Charlot danseur

In Chaplin's first handful of short comedies, there is a very clear pattern of experimentation going on as he discovers where his real talent lies and while the personality of the beloved Tramp evolves and makes itself known. In Tango Tangles, or Charlie's Recreation, we see a bit of a digression as not only does Chaplin's character revert back into the 'obnoxious drunk' half of his on screen persona, but is also overshadowed by the clearly talented and, in this film at least, almost equally large screen presence of Ford Serling.

Serling has been credited by some users as deserving at least some credit for inspiring some aspects of Chaplin's character, which I can accept, because the motions and overblown mannerisms are similar to some of Chaplin's later work, although I think it's important to point out that if Chaplin did learn from Serling, he most certainly saw his technique and improved it, maybe even perfected it.

At the beginning of the film, it is clear that Serling has an intense presence, but as the film goes on, the infancy of screen acting also becomes apparent. It seems here that actors did not know where to stop when flinging themselves about in the outrageously overblown antics that must have been common in slapstick comedy for the stage. They slap each other in the face and then stumble about in a bizarre state of semi-consciousness, wobbling on their feet while their arms swing limply, eyes bulging and head bouncing from side to side like a superball in a box, before eventually falling over backwards and flinging their legs up over their head far enough so that their toes touch the ground behind them.

Not that this is all bad comedy, just a sign of how different the things were that made people laugh in 1914 compared to today, as well as a curious look at the development of slapstick comedy for the screen.

As far Chaplin's performance, it is also clear that the Tramp was still in the future, as he appears in this film without a mustache and therefore looking entirely like someone else. As I mentioned, he once again plays a belligerent drunk, stumbling around and callously punching and pushing people and throwing things at them as he staggers about the set, also in a bizarre state of semi-consciousness. Fatty Arbuckle also puts the majority of his talents on hold to star in this short, as he, Chaplin, and Serling all compete viciously for the affections of the hat girl, with what probably used to be hilarious results. By now, the film is one of the lesser of Chaplin's very early films, but remains an interesting milestone on his way to making his own far superior films.

'Tango Tangle' basically lacks any deeper plot. Just three guys played by Charles Chaplin, Sterling Ford, and 'Fatty' Arbuckle, are fighting over the girl in a dance hall. And that's just pretty much it. This is one of those early Chaplin pictures where he is not sporting his beloved Tramp suit. Without his trademark mustache, he is just a tipsy dandy who tries to impress the woman. Of course, a bigger fellow, dance hall band member in the embodiment of Sterling Ford, arrives and drives the annoying fella off. But, there's always a bigger guy, in this case, it is Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.

All three guys manage to pull off some nice bits of physical comedy that is joyful to watch, but the story never rises above the basic idea.

Watching silent comedies is an almost lost art, one that today's younger viewers must teach themselves through an open-minded exposure to multiple examples, always reminding themselves that the intent to tell an amusing story clearly is always there, even if at first glance the impression is of fast-paced incomprehensible chaos. With practice one can learn to understand the conventions of the day, follow the action and enjoy the multitude of jokes and amazing performances.

Even someone who has managed this for comedies of the 1920s, and who can both appreciate and enjoy, say, The General and The Gold Rush, may find their first exposure to Keystone material of the 1910s throws them back into bewilderment. Yet once one adjusts to the conventions of the time (such as the fast paced, physically detailed and extremely demonstrative acting that makes most '20s performances seem restrained by comparison), even these very early, frenetic and largely improvised Keystones can delight.

This one is particularly interesting for several reasons already cited in other reviews: the lack of character makeup on Chaplin and Sterling (both almost always appearing in other films with fake facial hair of various sorts), the amazing athleticism of Arbuckle, the wholly natural reactions of the actual onlookers in the "found" dance hall location to the antics of the leads. It repays a second and even a third viewing for those seeking to learn the skill of following early Keystone comedies.

This was one of Sterling's last handful of films at Keystone and one of Chaplin's first. At the time, Sterling was the bigger star. They work very well together here, especially in their fight scenes, which have tell-tale signs of being more improvised than rehearsed or precisely choreographed, yet are nevertheless creative, clearly told and quite entertaining.

If you've never seen a silent Chaplin short, this is not the one to start with. (Try one of the Mutuals, like Easy Street or The Immigrant) But if you've some familiarity with the genre, the circumstances of the shooting of this one make it one of the most interesting of his first half-dozen or so.

Tango Tangles, one of Charlie Chaplin's earliest silents, was made before The Little Tramp became his film persona of choice. Here, without his moustache, the surprisingly young-looking comic does a variation on his popular music hall drunk act, playing a dandy who tries to woo a cute dancer, much to the chagrin of his rivals for her affections -- a band leader and a fat musician, the latter played by Fatty Arbuckle.

This is quite a rare film in that Chaplin is completely and utterly overshadowed by one of his co-stars. Ford Sterling, an actor little remembered today, plays the bandleader, and offers such balletic, graceful and funny slapstick in his comedic fights with both Chaplin and Arbuckle that one could think that Chaplin might have taken some inspiration from the older actor in his own later performances as The Tramp.

This was a movie that cries out for sound. The story takes place at a dance (apparently a real one, based on the fact that a number of bystanders can be seen smiling and waving at the camera!), yet the music usually heard on the stock soundtracks provided for these silents on DVD and video does not match the action on screen, which appears to be performed in time with whatever music was being played at the time.

This isn't a bad film by any means, and it's interesting for its rare glimpse of the silent era Chaplin without his Tramp disguise. It also offers some funny moments for Fatty Arbuckle. But this is very much Ford Sterling's show and he's a joy to watch.

In this short, another one of the early ones Charlie Chaplin made for Mack Sennett, he's clean shaven and is nothing like his Little Tramp character. Well, except here he's just as drunk as you'd expect him to be in these early efforts. His beginning scenes are quite amusing as he seems to be at a real dance hall happening as he tries to woo some ladies and keeps slipping and tripping himself. But all that happens afterwards results in some nonsense about fighting over a pretty girl that happen to be also pursued by musicians Ford Sterling and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. As a result, I didn't think the rest was all that funny and in fact was repetitious though it was nice to see Arbuckle do some falls himself. So on that note, Tango Tangles is worth a look and nothing else.