Charlot fait du cinéma

Shot very early in Chaplin's film career, A Film Johnny (I have no idea what the title means) is a short, but fascinating look at how movies were made in the earliest days of Hollywood.

Unfortunately, the DVD version I saw was a 1930s reissue edit that, for some reason, omits the prologue in which Chaplin decides to visit a movie studio after falling for a girl on the screen. But what remains is a fast-paced, sometimes confusing montage of scenes in which the Little Tramp (fast developing into the character the world would come to love) basically causes havoc at the real-life Keystone Studios.

Reportedly, Mack Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle and even Mabel Normand appear in the film. I think I spotted Sennett, but I have no idea what role Arbuckle played, while Normand was nowhere to be seen (though she might be the girl seen laughing at Charlie at the end). But as I saw a shortened version, it's possible their scenes were simply cut out.

What does survive is a very funny (and innovative) gag in which Chaplin lights a cigarette by firing a gun loaded with blanks at it. That, plus a fleeting glimpse of the Keystone Studios mere weeks after Chaplin began his movie career, makes this worthwhile. Chaplin's later film, Behind the Screen, another movie lot comedy, is a much better film, however.

Film Johnnie, A (1914)

** (out of 4)

Charles Chaplin plays a film buff who goes to Keystone Studios to meet his favorite stars, which he does but at the same time he doesn't find himself welcomed after a while. Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Virginia Kirtley, Mabel Normand and Ford Sterling are among the stars seen at the studio and while this it's fun to see all these stars together I wouldn't go further by calling this a good movie. Chaplin is quite animated here as he finds himself getting into one mess after another, which eventually leads to his setting a set on fire. Some historians seem to think that this movie was a way for the studio to display their feelings towards Chaplin. It was well known that he was causing trouble with his attitude even this early in his career so historians believe the annoying character here is the studio showing him as he was. I'm not sure how true this is but it's an interesting theory.

Just watched on the Internet Archive site 8 minutes of what this site states was a 15 minute short made by Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios. It stars Charlie Chaplin in another of his early appearances in which he's at that studio, as a civilian in his Tramp costume, wreaking havoc. If I didn't read the synopsis here beforehand, I would have been partly confused as to what was going on but because of that, I laughed at the part where he came to the "rescue" of his lady crush when she was being "attacked" and when he used the gun to kill her "attacker". Also, was that the first time that gun was used to light a cigarette? Was marred a bit by blurry titles and, once again, missing beginning context. Still, I was quite fascinated by what I saw of A Film Johnnie. Update-6/14/11: I just watched the entire thing on YouTube with the original Keystone titles intact. It's now a bit funnier so I'm now upping the rating from 5 to 7.

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.

He did do better than 'A Film Johnnie', still made very early on in his career where he was still finding his feet and not fully formed what he became famous for. Can understand why the Keystone period suffered from not being as best remembered or highly remembered than his later efforts, but they are mainly decent and important in their own right. 'A Film Johnnie' is a long way from a career high, but has a lot of nice things about it.

'A Film Johnnie' is not as hilarious, charming or touching as his later work and some other shorts in the same period. The story is flimsy and the production values not as audacious. Occasionally, things feel a little scrappy and confused.

For someone who was still relatively new to the film industry and had literally just moved on from their stage background, 'A Film Johnnie' is not bad at all.

While not audacious, the film hardly looks ugly, is more than competently directed and is appealingly played. Chaplin looks comfortable for so early on and shows his stage expertise while opening it up that it doesn't become stagy or repetitive shtick. The Tramp did become more likeable later but again he was still evolving.

Although the humour, charm and emotion was done even better and became more refined later, 'A Film Johnnie' is humorous, sweet and easy to like, though the emotion is not quite there. It moves quickly and doesn't feel too long or short.

Overall, far from one of Chaplin's best but pretty good and perhaps one of his better efforts from the early Keystone period. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Charles Chaplin plays an overly infatuated film fan who decides to visit a movie theatre after seeing a gorgeous actress on the poster. In theatre, he causes quite a havoc before he gets thrown out. Afterward, he manages to get inside the movie studio where he sees the girl from the poster and movie. Well, you guessed it, more havoc is caused.

The theme of a fan falling in love with a starlet is interesting. The plot is easy to follow, even though some scenes seem quite randomly put together. The most interesting part to me was of course the look inside The Keystone Studios and to see how the films were made back in the day. Chaplin's Tramp was still just a trouble maker, but perhaps here some of the more recognizable traits are becoming visible.

Chaotic but still amusing movie. One of the best from the early works of Charles Chaplin.

If anyone has a question about what the title means then it is a play with the term "stage door Johnnie" which was used to describe people who hang out near the theatres in hopes of meeting actors or even land a job in the theatre.