Police

Charlie Chaplin's "Police" is rather uneven, as are so many of his Essanay features, although it does have a few good parts. In one respect, it's somewhat like his later movies, in that on a number of occasions some social commentary is obviously intended. But such ideas are not expressed nearly so well here as they would be in Chaplin's later, better-remembered films. Here, in fact, it is just these parts that usually slow things down. In this movie, at least, the slapstick generally works a little better than do the attempts to say something.

In "Police", Chaplin plays a just-released convict, who gets involved with police officers, street preachers, and a variety of other characters as he tries to figure out what to do with himself. Some of his predicaments are good for some laughs, while others really do not come off. It's worth seeing, but there are many other Chaplin comedies, even from his early years, that are more satisfying. His efforts to combine social commentary with slapstick seemed to work much better later, when he not only had more experience, but also had complete control over his projects.

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

From his Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'Police' is not one of his very best but is one of his best early efforts and among the better short films of his. It shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career, from 1914, The Essanay period is something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. Something that can be seen in the more than worthwhile 'Police'.

The story is more discernible than usual and is never dull, but is sometimes a bit too busy.

On the other hand, 'Police' looks pretty good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.

While not one of his most hilarious or touching, 'Police' is still very funny with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick and has substance and pathos that generally were not there with Keystone. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight. The ending is great fun.

Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, particularly a charming Edna Purviance.

In summary, very good and one of the best from Chaplin's Essanay period. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This short comedy marked an impressive leap forward for Charlie Chaplin: it tells a good story in a clear and economical manner, Charlie himself is a sympathetic and even dignified figure though down-and-out, and there are elements of social commentary that don't overwhelm everything else. Oh, and 'Police' also happens to be quite funny, even laugh out loud funny at times. Nothing feels forced, for the gags all spring naturally from the situation and from Charlie's character, and we never get the sense he's straining to make us laugh, nor is there any gratuitous knockabout. Barely two years after facing a camera for the first time, Chaplin the director demonstrates real maturity as a filmmaker while Chaplin the performer is at or near his early peak.

The setting is certainly gritty. As the film opens Charlie is being released from prison after serving time for some unspecified crime, and almost immediately he's set upon by an oily fake preacher who urges him to "go straight" while quietly picking his pocket. (After learning this hard lesson Charlie is suspicious of all others who use the phrase, and no wonder.) When he arrives at a flophouse to lodge for the night, Charlie sees an obviously ill man who is allowed in free of charge by the proprietor; so he coughs, sucks in his cheeks and tries to pass himself off as consumptive, but the proprietor isn't fooled. Funny? Well, yes, it's an amusing gag, but only in the bleakest sense. Charlie is a genuine tramp here, not just an eccentric in a derby, and your enjoyment of the film may depend on your tolerance for this brand of grim, whistling-past-the-flophouse humor. Chaplin experienced dire poverty as a child, so the milieu isn't the product of idle speculation on his part: he knew all too well what hard-scrabble life was like. At any rate, repeated scrapes with cops suggest that our hero may not be out of jail for long, and when he bumps into a former cell-mate who recruits him to participate in a burglary we get the sinking feeling that Charlie is doomed.

As soon as the burglary is underway we recognize that Charlie has been a criminal out of necessity, not from any natural aptitude for crime; that is to say, he is the most inept burglar imaginable, unable to pry open windows, sure to knock furniture over with his cane, and inclined to take the least valuable items in the household. The young woman on the premises (Charlie's perennial leading lady Edna Purviance) confronts the thieves, but Charlie shows us what he's really made of when his partner attempts to get rough with her, and he immediately acts as her protector. While the ending isn't exactly a happy one, we are left with some hope for his redemption.

This was Chaplin's last official release produced for the Essanay company, although his former employers later cobbled together a short they called 'Triple Trouble' out of scraps and outtakes from various unfinished works, over his protests. Meanwhile however, after he completed this film Chaplin went to the Lone Star Studio to make some of his greatest short films for release by the Mutual company. But 'Police' can hold its own alongside the Mutual series, and ranks with Chaplin's best work from this early period. Unlike most of his Keystone comedies and some of the earlier, slapstick-y and disjointed Essanays, this film requires no special patience or tolerance to watch: it's a pleasure from beginning to end, beautifully photographed as well, and a fine introduction to its star for a newcomer to silent comedy who might wonder what Charlie Chaplin was all about.

With this picture Charlie Chaplin ended his fruitful tenure at Essanay. While he had produced a handful of better shorts in that period, Police does show off everything he had developed and perfected during his time at the studio. So let's recap with Charlie.

The first thing that is very evident is Chaplin's confidence in his own material. In contrast to the high-speed slapstick that made up virtually all silent comedy up to this point, Police contains lots of slow and subtle visual gags that rely upon the audience's ability to relate to the situations and pay attention to detail. So we get moments like Charlie drying his eyes on the preacher's beard, or getting into the habit of patting his pockets for change every time someone offers to help him go straight. The sedate pace of the bulk of the picture means that when we do get a bit of fast-paced action it has more impact.

However, the clearest and perhaps the most important development Chaplin made at Essanay was the ability to create stories. His first few Essanay pictures don't really have plots, and are just half an hour of antics based around a single location. With Police there is a well-defined structure, and this is probably the strongest and most carefully balanced story he has made so far. There is a consistent theme of Charlie trying to give up crime, and this is set up in the first scene and resolved in the last one. The love angle with Edna Purviance is also neatly established, with them running into each other part way through the burglary, and their relationship built-up and woven into the redemption idea. Perhaps this all sounds a bit high-minded for a comedy, but it is important because it helps the audience connect to the character and gives the jokes a bigger pay-off.

Ever the pragmatist, Chaplin would soon be lured to Mutual studios with the promise of a higher salary. At Mutual he would make what are generally agreed to be his finest short features. Still, his Essanay output, while very much the product of a learning phase, is full of fun and funniness, and the first time the world got to see the little tramp really flourish.

But that's not all; there's still the all-important statistic –

Number of kicks up the arse: 6 (2 for, 1 against)

Charlie Chaplin's penultimate film for Essanay is regarded as amongst the best of his output for the company. The film was actually released after his first film for the Mutual Film Corporation The Floorwalker, over five months after his previous Essanay film Burlesque on Carmen. Another interesting release related fact is that Police released over two years before his finally Essanay film Triple Trouble which was created in part by Chaplin regular Leo White by piecing together unused shots from other Chaplin films including this and the unfinished feature Life.

Police stars Chaplin as a recently released convict trying to make it in a cruel and hostile world. The initial plot follows along the same lines as much of Chaplin's work. There were portions of Police that reminded me of Modern Times and the idea of the Tramp struggling to survive was used by Chaplin time and time again. It has been suggested that Chaplin borrowed the plot from Broncho Billy's His Regeneration for which he had an uncredited cameo and I agree that the character development at least is shared between the two.

Having been swindled by a dodgy God botherer and having no money to pay for a bed for the night, the ex-con is held up at gunpoint by a man who turns out to be his ex-cell mate (Wesley Ruggles). The thief convinces the Tramp to assist him in robbing a nearby house and the two set about breaking in. Once inside they are confronted by the Daughter of the House (Edna Purviance) and chased by a number of Cops (Leo White, John Rand & Fred Goodwins). The Tramp manages to become the hero of the piece late on when he saves the Daughter of the House from a nasty attack.

Police begins very promisingly with some wonderful comic business early on. A highlight came when Chaplin visited a fruit seller and tried numerous apples, taking a bit and putting them back until he found one to his liking. The first time he put an apple back I actually snorted with laughter. I also enjoyed the scene in which Chaplin meets his ex-cell mate and sneakily robs him while the man is searching Chaplin for money. It's subtle and clever.

On a technical level the film is very good. I liked the scene in which Chaplin and Ruggles were shown only in shadow. This isn't something I remember seeing from Chaplin before and felt a bit German expressionist. I also thought that the use of filters was very accomplished. Filters are one of my least favourite aspects of early cinema but here Chaplin uses them well, leaving you in no doubt as to the time or setting of a scene.

I felt that the second half didn't quite live up to the first and certainly wasn't as funny. That being said it was actually more reminiscent of later Chaplin, forsaking jokes in favour of plot and character development. Unfortunately the romantic element just doesn't live up to the likes of City Lights and the film's ending is a little flat.

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