The shopkeeper

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Movie
German title The shopkeeper
Original title The floorwalker
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1916
length 29 minutes
Rod
Director Charles Chaplin
script Vincent Bryan ,
Charles Chaplin
production Charles Chaplin
camera William C. Foster ,
Roland Totheroh
cut Charles Chaplin
occupation

The shopkeeper (Original title: The Floorwalker ) is an American comedy film directed by Charles Chaplin from 1916 .

action

The manager of a department store plans to steal the department store's revenues together with his shopkeeper. Meanwhile, the tramp examines the goods in the department store under the keen eyes of a salesman. The seller does not see the tramp as a potential customer, but as a potential shoplifter. The tramp tries out the individual goods. He shaves and perfumes himself, but puts everything back in its place. The seller follows the tramp suspiciously at every turn and therefore misses the fact that it is not the tramp who is a shoplifter, but all the other customers of the department store. Nevertheless, the suspicion remains with the tramp, who, on the run from the department store detective, ends up in the manager's office, who has just been put down by his accomplice. When the tramp opens the door, he stands across from the shopkeeper, who is like the cut of his face. The tramp thinks he is his reflection . They perform the same movements and it is only late that the tramp discovers that he is holding a walking stick and the shopkeeper has a large bag. The store supervisor wants to use the similarity of the tramp for his coup. The two swap clothes and identity, one in order to be able to escape undetected with the money, the other in order to start a new life with a good job. However, since the seller still thinks the tramp is the shoplifter, the shopkeeper is arrested while his suitcase remains in the shop. Instead, the manager comes to, who, like the new "shop supervisor", is keen to appropriate the money without the house detectives noticing anything. The film ends in a confusing chase across the department store.

background

The Store Supervisor is Charlie Chaplin's first film for Mutual Films since he left Essanay and had its world premiere on May 15, 1916. The entire action takes place in a department store with an escalator in the center (in use in American department stores since 1901 , in Germany only since 1925). The film was set up around this prop, and the main riot of the car chases takes place on the escalator.

From the cast of his essanay films, Chaplin took Edna Purviance as well as Leo White, Lloyd Bacon and John Rand. Charlotte Mineau, who only participated in two essanays, was integrated into the team throughout from this film. The most important newcomers to Chaplin's cast were Eric Campbell (villain / antagonist in eleven of the twelve Mutuals), Albert Austin and Henry Bergman. The future director Lloyd Bacon had his biggest role in a Chaplin film in The Store Supervisor .

Web links

Commons : The shopkeeper  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files