Il pellegrino

Two words: "WATCH IT!"

Throughout this last of Charlie's short(er) films, he puts on a clinic of amazing pantomime that could never be as funny if it were a talking picture! He makes you believe it's all for real - whether on screen it appears to be "real" or is obviously pantomime as part of the story in and of itself. Think about this while watching it - really think how Chaplin makes it look easy, whereas if one of us average Joes tried it, we'd probably come off looking histrionic and ridiculous! ;-) lol

There are also some great sight gags, one of which involves Charlie on the back of a man, trying to close a drawer with his feet, while the man tries opening the same drawer with his hands; and back and forth they furiously go! I just mention this one in particular as I'd not yet seen any other reviewers do so, but it's just one great scene amidst many others!

Anyway, even without the Little Tramp in his familiar costume, you can still see him shining through as I think this film presents many of the same type of story elements and character qualities that led to the Little Fellow becoming an immortal icon. :-)

(9 out of 10 stars for not enough romantic interaction between Charlie & Edna, but that's strictly just my personal preference. Except for "Burlesque on Carmen", I would probably say that about nearly every picture they made together. ;-) lol)

Over-shadowed by such classics as THE GOLD RUSH or CITY-LIGHTS, THE PILGRIM is a delight and is perhaps Charlie's finest 'short'. Dropping his 'Little Tramp' character, Chaplin is now an escaped convict, heading out West disguised as a clergyman and who is mistaken for the new Pastor of a small Western town.

Sentiment is kept at a minimum and THE PILGRIM is filled with inventive sight gags and sequences, with perhaps the stand-out being the middle-section, where Charlie suffers from the attentions of a little boy (the bowler hat covered with custard and served as afternoon tea is a wonderfully surreal touch)..

The 1959 re-issued version is perhaps the version to see, as it comes with a wonderful score by Chaplin and a specially written theme song, 'Bound For Texas' sung by Britain's own Matt Monroe. It's a memorably jaunty song which you will be humming for days afterwards.

The Pilgrim is an outstanding example of Charlie Chaplin at work. So much of what Chaplin did was based on his physical ability to move like a dancer, and this film shows off his agility to the maximum. Charlie tumbles and jumps, turns on a dime, and makes every graceful movement funny. The plot is your basic silent movie plot, with a lot of mistaken identities and a love interest that leads to a plot climax and a happy ending for Charlie--but without the girl. (Charlie almost never got the girl at the end of his films. It was one of his enduring charms.) The difference between this and a typical silent film is the charisma of Charlie Chaplin. There is simply nothing else like it in film history.

The tramp escapes from prison and, with wanted posters everywhere, takes a train to a place picked randomly – Texas. Disguised as a minister he is fortune enough to be mistaken for the real deal when he stumbles into a welcoming party for a town's new minister, Reverend Phillip Pin. A mixed blessing this as it puts more pressure on his disguise and makes it even more important he cover up the telltale signs of a life spent behind bars.

As part of my recent film education I have been watching quite a few Chaplin films of this period as Sky have been showing them as a season over the last few weeks and what I have found is what everyone already knows – which is that the enduring popularity of Chaplin is not a fluke or accident. No, The Pilgrim yet again demonstrates the talent and skill that Chaplin had because it is very funny, imaginative and well put together. The story is simply and allows for a series of scenarios where Chaplin can work his comedy such as the hat becoming part of the pudding, the early confused chase and so on. However in the smaller moments you can also see plenty of evidence of talent; my favourite moments of the film are the frequent bits of habitual behaviour that betray the tramp as a convict. Having bought a ticket for the train he then climbs under the car because he is not aware of any other way of doing it, or while buying the ticket he leans against the bar as one would in a cage. Little things like this running along with the bigger scenarios make the film that much funnier for having a consistency to it.

In front of the camera Chaplin delivers perfectly. I have yet to get into his later films (although I will do) but I will be interested to see how he acts when he has the ability to deliver dialogue with sound. The reason for this is that silent film acting is much different from dialogue driven because near everything has to be done with body language and gestures; goes without saying that he is great at it. He is well supported by a cast getting familiar to me after seeing several of his shorts and the turns from Swain, Purviance, Underwood and others are good.

Overall then another classic comedy from Chaplin that is consistently funny due to the bigger laughs blended with lots of clever amusing detail.

I've only seen this as the 40 minute reissue with Matt Monroe warbling Chaplin's song 'Bound for Texas' all the way through it. There's nothing at all wrong with the tune or the singing, except that it comes on too often and makes you realise just how ordinary the rest of the score is. Maybe the DVD's better - maybe!

The film itself is a pleasure, not a joy, but it does have some typically wonderful Chaplin moments in it: The jig with the collection-boxes, the cake/hat, the sticking on his chin of the little 'beard' to make him look tough (what an expression he put on as well!) The reissue moves swiftly along, and you're borne with it until you sadly realise that it's over - too fast. Personally, the storyline is too thin and the gags though numerous are just too disparate and inconsequential to put this amongst his very best, but on a good second level. Charlie's maturer and lesser efforts like this are still towering achievements in comparison with most of his contemporaries and successors best.