Simply A Masterpiece

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Admirable film.

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

One of Charlie Chaplin's really early movies casts him as a pawnshop employee who, through no fault of his own, has a tendency to make a mess of everything. The whole thing is a riot, especially the sequence with the ladder. I think that it was a few years later when Chaplin started incorporating social themes into his movies. In the meantime, the man known as the Tramp knew exactly how to show some absolutely hilarious stuff. The daughter is played by Edna Purviance, who was probably his most frequent co-star, appearing in his movies as late as the '50s.All in all, if we appraise "The Pawnshop", it's worth a whole lot! Just plain fun.

Charlie Chaplin is one of the greatest and all time finest comedian of all ages, as yet. His early silent portrayals like this surreal and sentimental presentation is his excellent work in its living originality.His visage and gestures, his cap and the movement of stick are all lovely trademarks of this legendary comedian. Highest paid actor of his time, he deservedly ranks as an artist who is appropriately knighted with the title of "SIR".Given the present comedy standards (if any) which mostly circumvent on computerized graphics and crazy mannerisms, it seems posterity would have to wait for quite a time to discover some real like of this paradoxically naughty, mischievous, simple, innocent and endearing little tramp.

Monday September 17, 7:00 pm, The Paramount Theater A pawnshop employee (Charles Chaplin) arrives late for work and spends most of his day fighting with a co-worker. He is discharged by the pawnbroker (Henry Bergman), re-hired, and flirts with the boss's daughter (Edna Purviance) while wrestling with her cast-iron doughnuts. Despite his housecleaning efforts, he leaves the place a bigger mess than before he started. On the verge of being fired again, Charlie redeems himself when he knocks out a thief (Eric Campbell) about to rob the shop.The sixth of twelve shorts produced by Chaplin for the Mutual Film Corporation, The Pawnshop makes brilliant use of props in a variety of humorous situations. When he disassembles a customer's (Albert Austin) alarm clock and winds up the empty case, the parts magically re-animate as they lie on the counter, and no one is left standing when Charlie attempts to negotiate the doorway and sidewalk with an eight-foot ladder.

"The Pawnshop" is a pretty good Charlie Chaplin comedy, with some routine stretches but also some very good slapstick. It features Charlie as an assistant in a pawnshop, engaged in a heated rivalry with another employee, trying to stay on the good side of the boss and the boss's pretty daughter, and occasionally waiting on a customer. The beginning has some very funny moments, with some slapstick that makes good use of the props, which include a feather duster and a ladder. There is a funny finale with Eric Campbell - one of Chaplin's best regular supporting players - playing a thief. The parts in between have some good moments, too, but they overdo it a bit with Charlie's fights with the other shop assistant. Overall, this is an average short feature for Chaplin, which means it is pretty good by most other standards.