Charlot fait une cure

Very simply the most hysterical of all his Mutuals! Charlie is not only inebriated throughout his stay in rehab but makes sure everyone in the place gets crocked too! A masterpiece! A riot! You'll laugh until you wet your pants!

This is an odd film from the outset, as Chaplin doesn't play the Little Tramp--the poor but decent soul he usually played. Instead, he's a rich alcoholic who goes to a spa to "take the cure"; i.e., rest, drink lots of mineral water and kick his booze habit. It's obvious, though, that he's not the least bit motivated as his luggage consists of dozens of bottles of booze. When the staff find them, they throw them out the window and accidentally into the spring--thus "fortifying" the water significantly. Everyone there gets drunk and Charlie finds, for the first time, he actually LIKES water! Highly ridiculous and silly, but that's slapstick for you. All-in-all, a very good film but quite a departure for Chaplin.

By the way, some time after I first saw and reviewed this movie I saw the documentary "Unknown Chaplin" and a significant portion of the first part of this interesting British show was about THE CURE. It was very interesting to see how the film evolved. In the beginning, Charlie cast himself as a bellhop and another person as the drunk. But after seeing many takes and re-takes, he apparently decided to do the drunk role himself. Many of the bellboy scenes were re-shot--now with Charlie doing them as the drunk. This documentary is a must-see for Chaplin fans.

Much of the delights in this short film involve a tipsy Charlie (whose luggage consists entirely of bottles, to the good fortune of the weirdly bearded porter) and a grouchy, gouty, Eric Campbell - a perfect foil for Chaplin, he'd be much missed after his death in a road accident later in 1917.

Edna Purviance, Charlie's usual sweetie in these short films, is a welcome presence, but it is Chaplin himself who shines throughout 'The Cure', whether struggling from the over zealous attention of a Turkish bath attendant, walking his funny walk up steps, or getting stuck along with Campbell in a set of revolving doors.

It doesn't get much better than this.

Charlie goes to a spa with a suitcase full of liquor, as he's obviously an alcoholic. Other guests are Eric Campbell, who has apparently broken his foot (you know what is stepped on numerous times in this film) and Edna, who takes the liking of both men.

Funny scenes include several with a revolving door, in particular at the end, when Campbell takes a dive from his wheelchair into a small pool with special water... how did they manage to do that!

The ending is pretty good as well, as 'The Girl' is Charlies cure for alcoholism. In short, nice little Chaplin (in which he isn't The Tramp for a change) flick, which I'll give 7/10.

Charlie, an alcoholic, goes to a health spa for the water cure. He does so, however, only half-heartedly since his luggage is filled almost entirely with alcohol. Once at the spa, he flirts with the always-delightful Edna Purviance and battles with always-menacing Eric Campbell, who finds himself at slight disadvantage in this film since his character suffers from gout. This film, Chaplin's tenth under his twelve-film Mutual contract, doesn't quite scale the heights of his previous one, "Easy Street," but remains one of his most consistently funny shorts. A revolving door is used repeatedly for great comic effect, but the highlight of the film is the massage sequence where Charlie desperately tries to avoid the rough treatment masseur Henry Bergman deals out. Charlie interestingly abandons his normal tramp persona for this film. Although he felt rich drinkers were ripe targets for comedy, he felt that alcoholism in the working class was a serious problem which wasn't suitable for comedy. (Don't ask me for attribution, but I know he said that somewhere.)