The Fireman (1916)

Charlie 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 ... See full summary »

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Eric Campbell, Edna Purviance

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	The Fireman
Eric Campbell	...	His Chief
Edna Purviance	...	The Chief's Sweetheart

Storyline

Charlie 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.

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Plot Keywords:

wall crawling | melodrama | kicked in the butt | insurance fraud | arson | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 June 1916 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Gallant Fireman

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lone Star Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

24 min 24 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film shows some early day street scenes in the surrounding Los Angeles area.

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Connections

Featured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)

User Reviews

Charlie The Fireman

"The Firemen," the second of Chaplin's golden dozen of comedies for the Mutual Company, is probably my least favorite of the bunch. It is a typical occupational comedy, where a comedian is placed in a certain job and wrings the comic potential from the various tools of the trade. It's not a terrible film by any stretch of the imagination. There certainly are laughs, and Chaplin does milk some simple gags, like the incessant butt-kicking, a little more successfully than he did at Keystone or Essanay. (For example, in a Keystone comedy, if someone bent over, someone else would automatically kick them in the butt. Here, if you bend over you will still get kicked, but Chaplin makes a little more of it. He will consider the butt, address it as it were, before he makes his kick. It is a small step to be sure, but every step is important.) Chaplin also attempts stretch a little technically with some backward motion gags, but they are obvious and not very funny. Overall, the film suffers because it does not reach the standard Chaplin would set for himself with his later efforts.