The Vagabond (1916)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writers:

Vincent Bryan (writer)
Charles Chaplin (writer)

Release Date:

10 July 1916 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

After passing the hat and taking the donations intended for German street musicians Charlie heads for the country...

Plot Keywords:

Gypsy | Gypsy Girl | Violinist | Painter | Kidnapping

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Street Musician
Edna Purviance	...	Girl Stolen by Gypsies
Eric Campbell	...	Gypsy Chieftain
Leo White	...	Old Jew / Gypsy Woman
Lloyd Bacon	...	Artist
Charlotte Mineau	...	Girl's Mother
Albert Austin	...	Trombonist
John Rand	...	Trumpeter, Band Leader
James T. Kelley	...	Gypsy and Musician
Frank J. Coleman	...	Gypsy and Musician

Also Known As:

Gipsy Life (USA)

Runtime:

Argentina:34 min | Germany:24 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:G | Argentina:Atp | Spain:T | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Lone Star Studio - 1751 Glendale Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lone Star Corporation

Goofs:

Continuity: The musician loses his hat outside the bar, is seen inside wearing it, then picks it up where he lost it when he leaves. When he escapes from the gypsy, he is hatless at first, but the next shot shows the hat suddenly back in place.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Chaplin Today: The Circus (2003) (TV)

More aspiration than comedy

A pathetic fiddler tries to scrape a living together playing on the street and in bars. He chances upon a gypsy camp where he plays for a pretty young girl. However her father beats her savagely and the tramp helps her escape. When the pair happen upon a painter, events are set in motion to reveal the girl's true parentage.

One of Chaplin's Mutual short films this shows him still developing the kindly tramp personae on film. As a result the humour is not yet fully developed although we do get one funny scene of people being hit over the head etc. The plot is as basic as above and is typical of the day - audiences wanted to see the poor people suddenly being elevated to better things, no matter what the device. However from modern views I wanted Chaplin to be funnier and the message to be toned down or at least be more realistic.

Overall this will please fans of Chaplin and I think it is one of the first films he directed himself. The cast are good and it's always nice to see the little tramp act done well. However more routines and less aspiration would have been better.