Police (1916)

Charles Chaplin, a convict, is given $5.00 and released from prison after having served his term. He meets a man of the church who makes him weep for his sins and while he is weeping takes ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Chaplin (uncredited)

Writer:

Charles Chaplin

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Wesley Ruggles

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Convict 999 Alias Charlie
Edna Purviance	...	The Girl
Wesley Ruggles	...	The Crook
John Rand	...	The Cop
Billy Armstrong	...	The Miser

Storyline

Charles Chaplin, a convict, is given $5.00 and released from prison after having served his term. He meets a man of the church who makes him weep for his sins and while he is weeping takes the $5.00 away from him. Chaplin goes to a fruit stand and samples the fruit. When he goes to pay for it he finds his $5.00 is missing. This results in a battle with the fruit dealer, but Chaplin finally escapes. He is held up by a footpad and finds it is his former cellmate. He is inveigled into joining him in robbing a house. They put a police officer out of commission with a mallet and stack up the silverware. They then start upstairs to search the upper rooms, but are met by a young woman who implores them to leave because her mother is ill and fears the shock will kill her. Chaplin's heart is touched but the footpad insists on ransacking the house. This results in a battle between the footpad and Chaplin. While they are fighting, a squad of police arrives. The footpad makes his escape, but the ...

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Plot Keywords:

police | piano | telephone | alarm clock | caught in the act | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1916 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charlie in the Police

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

34 min 25 min 38 min (Ontario) 17 min (1952 dubbed)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was restored in 2014 through the Chaplin Essanay Project.

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Alternate Versions

In 1952 in Spain was released a dubbed version cut to 17 minutes.

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Connections

Version of The Chaplin Puzzle (1992)

User Reviews

A Rather Uneven Short Comedy

Charlie Chaplin's "Police" is rather uneven, as are so many of his Essanay features, although it does have a few good parts. In one respect, it's somewhat like his later movies, in that on a number of occasions some social commentary is obviously intended. But such ideas are not expressed nearly so well here as they would be in Chaplin's later, better-remembered films. Here, in fact, it is just these parts that usually slow things down. In this movie, at least, the slapstick generally works a little better than do the attempts to say something.

In "Police", Chaplin plays a just-released convict, who gets involved with police officers, street preachers, and a variety of other characters as he tries to figure out what to do with himself. Some of his predicaments are good for some laughs, while others really do not come off. It's worth seeing, but there are many other Chaplin comedies, even from his early years, that are more satisfying. His efforts to combine social commentary with slapstick seemed to work much better later, when he not only had more experience, but also had complete control over his projects.