The Immigrant (1917)

Charlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Immigrant
Edna Purviance	...	Immigrant
Eric Campbell	...	Head Waiter
Albert Austin	...	Russian / Restaurant diner
Henry Bergman	...	Artist
Kitty Bradbury	...	Edna's mother
Frank J. Coleman	...	Bearded cheating gambler / Restaurant owner
William Gillespie	...	Café violinist
Tom Harrington	...	Marriage registrar
James T. Kelley	...	Shabby man in restaurant
John Rand	...	Tipsy diner
Janet Sully	...	Passenger (as Janet Milly Sully)
Loyal Underwood	...	Pint-sized passenger
Tom Wilson	...	Gambler on ship

Storyline

Charlie is on his way to the USA. He wins in a card game, puts the money in Edna's bag (she and her sick mother have been robbed of everything). When he retrieves a little for himself he is accused of being a thief. Edna clears his name. Later, broke, Charlie finds a coin and goes into a restaurant. There he finds Edna, whose mother has died, and asks her to join him. When he reaches for the coin to pay for their meals it is missing (it has fallen through a hole in his pocket).

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Plot Keywords:

coin | national film registry | slapstick comedy | mother | card game | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 1917 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Modern Columbus

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lone Star Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 24 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original concept for the film, Henry Bergman was cast as the violent head waiter. However, Chaplin decided that he didn't have the proper stage presence as a threat to the Tramp. Instead, Chaplin cast his preferred player of villains in his company, Eric Campbell, in that role, a man with a tall imposing stature with an easily assumed threatening expression who could capably play a looming menace to Charlie.

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Goofs

In the restaurant scene, after the customer is beaten up and thrown out for being 10 cents short, his hat is seen on the floor next to the cashier's desk. When the waiters come back in, the hat is gone.

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Quotes

Edna, Immigrant: Mother has lost her money.

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Alternate Versions

Henry Bergman was originally cast as the Head Waiter and extensive footage was shot before Chaplin recast the role with Eric Campbell. This unused footage appeared in the documentary series The Unknown Chaplin, along with bloopers and alternate takes from this film. A 1960s 8mm home movie release of this film was retitled "Broke" and contained most of the Restaurant sequence, from the Tramp entering the establishment, to realizing he has no money and seeing the Head Waiter beat up a non-paying customer. After the advent of sound, the film was reissued with sound effects added.

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Connections

Featured in Chaplin Today: A King in New York (2003)

User Reviews

"The Tramp" arrives in New York in this early Chaplin masterpiece...

CHARLIE CHAPLIN and EDNA PURVIANCE are excellent together in this early Chaplin short covering his arrival by boat in the USA as "The Tramp" who has barely a penny to his name. The first sequence aboard ship is especially well done, full of the kind of sight gags and slapstick humor involving him and the other passengers that would make him the most famous comedian of his time.

Then the tender relationship with equally poor girl Edna Purviance and the second sequence devoted to establishing their relationship during a restaurant meal. Deftly comic moments where timing is everything are contributed by the menacing head waiter ERIC CAMPBELL, who has just thrown out a customer ten cents short of his bill. The fun begins when Charlie realizes whatever money he had from winning at cards has slipped through the hole in his pocket. A cat-and-mouse game with the waiter is played for laughs as Charlie seizes every opportunity to delay paying the bill until he accidentally finds some cash.

Chaplin fans can't afford to miss this one. Both halves of the story are played to perfection.