Topic: The Fireman (1916) - Charlie Chaplin

[metaldams]

      Short number two for Chaplin at Mutual is THE FIREMAN.  Overall this has always been my least favorite of the twelve but as I get mellower when it comes to films from artists I love the older I get, I have been finding ways to appreciate films like this a bit more.  Worst Mutual or not, there’s no such thing as a bad one, so this is still worth your time.  As Three Stooges fans, this short appears to have had an influence on FLAT FOOT STOOGES.  I’m thinking the comedian being late for the fire alarm before going down the pole to get to the horse driven steam engine.  I’m also thinking the idea of changing directions to get to a fire.  Both ideas are found in THE FIREMAN.

      This short, especially at the beginning, feels more like an Essanay film in that there is a lot of really broad slapstick simply for the sake of broad slapstick.  Hey, Stooge fan here, I don’t necessarily mind that, but in the case of Chaplin, around this time he was developing into more.  Progress doesn’t always occur in a straight line.  Lots of butt kicking gags in the beginning of the film.  Yes, the butt kicking tends to be more leisurely timed than at Keystone, but it’s butt kicking just the same.  There’s also Chaplin being sloppy serving food, spilling soup on fellow firemen and the big payoff with Eric Campbell being drenched in soup or milk (can’t remember which and I’m too lazy to go back).  All pretty funny stuff, but it feels like the Chaplin of before.

      The fire chase stuff outdoors really is interesting because it is just about the closest thing we get to a chase in a pure Chaplin film outside of A JITNEY ELOPEMENT.  For how common chases and fast vehicles are in silent comedy, one rarely sees it with Chaplin.  I really appreciate seeing the dirt streets in scenes like this as California looked very different over 100 years ago.  I love Chaplin’s daredevil climb up the building to save Edna, definitely the highlight of this short.

      Not too much else to say other than I enjoy the physical stuff Chaplin does up and down the pole in the beginning of the short.  This is the weakest of the bunch in my opinion, which means these Mutuals are a pretty good group of shorts.



   

[Dr. Mabuse]

With "The Floorwalker," Charlie Chaplin began his Mutual period with a solid foundation in terms of production values and ensemble casting. However, "The Fireman" remains the least inspired of the Chaplin Mutuals — firmly rooted in the Keystone knockabout while lacking the imaginative touches of its predecessor. Charlie's physical energy is undeniable, but the two-reeler yields only sporadic laughs.

Though "The Fireman" takes a creative step backward, it continues Chaplin’s playful anarchy toward society by exposing the corruption and fraud within (i.e., fire chief Eric's arson scheme).  At this stage in his film career, Chaplin was giving audiences what they wanted — he wasn’t going to depart from traditional slapstick until the success of "The Floorwalker" and "The Fireman" was assured.  Once proven, he took a tremendous leap with "The Vagabond."

Thanks to the BFI and Flicker Alley releases, "The Fireman" has superior scores by Carl Davis and Neil Brand. It makes a big difference, since the 1933 Van Beuren soundtrack (with an unnecessarily dubbed Leo White continually shouting "Fire!") drove me up the wall.

https://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/2021/04/chaplin-heats-up-for-30s-revive.html

[metaldams]

With "The Floorwalker," Charlie Chaplin began his Mutual period with a solid foundation in terms of production values and ensemble casting. However, "The Fireman" remains the least inspired of the Chaplin Mutuals — firmly rooted in the Keystone knockabout while lacking the imaginative touches of its predecessor. Charlie's physical energy is undeniable, but the two-reeler yields only sporadic laughs.

Though "The Fireman" takes a creative step backward, it continues Chaplin’s playful anarchy toward society by exposing the corruption and fraud within (i.e., fire chief Eric's arson scheme).  At this stage in his film career, Chaplin was giving audiences what they wanted — he wasn’t going to depart from traditional slapstick until the success of "The Floorwalker" and "The Fireman" was assured.  Once proven, he took a tremendous leap with "The Vagabond."

Thanks to the BFI and Flicker Alley releases, "The Fireman" has superior scores by Carl Davis and Neil Brand. It makes a big difference, since the 1933 Van Beuren soundtrack (with an unnecessarily dubbed Leo White continually shouting "Fire!") drove me up the wall.

https://greenbriarpictureshows.blogspot.com/2021/04/chaplin-heats-up-for-30s-revive.html

I’m not a fan of the Van Beuren scores in general, which is how I first saw these films.  You’re right, the Leo White “fire” yell was the absolute worst.

[HomokHarcos]

Fireman comedies were pretty common - they were kind of a template. Remember that The Three Stooges' first ever film appearance in Soup to Nuts was at a fire station. The first reel is about slapstick shenanigans on the job. This reel is much better as comedy because I enjoy seeing a comedian make a fool out of himself more than seeing him as a hero. I love that lowbrow style of comedy so seeing the kicks in the butt and the spilling of the food on the coworkers were the highlights.

The funniest part of the second reel was just how easily the two agree to burn down the house. That's a really strange way to earn the dad's approval for a marriage. How would they explain this to the press? "Yes, the fire chief failed to put out the fire in my house, but that's OK he's still marrying my daughter." Seeing Chaplin climb up and down the building was fun. I think they used a dummy in Edna Purviance's place.

[Umbday]

I’m not a fan of the Van Beuren scores in general, which is how I first saw these films.  You’re right, the Leo White “fire” yell was the absolute worst.

Funny thing is — even though I've purchased the upgraded DVD/Blurays of the Mutuals — a few years ago I picked up a DVD set specifically because it contained the Van Buren scores. Cartoony, yes. (The conductor, Winston Sharples, literally scored Popeye cartoons in that era.) But the Van Buren scores were there when I was first exposed to the Mutuals back in the mid-1970s. So, they've stayed with me.

Yes, The Fireman is the one Mutual that feels like a step backward. One interesting thing to watch, though — with many scenes shot in the streets directly outside Chaplin's Mutual studio, you'll notice many of the same settings in Keaton's films of the 20s. Keaton eventually inherited Chaplin's former studio, and Keaton was constantly shooting outside the studio walls in that neighborhood.

[metaldams]

Funny thing is — even though I've purchased the upgraded DVD/Blurays of the Mutuals — a few years ago I picked up a DVD set specifically because it contained the Van Buren scores. Cartoony, yes. (The conductor, Winston Sharples, literally scored Popeye cartoons in that era.) But the Van Buren scores were there when I was first exposed to the Mutuals back in the mid-1970s. So, they've stayed with me.

Yes, The Fireman is the one Mutual that feels like a step backward. One interesting thing to watch, though — with many scenes shot in the streets directly outside Chaplin's Mutual studio, you'll notice many of the same settings in Keaton's films of the 20s. Keaton eventually inherited Chaplin's former studio, and Keaton was constantly shooting outside the studio walls in that neighborhood.

You’re absolutely right about the Keaton/Chaplin studio connection.  The same sets definitely exist in both groups of films if you look closely.

[Paul Pain]

Definite more of a Keystone/Essanay film than a Chaplin film, especially with the absolute asinine behavior from the firemen as a group with the dances, acrobatics, and other such tomfoolery.  This kind of silly but harmless nonsense was mainstream in the 1910s.  They're fun in their own right, but nothing I would want to binge watch.

THE FIREMAN definitely is a step down, but a low quality Charlie Chaplin film is superb quality for many other comedians of the era.

[Umbrella Sam]

I can see where everyone is getting the Keystone connection from, but it’s the good side of Keystone. It’s the side that’s focused on funny looking actors doing wild, physical stunts, not the plotless side that liked to focus on repetition. Yeah, the kicking stuff kind of fits the latter category, but otherwise I do think it’s paced very well and it does all build up to a climax that works. I’ve talked before about how funny I think Chaplin’s movement style is, but really I think that could apply to all the firemen here. It’s just so fun watching them bouncing around as they’re preparing to go out and fight the fire. And, of course, Eric Campbell is a delight as the over-the-top superior. I like seeing Chaplin playing off all these guys here; moments like the checkers game where he keeps moving the same pieces back and forth or when he accidentally knocks the guy’s head in the water does show that he could work well off of other comedians, which I think is something that’s easy to forget considering how much more the comedy centralized on him as the years went along.

I think I might be the lone dissenter on this one; I actually kind of preferred this to THE FLOORWALKER. The sheer energy, the outdoor scenery and the number of gags that don’t relate to kicking all do make for what I consider a more enjoyable experience. Yeah, THE FLOORWALKER had the funny business with the escalator, and that was funny too, but it did seem like they were often relying on the same set pieces throughout the short, whereas here, they have more of a wide variety of things to use; the engine, the kitchen, the pole, the bell that they try to stop from ringing...it just feels like this one has more to offer, and they take advantage of each of them. Yeah, the kicking gets a bit annoying, but it doesn’t really go on that long and the rest of it’s so good that I can forgive it. I just like seeing Chaplin in more of an ensemble setting, and when it comes to the climax, he does deliver with the fun chase and crazy stunt. Heck, even Edna’s given more to do here; not a ton, but she definitely felt like she had more of a reason to be here than in THE FLOORWALKER. So, yeah, I guess I really am in disagreement; I don’t currently consider this the weakest of the Chaplin Mutuals. I had a lot of fun watching it.

[metaldams]

Glad you enjoyed this, Sam.

I actually think Edna is good here.  The flirtatious bits with Chaplin were very well done like when she drops the handkerchief - though my understanding is they really were an item, so perhaps it wasn’t all acting.  But still, she’s great here.

This short has really grown on me, there was a time I didn’t like it at all.  Can’t wait to hear all your opinions on the next Chaplin short.