This is one of a dozen short films Chaplin made for Mutual Studios. And, from the few I saw, it seems to be one of the better ones.
Charlie is aboard a boat headed for America with other fellow immigrants. The boat's rocking, however funny it was intended, it way overdone--the sea is pretty calm but the boat is rocking like an amusement park ride. Considering Chaplin's eye for details it's surprising he did this (he repeated this in a later short, A DAY'S PLEASURE)--and it was obvious in the outdoor scenes where the horizon AND the ship rocked back and forth!
Well, on board the boat he meets and falls for a sweet lady. When he arrives in America, he looks for her to no avail. Well, he's also very hungry and finds a silver dollar, so he'll have to look for her later. And, guess who's inside the restaurant? Yep, the girl. Well, the problem is, the dollar falls out of his pants and after they finish he finds he doesn't have the money to pay--and then, before the waiter discovers this, Chaplin watches ALL the waiters pummeling a man because he was a dime short on his bill!! How he and his girl extricate themselves is something you'll have to see for yourself. It's a nice little film--fun from start to finish--with lots of great touches and laughs.
FYI--For major fans of this film, you must see the British documentary series "Unknown Chaplin" as it dissects this particular movie and shows how it was shot in a very convoluted manner. Literally, a few scenes were shot and re-shot and re-shot and only later were the premise and title of the movie created! A strange way of making films, but it worked so well here.
Charlie is aboard a boat headed for America with other fellow immigrants. The boat's rocking, however funny it was intended, it way overdone--the sea is pretty calm but the boat is rocking like an amusement park ride. Considering Chaplin's eye for details it's surprising he did this (he repeated this in a later short, A DAY'S PLEASURE)--and it was obvious in the outdoor scenes where the horizon AND the ship rocked back and forth!
Well, on board the boat he meets and falls for a sweet lady. When he arrives in America, he looks for her to no avail. Well, he's also very hungry and finds a silver dollar, so he'll have to look for her later. And, guess who's inside the restaurant? Yep, the girl. Well, the problem is, the dollar falls out of his pants and after they finish he finds he doesn't have the money to pay--and then, before the waiter discovers this, Chaplin watches ALL the waiters pummeling a man because he was a dime short on his bill!! How he and his girl extricate themselves is something you'll have to see for yourself. It's a nice little film--fun from start to finish--with lots of great touches and laughs.
FYI--For major fans of this film, you must see the British documentary series "Unknown Chaplin" as it dissects this particular movie and shows how it was shot in a very convoluted manner. Literally, a few scenes were shot and re-shot and re-shot and only later were the premise and title of the movie created! A strange way of making films, but it worked so well here.