The Rounders

The Rounders (1914)

*** (out of 4)

Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle show up separately at their homes where they take a beating from their wives. The two eventually bump into one another in more way than one and decide to go out together but of course the nagging wives follow. THE ROUNDERS is far from a classic movie and the truth is that's it's barely even a good one. With that said, it's impossible not to at least enjoy seeing the two comic legends working together and both of them delivering nice performances. As far as the comedy goes, it's very hit and miss because the majority of the times we're just getting the same gags over and over. The two drunks stumble around, knock things over and they each get hit a lot. This pretty much happens throughout the entire running time and their drunk level seems to change from one scene to the next. I still thought Chaplin and Arbuckle had some fine chemistry working together and this is show during the scenes where the two are trying to hold each other up and walk at the same time. This is certainly far from their best work but it's still worth watching.

It's fun to see Roscoe Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin together (plus a couple of brief appearances by Al St. John), although this movie as a whole is only mildly entertaining. Not that either of the stars disappoints, by any means, but the material limits them somewhat. It's also interesting, though, to see an earlier version of the extended, more carefully planned "drunk" acts that Chaplin did in features like "The Cure" and the excellent "One A.M."

The story is episodic, with the two stars as a couple of good-natured drunks who get into trouble with their wives and with plenty of others. Chaplin and Arbuckle could do that kind of material as well as anyone. Most of it is funny enough, although after a while it starts to run out of steam and seem a bit forced. There are a couple of good gags to go along with their drunk act, though other parts are fairly routine stuff. It's probably a little above average for its time, but it's not as imaginative as either Arbuckle's or Chaplin's best material.

This is a film from Chaplin's first year in films. During this VERY hectic year, he churned out film after film after film for Keystone Studios and the quality of the films are, in general, quite poor. That's because the character of "the Little Tramp" was far from perfected and the films really had no script--just the barest of story ideas. While some Chaplin lovers might think this is sacrilege, all these movies I have seen are pretty lousy. Yes, there are some cute slapstick moments but barely any plot--absolutely NOTHING like the Chaplin we all came to love in his full-length films of the 20s and 30s.

This movie pairs Chaplin with Fatty Arbuckle. They drink and punch and fall down a lot. That's really all there is to this film. Content-wise, it's a big fat zero.

There isn't much more to this silent short than people decking each other and acting drunk, but comedy pioneers Charlie Chaplin and Fatty Arbuckle do it pretty creatively, and Phyllis Allen and Minta Durfree (Fatty's real-life wife) are pretty good themselves. You'll have to set aside the fact that domestic violence (in both directions) is part of the humor, and a brief appearance of a doorman in blackface, but these didn't stop me from enjoying it. There were a couple moments that made me chuckle, including one where Fatty quietly pulls a tablecloth over him in a crowded dining room as if he's going to bed while Charlie hams it up. It's silly material but the way they controlled their bodies and executed the physical humor was clever. Worth 13 minutes for sure.

Chas. Chapman and the Fat Boy appear in this as a couple of genial jags. The humor is not of an offensive sort, though few performers can avoid this in such scenes. The angry wives follow them and they take to a boat in the lake, which is swamped in an amusing manner. - The Moving Picture World, September 19, 1914