Admirable film.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Charlie Chaplin was probably the biggest film star of his generation and even screen legends like Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd or Stan and Ollie could only dream of his success. "The Rink" is a 1916 23-minute movie directed by the master himself and of course he also plays the lead character. It's black-and-white and silent and considered one of the films made during Chaplin's peak years. He was still in his 20s when he made this and cast several people as co-actors with whom he regularly appeared in films such as the very memorable Edna Purviance and Eric Campbell. The action here takes place at a restaurant (kitchen), at the rink as the title suggests and finally at a party. If you remember a chaotic character like the ones Chaplin always portrays on roller-blades, you already know what you are about to watch. Or maybe not as I found the humor in here sub-par to be honest. All in all, not recommended.

This is one of my top favorite Chaplin shorts, because of the abundance of slapstick action and of course Charlie's jaw-dropping roller skating skills! Another reviewer mentioned that this left us wishing he'd have put the skates on more often. It'd be 20 years before we'd see the likes of this again in "Modern Times". But I absolutely LOVE this one!In that context, I thought this might be a good example of how my overall opinion of Chaplin's earlier work differs from some other fans & critics. I don't subscribe to the notion that his Tramp character wasn't so "likeable" in the early days as he became more even-tempered so over time. His aggressive tendencies when aggravated or impatient were much less restrained early on. But I actually enjoy seeing this in the Tramp; the aggression, to me, actually makes him more attractive in a "manly" way and I like/love him no less for it. Chaplin's little guy has a lot of backbone and is no pushover (figuratively). An adversary's size (or sometimes gender) made no difference to him; he's no more afraid of the monstrous Eric Campbell than he is of anyone else. You didn't mess with Charlie! As a fairly short and un-intimidating woman, I've often wished *I* had that kind of chutzpa in the face of bullies. ;-) The 3 Stooges were often the same way: after a point, you didn't mess with them, either! Several key players who worked with the Stooges like director Del Lord and supporting stars Bud Jamison and Vernon Dent, all cut their teeth in Sennett's silent movie slapstick. Jamison is in several of Chaplin's early shorts, and Del Lord was once the driver of the Keystone Cops. So you can see it's possible that the little Tramp's persona in some ways foreshadowed and shaped those of the Stooges.

Charlie plays a waiter with a penchant for roller skating in this very funny short. There isn't much of a plot in this film, but it generates a great many laughs nonetheless. The scenes featuring Charlie as a waiter are amusing enough, particularly as he mixes a drink, but Chaplin really shines in the skating scenes. Although he was always an agile and physical comedian, few of films display his skills as fully as "The Rink." He was so good on skates that one regrets he didn't put them on more often - though he did to great effect in "Modern Times."

This film is laugh out loud funny. Who knew Charlie Chaplin was so graceful (and funny) on roller skates? This short film is watchable by all ages, and despite being close to 90 years old, it is still downright funny. Lookout for a character called Mrs. Stout played by a man in drag.