Easy road
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Easy road |
| Original title | Easy Street |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1917 |
| length | 19 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Charles Chaplin |
| script | Charles Chaplin |
| production |
Henry P. Caulfield , Charles Chaplin |
| camera | Roland Totheroh |
| occupation | |
| |
Easy Street (Original title: Easy Street ) is a 1917 premiered silent film -Komödie by and starring Charlie Chaplin . The short film - a "comical parody of the Victorian get-well melodramas" - is considered one of the artist's early masterpieces.
action
In search of a warm place, the tramp visits a Christian social mission. The tramp gave himself a jerk and decided to start a new life, not so much because of the good coaxing of the pastor as because of the charms of the young missionary sister. Imbued with remorse, he even gives the pastor back the donation box he had previously stolen.
Meanwhile, on Easy Street, in the middle of a run-down working-class neighborhood, violence reigns. Desert fights are the order of the day, the police have lost control. Instead, a giant hooligan is terrorizing the street.
Because more and more officers are unfit for duty after a deployment in Easy Street, new police officers are being sought - the chance for the purified tramp. He is being hired. The law enforcement officer, visibly proud of his uniform, goes on patrol innocently in Easy Street and meets the tyrannical muscleman. At first he tries to avoid a confrontation as much as possible, but in the end Charlie succeeds in a famous scene in which he puts a bent street lamp over his opponent's head and "expertly as an anesthetist" turns on the gas to carry off the victory in this unequal duel. Charlie immediately takes over the role of the absolute ruler of the street from his opponent: As if they were puppets, he directs the movements of the street dwellers with glances and economical gestures, who only dare to leave their homes behind his back.
It doesn't take long before the rowdy wakes up from his delirium, escapes from police custody and causes unrest again. But after several minutes of fast-paced brawls and breathtaking deception maneuvers, Easy Street is finally pacified by Charlie, who was thrown up by an accidental cocaine injection, and Edna, who was inflamed with love. The final picture shows the repentant bully, who is striving to the Sunday service in the mission station while lifting his hat together with his wife.
production
Easy Street is the ninth of a total of twelve films that Chaplin made for the Mutual production company in 1916/17. Several mishaps delayed production, so the premiere planned for January 22, 1917 had to be postponed by two weeks. Among other things, Chaplin injured his nose when the street lamp prepared for the key scene unexpectedly bent over by itself.
Remarks
The main setting, a T-shaped intersection, gives the work its special atmosphere. Tenements delimit the scene on the left, right and in the background. When creating the design, Chaplin is likely to have been inspired by memories of his childhood in the London slums. Easy Street is also one of the few silent films by Chaplin in which he is not seen in his famous tramp costume with bowler hat, walking stick and oversized shoes for the vast majority of the season.
Reviews
“In this film we see Chaplin at the height of his slapstick art, both as a comedian and as a director. [...] The deeds of the Charlie figure are no longer just playing with the cunning of the object, but now also have a paradigmatic character and relate to a social context. "
Web links
- Easy Street in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Easy road in the online film database
- Alan Vanneman's Mutual films are reviewed in the Bright Lights Film Journal
Individual evidence
- ↑ David Robinson: Chaplin - His life, his art. Zurich 1993, p. 234.
- ↑ David Robinson: Chaplin - His life, his art. Zurich 1993, p. 235.
- ↑ Thomas Koebner (ed.): Reclam film classics. Volume 1: 1913-1946. 3. Edition. Stuttgart 2001, p. 33 f.