The Bond

This obvious PSA for Liberty Bonds was the last film presented on disc one of the "American Slapstick" DVD collection. Written, directed, and starring Charlie Chaplin, we go through the bonds of friendship, love, marriage, and the Liberty kind. The funniest segment was the "Love" part with The Tramp going through a courtship with his longtime leading lady Edna Purviance. Lots of stuff involving a fake moon, his cane, Cupid, and some wrapping paper contributes to the entertainment factor in that one. In the Liberty segment, Chaplin's brother Syd portrays the Kaiser who gets bopped by Charlie. Worth a look for anyone interested in all kinds of film miscellany.

A promotional film to push liberty bonds. Pretty weak if judged as a Chaplin comedy, but effective enough as a public service film. Purviance looks radiant.

The Bond(1918) is an extremely funny short film that was done to support the war effort. The film is made up of a few skits about the many kinds of bonds. The most important bond that the title refers to are the Liberty Bonds. Charles Chaplin shows in The Bond(1918) why he was one of the biggest stars in the early part of the Twentifth Century. The Bond(1918) is to World War 1 what The Great Dictator(1941) was to World War 2.

Technically, this is an exceptionally well-made Chaplin film--with great special effects and makeup. However, it really isn't a Chaplin short but a short advertisement for the theaters in order to sell Liberty Bonds for WWI. As an advertising and propaganda piece, it achieves it goals very well and was fun to watch but how can you really rate something like this on IMDb? You can't really stack this up against any of Chaplin's other shorts and it must be seen as a unique curio.

FYI--this is an included DVD extra from Warner Brother's Chaplin Collection. This is an exceptional set covering nearly all his full-length films and his later (and in my opinion, better-made) shorts. A great set for fans of silent comedy or an exceptional way to learn more about this comic genius.

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, 'The Bond' is among the lesser ones for me of his early output, though it is interesting as a historical and curiosity piece. 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 has been illustrated much better than in 'The Bond'.

The story is slight and slightly too simple and is also at times too busy and manic. It also feels on the short side and Chaplin's style is not as distinctive as in a lot of his other work.

What makes 'The Bond' a historical and curiosity piece is the advertising and propaganda element. It's intriguing certainly, if rather heavy-handed.

On the other hand, 'The Bond' 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.

'The Bond' is successful generally in its content. It has some very funny moments, although it doesn't always feel Chaplin-esque and the charm doesn't get over-sentimental. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight.

Chaplin directs more than competently. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role.

Overall, interesting but mainly a curio. 6/10 Bethany Cox