounders; One A.M.; Mabel's strange predicament; and possibly Mabel's married life)
The middle class alcoholic (The cure)
An actor (the Tramp is a character of him!) (The masquerader)
The swindler (Making a living)
Professor Bosco (The professor)
Mr. Pest (A night in the show)
Mr. Rowdy (A night in the show)
Upper-class brawler Charlie with no mustache (Recreation)
The painter? (The Face on the Barroom Floor) - read the "P.S." below.
Jobs for the Tramp: Plant blue-collar (Modern Times), Construction Industry Worker (Pay Day), Gold Prospector (The Gold Rush), Boxer (City Lights; The Champion), Boxing Referee (The Knockout), Sailor (Shanghaied), Policeman (Easy Street), Fireman (The Fireman), Private (Shoulder Arms), Robber (Police), Street Musician (The Vagabond), Actor (His New Job), Circus Artist (The Circus), Theater Employee (The property man), Janitor (Triple-Trouble), Piano Mover (His Musical Career), Tailor's Assistant (The Count), Pawnbroker’s Assistant (The Pawnshop), Dentist's Assistant (Laughing Gas), Farmer (Dog's life and Sunnyside).
P.S.: As we see in The Face on the Barroom Floor (if we seek any continuity among the films, which are supposed to be independent to each other), we could interpret that the tramp had been previously a rich painter (although the tramp seems to be much more solitary), perhaps being the upper-class drunk man from other short movies. Though, it would hardly be the case, as he was clearly a working class man without etiquette knowledge, as it is clear in "The Count". Therefore, perhaps the painter (a character taken from a poem) is a different character both from the drunk rich guy, although he also has drunk a lot after losing his muse, and from the little tramp. Though, that drunk rich character may also be the Trump after the gold rush, which would happen after 1917 short film The immigrant. Therefore, some stories with the poor Trump would happen before his rich and drunk life, and others would happen afterwards.
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- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardHenry BergmanThe Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPaulette GoddardJack OakieDictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinVirginia CherrillFlorence LeeWith the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinClaire BloomNigel BruceA fading comedian and a suicidally despondent ballet dancer must look to each other to find purpose and hope in their lives.Possibly the best cinematography in Chaplin's films, with a brilliant usage of light.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMerna KennedyAl Ernest GarciaThe Tramp finds work and the girl of his dreams at a circus.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellA reformed tramp becomes a police constable who must fight a huge thug who dominates an inner-city street.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLF-aLPwfrg
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.There are many great moments. Though, they are sometimes confusingly connected in an irregular pace. It is obviously a quite nice film, but I don't think it is one of Chaplin's top feature-length movies.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsMarlon BrandoSophia LorenSydney ChaplinIn Hong Kong, an ambassador returning to America meets a Russian countess, a refugee without a passport, who decides to hide in his cabin.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMaxine AudleyJerry DesmondeA recently-deposed European monarch seeks shelter in New York City, where he becomes an accidental television celebrity and is later wrongly accused of being a Communist.https://youtu.be/eHplJrjx9TY
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceDave AndersonThe Little Tramp and his dog companion struggle to survive in the inner city.https://youtu.be/E44enI4900g
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellThe fifth film in the Mutual series Charlie Chaplin impersonates a man of means in order to underscore the contrast between rich and poor.https://youtu.be/DWl_9aM4oq0
- DirectorCharles ChaplinLeo WhiteStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceBen TurpinA gypsy seductress is sent to sway a goofy officer to allow a smuggling run.https://youtu.be/YXIRkXrLvH4
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceJackie CooganThe Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.https://youtu.be/-975mtgPzxQ
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleChester ConklinCharlie is an actor in a film studio. He messes up several scenes and is tossed out. Returning dressed as a lady, he charms the director. Even so, Charlie never makes it into film, winding up at the bottom of a well.https://youtu.be/NwKJuBeYFcE
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellCharlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.https://youtu.be/mlHr3ZrLOKU
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceOlive Ann AlcornCharlie works on a farm from 4am to late at night. He gets his food on the run (milking a cow into his coffee, holding an chicken over the frying pan to get fried eggs). He loves the neighbor's daughter Edna but is disliked by her father. He rides a cow into a stream and is kicked off. Unconscious, he dreams of a nymph dance. Back in reality a city slicker is hurt in a car crash and is being cared for by Edna. When Charlie is rejected after attempting to imitate the slicker, the result is ambiguous--either tragic or a happy ending. Critics have long argued as to whether the final scene is real or a dream.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceLloyd BaconCharlie is a fireman who always does everything wrong. A man talks the Fire Chief into ignoring his burning home (he wants the insurance money) unaware that his daughter (the love of the Chief) is upstairs in the house. When the house next door catches fire its owner rouses Charlie who rouses the force.https://youtu.be/kbk6tqbJmY4
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceSyd ChaplinCharlie is a boot camp private who has a dream of being a hero who goes on a daring mission behind enemy lines.
- DirectorDave FleischerStarsMax FleischerThe Inkwell Clown watches Max handle the payroll and wants to be paid like everybody else. Later, the cameraman Clown captures a burglary on film and helps Max catch the culprit.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceAlbert AustinThree Charlie Chaplin short films edited together with new connective tissue.Three silent short films (Dog's life, Shoulder arms, and The pilgrim) interconnected by tiny spoken documentaries, with Chaplin's songs.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceCharles AberA tramp sneaks into a upper class golf resort. The tramp meets a rich woman who is having an argument with her drunken husband. Complications arise when she mistakes the tramp for her husband.https://youtu.be/sXTPFy4qO00
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceSyd ChaplinDisguised as a priest, an escaped convict makes his way to Texas. He ends up in a small rural town where the townsfolk mistake him for their new church minister.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPhyllis AllenLloyd BaconMr. Pest tries several theatre seats before winding up in front in a fight with the conductor. He is thrown out. In the lobby he pushes a fat lady into a fountain and returns to sit down by Edna. Mr. Rowdy, in the gallery, pours beer down on Mr. Pest and Edna. He attacks patrons, a harem dancer, the singers Dot and Dash, and a fire-eater.https://youtu.be/Qnp1RM6ixq8
- DirectorHenry LehrmanStarsCharles ChaplinEmma CliftonChester ConklinAn out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a rival reporter's camera and races to the newspaper office to enter the photo as his own. His rival is delayed when he gets caught in a woman's bedroom by her jealous husband. The swindler follows the distribution of the paper containing his 'scoop' around town where he is once again chased by the rival reporter. Both end up on the cow-catcher of a streetcar.https://archive.org/details/CC_1914_02_02_MakingALiving
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellAn alcoholic checks into a health spa and his antics promptly throw the establishment into chaos.https://youtu.be/vKN1A_USaJA
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceWesley RugglesCharles Chaplin, a convict, is given $5.00 and released from prison after having served his term. He meets a man of the church who makes him weep for his sins and while he is weeping takes the $5.00 away from him. Chaplin goes to a fruit stand and samples the fruit. When he goes to pay for it he finds his $5.00 is missing. This results in a battle with the fruit dealer, but Chaplin finally escapes. He is held up by a footpad and finds it is his former cellmate. He is inveigled into joining him in robbing a house. They put a police officer out of commission with a mallet and stack up the silverware. They then start upstairs to search the upper rooms, but are met by a young woman who implores them to leave because her mother is ill and fears the shock will kill her. Chaplin's heart is touched but the footpad insists on ransacking the house. This results in a battle between the footpad and Chaplin. While they are fighting, a squad of police arrives. The footpad makes his escape, but the police capture Chaplin. The woman of the house, however, saves him by telling the police he is her husband. She gives him a dollar and he leaves. He goes to a lodging house and in order to save his dollar from thieves puts it in his mouth, swallowing it while he sleeps. A crook robs all the men in the lodging house but Chaplin takes the money away from him, and also the rings his "pal" had stolen. This starts a battle in which all join. Chaplin flees. In order to do a good turn to the woman who had saved him from the police, he takes her rings back.https://youtu.be/u0IU8uQniX8
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceEric CampbellCharlie, the emotional violinist, flees to a gipsy camp, only to find himself playing for an abducted girl. Soon, a unique birthmark will pave the way for an unexpected rescue and a marvellous new life. But, will she forget him so easily?https://youtu.be/L277pNm3Y4w
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainFritz SchadeCharlie and his partner are to deliver a piano to 666 Prospect St. and repossess one from 999 Prospect St. They confuse the addresses. The difficulties of delivering the piano by mule cart, and most of the specific gags, appeared later in Laurel and Hardy's "The Music Box".https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FWaT_dmfxo
- DirectorHenry LehrmanStarsCharles ChaplinHenry LehrmanGordon GriffithThe Tramp wanders into and disrupts the filming of a go-kart race.https://youtu.be/Pr7wOBgvmnM
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinAlbert AustinHenry BergmanProfessor Bosco, a poor flea trainer, rents a bed in a flophouse. Before going to bed, he rallies his troops and once he has made sure his beloved fleas are settled for the night, the professor prepares to sleep the sleep of the just man. Unfortunately he accidentally knocks the box off his bed and the fleas have the time of their lives pestering Bosco's neighbors. To get the escapees back in their box again, the trainer resorts to... his whip! All is back to normal one more time. But not for long, as a stray dog enters the flophouse and very unwisely opens the box, thus creating new havoc.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7Yrp-uPoWg
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainMay WallaceCharlie dreams he is in the Stone Age, where King Low-Brow rules a harem of wives. Charlie, in skins and a bowler, falls in love with the king's favorite wife, Sum-Babee. During a hunting trip the king is pushed over a cliff. Charlie proclaims himself king, but Ku-Ku discovers the real king alive. They return to find Charlie and Sum-Babee together.https://youtu.be/MgE8gfRD5q0
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinPhyllis AllenMack SwainA continuous exchange of meetings between husbands and wives of different couples in which a policeman intrudes in daring chase until both couples are found.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinBud JamisonGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonWalking along with his bulldog, Charlie finds a "good luck" horseshoe just as he passes a training camp advertising for a boxing partner "who can take a beating." After watching others lose, Charlie puts the horseshoe in his glove and wins. The trainer prepares Charlie to fight the world champion. A gambler wants Charlie to throw the fight. He and the trainer's daughter fall in love.https://youtu.be/Std2keLFwA0
- DirectorMack SennettStarsCharles ChaplinMabel NormandMack SwainAccosted by a masher in the park and unable to motivate husband Charlie into taking action, Mabel gets him a boxing mannequin to sharpen his fighting skills.https://youtu.be/NxOsdRRs0IE
- DirectorMabel NormandStarsMabel NormandCharles ChaplinChester ConklinIn a hotel lobby, an inebriated Charlie runs into an elegant lady, gets tied up in her dog's leash, and falls down. He later runs into her in the hotel corridor, locked out of her room. They run through various rooms. Mabel ends up in one, hiding under the bed of an elderly husband. Enter the jealous wife and Mabel's lover.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbucklePhyllis AllenTwo drunks live in the same hotel. One beats his wife, the other is beaten by his. They go off and get drunk together. They try to sleep in a restaurant using tables as beds and are thrown out. They lie down in a rowboat which fills with water, drowning them--a fate apparently better than going home to their wives.https://youtu.be/Cp02bbO4xVw
- DirectorCharles ChaplinLeo WhiteStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceBilly ArmstrongForeign agents try to steal a wireless explosive from an inventor. Only the clueless Little Tramp and the Keystone Cops can stop them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaSSD6ga1zw
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinCecile ArnoldJess DandyThe plot is a satire derived from Hugh Antoine D'Arcy's poem of the same title. The painter courts Madeleine but loses to the wealthy client who sits for his portrait. The despairing artist draws the girl's portrait on the barroom floor and gets tossed out. Years later he sees her, her husband and their horde of children. Unrecognized by her, Charlie shakes off his troubles and walks off into the future.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIAqWTXD2Ps
- DirectorMack SennettStarsRoscoe 'Fatty' ArbuckleEdgar KennedyCharles ChaplinTo show his girl how brave he is Fatty challenges the champion to a fight. Charlie referees, trying to avoid contact with the two monsters.https://youtu.be/oGUAOA0UNMo
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsEdna PurvianceClarence GeldertCarl MillerA kept woman runs into her former fiancé and finds herself torn between love and comfort.https://youtu.be/4cR65POYeAM
Cinematography is excellent, but what a bad and boring story! - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinFritz SchadeAlice HowellCharlie pretends to be a dentist though he is only his assistant. When a patient can't stop laughing from the anesthesia Charlie knocks him out with a club. He is sent to the drug store, gets in a fight with a man who (after a brick in the face) becomes another patient, and pulls the skirt off the dentist's wife (who is out walking). At one point Charlie pulls a tooth (the wrong one) using enormous pliers.https://youtu.be/DNQjiniaAyg
- DirectorHenry LehrmanStarsCharles ChaplinFord SterlingChester ConklinCharlie and another man compete in trying to help a young lady cross a muddy street. The rival finds a wooden plank which Charlie takes from him. They fight over an umbrella belonging to the rival. A policeman settles the dispute, ultimately arresting the rival. An innocent tramp is pushed into the lake.https://youtu.be/4qqmDiep3eY
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinCharles BennettHelen CarruthersCharlie is walking in the park. A girl leaves a seaman on one bench and joins Charlie on another. The seaman wakes up. He and Charlie stage a brick fight. Policemen get hit and arrest both men. During an ensuing fight on the dock the policemen, the seaman, Charlie and the girl wind up in the water.https://youtu.be/IOs_SagSh0M
- DirectorGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonStarsGilbert M. 'Broncho Billy' AndersonLee WillardMarguerite ClaytonAn unrepentant crook enters a dance hall and gets in a fight over a girl. As he, unknowingly, breaks into her house, another bloody mess stains the residence's thick carpets. Can a simple act of kindness pave the way for his regeneration?https://youtu.be/HVhfV3jfy9Y
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinEdna PurvianceAlbert AustinCharlie and friends illustrate various bonds in life and the most important, Liberty Bonds for the war...