Die Rollschuhbahn

Charlie plays a waiter with a penchant for roller skating in this very funny short. There isn't much of a plot in this film, but it generates a great many laughs nonetheless. The scenes featuring Charlie as a waiter are amusing enough, particularly as he mixes a drink, but Chaplin really shines in the skating scenes. Although he was always an agile and physical comedian, few of films display his skills as fully as "The Rink." He was so good on skates that one regrets he didn't put them on more often - though he did to great effect in "Modern Times."

THE RINK (Mutual Studios, 1916), written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, offers the legendary comedian an opportunity in playing something other than a tramp. In fact, though identified mostly as the little tramp, there are numerous times he'd assume other characters in the Charlie Chaplin tradition, but the little tramp is what stays in memory. This time, Charlie plays a waiter with a talent for skating at a rink or social function as well as serving up trouble at the restaurant where he works. On his off hours, he does sport is trademark attire of derby, cane and tramp clothes he keeps in the stove rather than a locker. For his eighth comedy short for the Mutual Studio (Lone Star Corporation in most title card introductions), Chaplin resumes the fine comic support of his staff players of Edna Purviance, James K. Kelley, Frank J. Coleman, Albert Austin, Lloyd Bacon, Charlotte Mineau, and his most frequent adversary of the Mutual days, the late, great Eric Campbell.

The slight plot provides many antics involving a waiter (Chaplin) in a local restaurant writing the bill for one of his customers, Mr. Stout (Eric Campbell), a businessman who's as much of a flirt with the women as his manly looking wife (Henry Bergman in drag) is with the men. At the nearby rink, Stout is seen skating with a young socialite (Edna Purviance), but their union is soon interrupted by the waiter taking a break from his job. As he skates at the rink with Edna, he offers his calling card which reads Sir Cecil Seltzer, C.O.D. Before returning to work, Cecil is invited to social function skating party at Edna's home. As Mr. Stout makes his entrance at Edna's party, he not only encounters his wife with an male escort, but trouble along the way with the rolling skating Cecil.

More in the Mack Sennett slapstick tradition than Chaplin's more familiar technique of his latter years, THE RINK is brisk and funny regardless of its limitation in character development and plot outcome. Best moments occur as waiter Charlie, a/k/a Cecil, unwittingly serving a live cat to one of his customers. Another is the Charlie and Eric encounter, especially at the skating party. Interestingly, however, in Chaplin's other comedy short, THE IMMIGRANT (1917), the tables are turned with Eric playing the waiter and Charlie the customer, to better results. Since good comedy material is often reused and improved upon, Chaplin would recreate his skating technique in his final silent feature length comedy of MODERN TIMES (1936), where he also assumes the job as a singing waiter at one point of the story.

Formerly presented on a frequent level on public broadcast television in the sixties and seventies or beyond, THE RINK did play part of educational television's THE SILENT YEARS (1975), hosted by Lillian Gish, as the second half to the 90 minute timeslot following the 52 minute comedy, PECK'S BAD BOY (1921) starring Jackie Coogan, Chaplin's discoverer and co-star to their classic union of THE KID (1921).

Scoring and length to THE RINK vary, depending on distributor controlling the rights to it. Some prints come with piano scoring: Blackhawk/ Republic Video dating back to the 1980s-90s acquired orchestration and sound effects from 1930s reissue for its VHS releases. Restored prints, from KINO VIDEO, consist of new orchestration and slower silent correction speed. Broadcast history for cable television of THE RINK consists of Arts and Entertainment (1980s)along with Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 13, 1999), as prime examples. Next Chaplin Mutual Comedy: EASY STREET (1917) with Charlie playing a policeman, but without the use of skates. (***)

There isn't a lot of subtlety to "The Rink", but it does have some entertaining slapstick and some traces of some of Chaplin's favorite themes. The first part in the restaurant has both good moments and routine stretches, and then things liven up when everyone gets their skates on - the action combines tangled relationships with tangled limbs. Although he has his character take a good assortment of slips and falls, in so doing Chaplin also demonstrates his physical skill, and his performance anticipates his more famous roller skating scene in "Modern Times". It's probably not among his best short features, but all the same it's one that Chaplin fans will want to see.

Chaplin was almost always amusing but it occurred to me while watching this story of a waiter who woos a girl at a skating rink that in his earlier films he was more often the perp than the vic.

This was released in 1916 and Chaplin is a rude waiter who humiliates guests and steals money. If a stranger happens to be bending over and fastening a lady's roller skate, Chaplin can't help giving him a swift kick in the pants when he passes by. There's nothing here about "the little people." If the tramp is little, it's because that's his most comfortable social niche.

Ten years later, in "The Gold Rush," Chaplin had introduced humanity into his character, an innocent who is more sinned against than sinning.

Ten years after "The Gold Rush", he was sending social messages about worker alienation. (That's what happens when your work permits you to take no pride in having done it well. Anyone up for McDonald's Chicken Nuggets?) But in movies like "Modern Times," the milieu is only a peg from which to hang gags that are more hilarious than ever. And movies about poverty in 1936 were hardly uncommon anyway.

The gags here are sometimes spectacular, and always speedy. The tramp could certainly skate well.

This film is laugh out loud funny. Who knew Charlie Chaplin was so graceful (and funny) on roller skates? This short film is watchable by all ages, and despite being close to 90 years old, it is still downright funny. Lookout for a character called Mrs. Stout played by a man in drag.