In WWI, Bert Chester is in the British Secret Service and working the British lines alongside the lowly soldiers. Pvt. William 'Old Bill' Busby (Syd Chaplin) is the beloved 30 years veteran of the service. He's a comedic everyman who won't be rising up the ranks any time soon.
I don't know anything about Syd Chaplin. Apparently, he's the older half-brother of Charlie Chaplin and had his own movie career during the silent era. The brothers were very close. One can certainly see similar mannerisms. Syd is a chunkier and older version of his famous brother. That works comedically. I'm actually surprised that he didn't get more play as the Tramp's friend or family. He would fit very nicely as a carnival mirror image of the iconic character. Maybe he's a little too close for comedic purposes. They would step on each other comedically. In this movie, he's a rougher version of the Tramp. I really like this character. He's fun. As for the movie, it runs a bit longer than I expected. It's full-length like a modern film. It runs out of steam. The horse bit goes on too long. I like my silent films a lot shorter unless they are involved stories. I'm not that involved with this story.
I don't know anything about Syd Chaplin. Apparently, he's the older half-brother of Charlie Chaplin and had his own movie career during the silent era. The brothers were very close. One can certainly see similar mannerisms. Syd is a chunkier and older version of his famous brother. That works comedically. I'm actually surprised that he didn't get more play as the Tramp's friend or family. He would fit very nicely as a carnival mirror image of the iconic character. Maybe he's a little too close for comedic purposes. They would step on each other comedically. In this movie, he's a rougher version of the Tramp. I really like this character. He's fun. As for the movie, it runs a bit longer than I expected. It's full-length like a modern film. It runs out of steam. The horse bit goes on too long. I like my silent films a lot shorter unless they are involved stories. I'm not that involved with this story.