CHARLIE CHAPLIN'S THE IMMIGRANT

Charlie Chaplin, the best silent comedian and silent actor of all time. He's on top of the other great ones such as Buster Keaton and Harold Lyold. He doesn't just star in his films as his character the Tramp, he also writes and directs his films.  He even does well as an actor in modern films as well ("The Great Dictator" for example). I enjoy him so much that I'm going to review my first Chaplin film...


This film is only 20 minutes long and when I usually review a short film, I review the other short films that the comedian actor was also in that year and post it as one review. Chaplin was in three other short films the year this film came out. However, since this is my first Chaplin film, I feel like this film should stand alone as one review and just be the focus. Don't worry I will, eventually review his other three films made that year, that is if I can find them. Let's not waste anymore time, ON WITH THE REVIEW.

"The Immigrant" is Chaplin's comedic way of showing the arrival of Immigrants through the eyes of his character, the Tramp. The first half of the film is showing the struggle of Immigrants on the boat ride to "The Land Of Liberty", while the other half shows our main character broke and hungry. Throughout the film he has a love interest played by Enda Purviance, who's also struggling with survival in America.

Chaplins portrayal of life on the boat to America at first looked serious. We see Immigrants on a rocky old boat, starving and looking ill, then we see the back of an Immigrant who looks like is throwing up but once he turns his face to the audience, we find out it's the Tramp looking happy and doing something completely different. Once you see him, you know everything's going to be alright. Chaplin uses many clever jokes for the boat ride to America scene, such as the boat rocking back and forth; the gambling that Immigrants secretly did on the ship; and he even makes fun of the Immigrants on the boat.

When we see the tramp arrive in America being broke and hungry, he finds a coin on the street and goes to eat at a restaurant. However, the head waiter played by Eric Campbell, is a huge man who never smiles, beats up people who can't pay the bill and strangely has something on his face which I can't tell if it's make up or a huge unibrow. The Ttramp lost his coin and tries to figure out ways of not getting beat up by this man. This whole restaurant scene is probably the cleverest and funniest not being able to pay the bill scene ever. Chaplin basically uses nearly everything from the book, and the directing and timing for the scene works so well that it's hard not to laugh or smile.

The love between the Chaplin character and the Purviance character is the only amount of seriousness that this film has. Chaplin makes fun of basically all the Immigrants on the boat except for the love interest and her mother. Her mother's ill; she gets pick pocketed by another Immigrant; and becomes just as poor as the tramp. The love between them isn't strong but it works because they're both broke; they're living in an unfamiliar environment; and all they have is each other; the things that the Tramp does for her is so sweet that it brings out that Charlie Chaplin charm.

The film doesn't use too much title cards for what they're saying but it still tells the story and makes the audience understand what's going on. The only problem I see in not using the title cards is they don't really explain too much why an artist out of nowhere is approaching the couple. I'm assuming it's because he wants them to pose for a picture but it's not explained. The cinematography is decent and really helps capture the humor. My favorite shot is when the Immigrants on the boat see the statue of liberty, why, because it brings its "Proud to be an American" feel. 

This film is one of Chaplin's best. The humors clever; the love subplot is charming; and in a way the film has a bit of a historical feel. The only thing I wish to see in the film, is the love being explored more and seeing the Tramp go to Ellis Island to take those Immigrant tests, think about the humorous things that Chaplin can do with it. The version I watched uses music and sound effects and personally I think helped gave the film it's comic atmosphere. It's funny without the sound too but I strongly suggest you look for the sound version to not only breathe in more of the comic atmosphere but to also get the feel of watching a silent film in theaters. If you haven't seen a Chaplin film before, I strongly suggest you start by watching this.

RATING 5/5