A Dog's Life (1918)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | A dog's life |
| Original title | A dog's life |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1918 |
| length | 33 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Charlie Chaplin |
| script | Charlie Chaplin |
| production | Charlie Chaplin |
| camera | Roland Totheroh |
| cut | Charlie Chaplin |
| occupation | |
| |
A dog's life (original title: A Dog's Life ) is an American silent film comedy by and with Charlie Chaplin from 1918.
action
Charlie is bad. He has no job and no home and lives from hand to mouth. In addition, he has to flee from the police again and again, because in order to satisfy the worst hunger, he uses every opportunity to steal something edible. His only friend and constant companion is the dog he rescued Scraps, an affectionate and faithful promenade mixture. Both find poor quarters for the night behind a rickety wooden fence. At a sausage stand owner, Charlie tries to steal something edible for himself and the dog. But a patrol officer has kept a close eye on the two of them and prevents Charlie's theft.
The tramp has no luck in his job search either. Again and again another applicant at the employment office snatches the coveted job right under his nose. The encounter with a Tingeltangelsinger, who smiles at him during a performance and invites him to dance, brings a brief moment of happiness. Suddenly things change for the better: Scraps digs up a wallet that was stolen by gangsters in the bar and then buried. With the unexpected wealth, Charlie wants to start a new life with the bar singer and returns to the dance bar. But the predators are not so quick to give up their prey. In a fight with Charlie he knocks out the bad guys with a mallet. And so in the end Charlie not only has friend Scraps by his side, but for the first time also a little money and a pretty girl. He now lives on a small farm and in the end he and his wife are standing in the living room of the house at a small basket in which the dog is lying with a few small puppies.
background
The film had its world premiere on April 14, 1918. Charlie's brother Syd was in front of the camera for the first time in A Dog's Life .
Reviews
“As in The Immigrant , Chaplin is targeting reality, actual social grievances. The fate of the unemployed becomes clear in the comedy without any belittling. The aggressive climax is the scene in which Scraps is fighting bitterly for a bone with a couple of dogs. Charlie's futile fight had been seen just before at the labor exchange. The association is clear. "
“Chaplin's first film as part of his multi-million dollar contract with First National combines the typical situations and characteristics that he had developed in the Mutual films into one large, complete work and, in the presentation of the dog Scraps as the second popular figure, already points to his first Feature film, The Kid (1921), advance. A notable exception in his work is the fact that Chaplin allows himself a happy ending at home. "
"Threatening sentiment is kept at bay by amusing sight gags in this pleasing star featurette."
Web links
- A dog's life in theInternet Movie Database(English)
- A dog's life atrotten tomatoes(English)
- Synopsis by Charles Chaplin