The poem of the same name that this film was based on was very popular and much better known at the time than it is now, and the film benefits from having read it; as with most parodies of specific works, there is at least a layer of enjoyment that depends upon knowledge of the original work, so one can appreciate what has remained intact and what has been changed - and how. Because of this, this isn't as much a stand-alone piece of work as most of the other Keystone Chaplins.
One gag I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews, that still works if one remembers how risqué and erotically charged it would have been in historical context, is when we see Artist Charlie in flashback apparently draw a model's curvy backside.
The copy I saw was missing the numerous "lengthy titles" (apparently altered versions of extracts of the poem) referred to in David Robinson's book. But I must mention that Charlie's pants in this film are spectacularly baggy! This isn't one of his funniest films by a long shot, but familiarity with the poem DOES make it funnier.
One gag I haven't seen mentioned in other reviews, that still works if one remembers how risqué and erotically charged it would have been in historical context, is when we see Artist Charlie in flashback apparently draw a model's curvy backside.
The copy I saw was missing the numerous "lengthy titles" (apparently altered versions of extracts of the poem) referred to in David Robinson's book. But I must mention that Charlie's pants in this film are spectacularly baggy! This isn't one of his funniest films by a long shot, but familiarity with the poem DOES make it funnier.