His Favorite Pastime (1914)

Director:

George Nichols

Writer:

Craig Hutchinson (writer)

Release Date:

16 March 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

A very plastered fella follows a pretty woman home, and proceeds to make a nuisance of himself.

Plot Keywords:

Public Domain

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Drunken masher
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle	...	Shabby drunk
Viola Barry	...	Beautiful Lady (as Peggy Pearce)

Also Known As:

Charlie Is Thirsty (USA)
Charlie's Reckless Fling (USA)
The Bonehead
The Reckless Fling (USA)

Runtime:

16 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

Keystone Film Company

Very early Chaplin, and a pretty sorry piece of work

Just as Babe Ruth struck out now and then, and George Gershwin hit the occasional sour note, Charlie Chaplin made a few comedies during his apprenticeship at Keystone that don't hold up all that well. In the better efforts we can detect a great talent struggling to emerge from the chaos, and there are good moments scattered about, while a couple of them (I'm thinking of THE NEW JANITOR and CAUGHT IN A CABARET) are quite satisfying: nicely constructed little stories with funny gags. Nonetheless, several of the Keystones-- and I say this as a lifelong Chaplin fan --are a chore to sit through. Too many of them are burdened with an overload of silly histrionics and slapstick violence, and those good moments are hard to find.

Well, the good moments are scarce indeed in HIS FAVORITE PASTIME. Part of the problem is that Chaplin's character is so obnoxious here; he looks like the later "Charlie" but he sure doesn't act like him. The bulk of this film is set in a pub, and once Charlie's had a few drinks he proves to be a mean drunk. There's some vigorous slapstick violence involving a swinging door, but the routine lacks the finesse Chaplin would bring to such business later on, in far better comedies such as THE CURE. Additionally, in his later work the characters taking the brunt of the violence usually deserved it. Here, by contrast, when an inoffensive washroom attendant holds out his hand for a tip, Charlie drops in a lighted match instead of a coin and burns the man's hand. Ouch! If that strikes you as funny, you might enjoy this film. Later, thoroughly blotto, Charlie follows a pretty woman home, walks right into her house, and makes a pass at her. Actually, on his first attempt, he accidentally makes the pass at her 'colored' maid (obviously a white actress in black-face), and is horrified when he realizes his mistake --a very unusual racial gag in Chaplin's work, and another strike against the movie. Really the only worthwhile moment here is a nice demonstration of physical dexterity, when Charlie falls over a banister, lands on a sofa, and then casually lights a cigarette.

There are a couple points of minor interest in HIS FAVORITE PASTIME concerning the cast: the opening sequence in the saloon features Chaplin's Keystone colleague Roscoe Arbuckle, so heavily disguised as a shabby drunk that he's barely recognizable. Where laughs are concerned nothing much comes of the scene, but it's interesting to note Arbuckle's resemblance to Orson Welles in his grizzled makeup for TOUCH OF EVIL, made many years later. Also, the society lady Charlie follows home is played by an actress variously known as Peggy Pearce and Viola Barry, who reportedly was romantically involved with Chaplin for a brief time during his stint at Keystone. She isn't given much to do in this film, but can be seen to better advantage opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's Biograph drama THE MOTHERING HEART.