A Day's Pleasure

A DAY'S PLEASURE is a pleasure to see. It's not on the same level as Chaplin's A DOG'S LIFE or SHOULDER ARMS, but it might be a step above SUNNYSIDE. It really is funny. Chaplin plays a married man. First, he has a time trying to get his car started, then has a load of mishaps aboard a pleasure cruise ship. Finally, the traffic jam sequence is a laugh riot. The usual Chaplin players-Edna Purviance, Tom Wilson, Henry Bergman, Albert Austin, Loyal Underwood, even Jackie Coogan-are all as great as usual. A DAY'S PLEASURE is worth seeing if you're a Chaplin fan. For comedy lovers alone, it might not be as big a treat. Either way, it's funny.

"A Day's Pleasure" has a story and plot. In this one, Charlie Chaplin plays a family man, and they have a day of misadventures beginning with some trouble starting their automobile, then sea sickness on a cruise and, finally, they have difficulties passing a traffic crossing. The problem with the story and plot isn't that it's simple or episodic; the problem is that it's uncharacteristic of Chaplin. It would be a completely acceptable, perhaps even above average, two-reeler for any lesser comedian. Although everyone was a lesser comedian (at least in 1919), I mean those who didn't rise above these kinds of slapstick shorts.

Those like Laurel and Hardy would become masters of them, but films such as "A Day's Pleasure" were no longer the best Chaplin could do. He was already working on "The Kid", and it seems he wasn't very interested in shorter and simpler films anymore. First National demanded product, however, and so Chaplin rushed and forced out "A Day's Pleasure". And, it shows.

This is still pleasant to watch (it'd have been difficult to make this kind of picture unpleasant), and one may find plenty of laughs in it, but Chaplin was aiming, by now, for more than humor, and he could also be a lot funnier. His breakthrough, "The Kid", reflects that.

With a fun day ahead of them, a man, his wife and two young sons load up the car and prepare to head out. After some significant problems actually getting the car to go, they board the pleasure boat for an exhausting but fun voyage. And f course what fun family outing would be complete without traffic chaos to close it out? I've not actually watched that many Charlie Chaplin films you know. I can think of a handful off the top of my head that I saw a year or so ago but other than that not really and certainly I'm remiss in seeing some of his classic films. Fortunately an arts channel recently gave me a full afternoon to catch up, showing several classic film as well as some shorts – one of which was this. A Day's Pleasure takes a couple of situations to make for a family outing and produces some genuinely funny moments out of them. Sad to say that the film is not funnier but when I wasn't actually laughing (which was the majority) it was still amusing.

This is almost entirely down to Chaplin himself, who did everything but make the tea in this film according to the credits. Physically he has great comic movement and just the sight of him coming down the steps at the start warmed me. Not all the routines are that funny but all of them are well delivered by him, while the supporting cast of Wilson, Bergman and others all do well. The end result is an amusing short film that is consistently amusing with a few good laughs. Modern viewers not interested to begin with won't be won over but regardless it is amusing and has stood up well in terms of entertainment value.

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 period after Mutual, 'A Day's Pleasure' is not one of his very best and not even among the best of this particular period. As said with many of his post-Keystone efforts, 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. The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. After Mutual the style had properly settled and the cinematic genius emerged. Something that can be seen in 'A Day's Pleasure' though other efforts do it better.

The story is slight and a bit too busy and manic in places. It does get bogged down at times by padding and a few scenes that don't serve a lot of purpose. Not all the sequences work either.

It is agreed that the part with the rocking boat is far too exaggerated and doesn't look good or fit.

On the other hand, 'A Day's Pleasure' looks good, not amazing (though the opening shot for early Chaplin is remarkable) 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.

'A Day's Pleasure' is very funny and charming, if not one of Chaplin's substance or pathos-filled. Its best moments are hilarious with some clever, entertaining, remarkably inventive and well-timed slapstick and the charm doesn't get over-sentimental. It generally moves quickly and there is little dullness in sight. The second half is both amusing and enchanting and the message isn't laid on too thick and has more potency than one would think.

Chaplin directs more than competently and the cinematic genius quality is emerging. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The support is good and the chemistry charms.

Overall, good but not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is a good short comedy, and it has a bit of a different feel to it than most of Chaplin's shorts. Instead of his familiar tramp character or some other underdog, this time Charlie is a family man taking everyone out for a day of fun, along with some misadventures on the way there and back. There isn't much of Chaplin's usual social commentary, as it focuses instead on trying to get as much mileage as possible out of a few basic gags. Most of the time this works pretty well, although it bogs down a bit in the middle when a couple of the gags start to wear rather thin. Among other things, it's interesting in that the approach this time - the story line, and especially the milking each gag for all it is worth - is what you would expect from Laurel and Hardy, rather than from Chaplin. Overall, it's amusing and interesting, and worth a look.