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Behind the Screen (1916)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
13 November 1916 (USA) morePlot:
Charlie is an overworked labourer at a film studio who helps a young woman find work even while his coworkers strike against his tyrannical boss. full summary | add synopsisUser Comments:
Excellent Short - Plenty of Good Slapstick, & Much More moreCast
(Complete credited cast) | Eric Campbell | ... | Goliath (a stagehand) |
 | Charles Chaplin | ... | David (Goliath's assistant) |
| Edna Purviance | ... | The girl |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
15 min | Argentina:30 min | Germany:24 min (restored version)Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 moreSound Mix:
SilentFilming Locations:
Lone Star Studio - 1751 Glendale Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USAFun Stuff
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"Behind the Screen" is an excellent Charlie Chaplin short feature, with plenty of good slapstick and much more. The setting, with Charlie working as a hired hand in a movie-making operation, lends itself to a lot of good comedy, and there are plenty of standard gags plus a lot of material that creatively uses the props and situations of the setting. It also works very well as a self-satire of the industry (as suggested by the title), making some subtle and other not so subtle points. Finally, there is some nice interplay between Charlie's character and his superiors, especially his burly, brutish immediate supervisor, played by Eric Campbell, an amusing actor who was one of Chaplin's best supporting players.
Most of these earlier Chaplin films (referring to 1914-1916, the years when he made the majority of his short features, making ten or more each year) do not get very high ratings. It's true that some of them are mostly routine slapstick, but there are also a few gems like this one that combine slapstick with substance. Most of the movies from these years can be rather hard to watch, because the film often survives in poor condition, and so it's understandable that even the best ones might not always stand out as clearly from the rest. But this one is a fine film, and definitely recommended for Chaplin fans.