The Vagabond (1916)

Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 Nov 2021)

Brief Synopsis – A musician tries to make some money outside of a saloon and then ends up meeting a young woman living in a wagon.

My Take on it – As a fan of Charlie Chaplin films from the start of his career, I came across this short and was curious to see how it would stand up against most of his other works.

The film depicts a simple story like he usually gives us with some slapstick along the way.

Many of his films include a side love story and this one is no exception to that.

The story moves along at a nice pace and keeps the audience interested de t the very unpredictable nature of these kinds of stories, especially when told my Chaplin.

There are some really funny aspects of this film that made me laugh out loud including the way that Chaplin’s characters know that if the stand still in a corner, their pursuers will run right by, never noticing what they have done.

He also is able in this film to climb up a tree onto a limb and secretly knock out all of his enemies without them noticing that this is going on.

I was a bit shocked to see how violent this film actually was especially when it comes to showing the violence against the female co-star by some of the other characters.

The funniest moment in this film tho is Chaplin breaking eggs in order to cook something… with a hammer.

This may not be the most innovative or funny Chaplin short, but it still has some grat elements that helps make it fun to watch.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Charlie loses his hat outside the bar, is seen inside wearing it, then picks it up where he lost it when he leaves. When he escapes from the gypsy, he is hatless at first, but the next shot shows the hat suddenly back in place. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (6/10)