The pawn shop
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The pawn shop |
| Original title | The Pawnshop |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1916 |
| length | 32 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Charles Chaplin |
| script | Charles Chaplin |
| production | Charles Chaplin |
| camera | Roland Totheroh |
| occupation | |
| |
The Pawnshop (Original title: The Pawnshop ) is an American comedy film from 1916 . The main character of this silent film is Charles Chaplin , who also directed it .
action
Chaplin plays the assistant to a pawnbroker who gets into physical arguments with his colleague while dusting the valuables and cleaning the shop facade. Not least, both compete for the favor of the boss's pretty daughter. In view of the chaos he has created, he is about to be released and the assistant is given one last chance at the counter. His customers include a pathetic millionaire who seems to be on the verge of ruin and has to part with his wedding ring, a woman who wants to pawn her ornamental fish, and a weary-looking man who hopes to exchange some cash for his alarm clock. After a thorough examination of the watch, however, the assistant comes to a negative judgment. In the end, he becomes the hero of the day by overpowering a jewel thief.
background
The Pawn Shop is the sixth short film that Chaplin made for the production company Mutual. It premiered on October 2, 1916. The film established Chaplin's collaboration with Henry Bergman , who played the pawnbroker until 1936, in 20 other films and became an "irreplaceable member of Chaplin's entourage".
criticism
Although the film only lasts 32 minutes, for Chaplin's biographer David Robinson The Pawn Shop is "the most imaginative of all Chaplin's films". The artist creates a gag out of every prop , whereby the objects are used in rows: a wooden spoon becomes a ukulele , the mouthpiece of a telephone becomes a jeweler's loupe, and a lack of dough becomes a dishwasher. The comedy of transposition reaches its climax in the scene with the alarm clock, which Chaplin opens like a sardine can. He then pulls out the individual parts of the clockwork in the manner of a dentist.
Web links
- The pawn shop in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- The pawn shop as a complete film in theInternet Archive
- Alan Vanneman's Mutual films are reviewed in the Bright Lights Film Journal