Long before he became a smash on the silver screen, Charlie Chaplin had been making a splash in music hall comedy, where he honed his craft and began to discover his comic persona. A Night in the Show is one of the few Chaplin pictures to directly reference those theatrical beginnings, borrowing heavily from the Fred Karno sketch "Mummingbirds", with a sprinkling of Chaplin's own touches.
Appropriately enough, this is also a rare outing for Chaplin's aristocratic drunk act, which predates his little tramp, having originated in his days with the Karno troupe. While not as versatile or sympathetic as the tramp, the drunk could nevertheless be just as funny. With Chaplin's refined directorial style, he makes the most of the character's antics, allowing him to bumble about in a series of long takes. He is joined by "Mr Rowdy", also played by Chaplin, a character I have not seen anywhere else, but who bares a slight resemblance to the screen persona of Ben Turpin, who made a few appearances for Chaplin in earlier Essanay shorts. Mr Rowdy isn't exactly hilarious, although he allows for some interplay between the two Chaplins, as we see the drink Rowdy pours from the gallery landing on the drunk in the stalls in two separate shots, which is a kind of cinematic joke in itself – and one thing Chaplin couldn't have done on stage.
In fact, this whole piece seems to be Chaplin showing off the advantages of screen over stage. Although in the Karno sketch the drunk would be planted in the audience, right by the stage as we see him here, it did not involve the audience any further. In the medium of film, Chaplin can make as many gags as he wants among the on screen audience. In the most bizarre bit of nose-thumbing, there is even a Georges Melies moment, when the demonic fire-eater "appears" on stage with a stop-trick. It is, in many ways, one of the most intelligent shorts Chaplin made at Essanay. And yet, sadly it isn't very funny. It doesn't have the sense of cohesion or build up of gags that we would expect from a Chaplin short by this point.
But there's still time for the all-important statistic - Number of kicks up the arse: 1 (1 for)
Appropriately enough, this is also a rare outing for Chaplin's aristocratic drunk act, which predates his little tramp, having originated in his days with the Karno troupe. While not as versatile or sympathetic as the tramp, the drunk could nevertheless be just as funny. With Chaplin's refined directorial style, he makes the most of the character's antics, allowing him to bumble about in a series of long takes. He is joined by "Mr Rowdy", also played by Chaplin, a character I have not seen anywhere else, but who bares a slight resemblance to the screen persona of Ben Turpin, who made a few appearances for Chaplin in earlier Essanay shorts. Mr Rowdy isn't exactly hilarious, although he allows for some interplay between the two Chaplins, as we see the drink Rowdy pours from the gallery landing on the drunk in the stalls in two separate shots, which is a kind of cinematic joke in itself – and one thing Chaplin couldn't have done on stage.
In fact, this whole piece seems to be Chaplin showing off the advantages of screen over stage. Although in the Karno sketch the drunk would be planted in the audience, right by the stage as we see him here, it did not involve the audience any further. In the medium of film, Chaplin can make as many gags as he wants among the on screen audience. In the most bizarre bit of nose-thumbing, there is even a Georges Melies moment, when the demonic fire-eater "appears" on stage with a stop-trick. It is, in many ways, one of the most intelligent shorts Chaplin made at Essanay. And yet, sadly it isn't very funny. It doesn't have the sense of cohesion or build up of gags that we would expect from a Chaplin short by this point.
But there's still time for the all-important statistic - Number of kicks up the arse: 1 (1 for)