The Adventurer (1917)

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Whereas the other eleven shorts Charlie Chaplin made for Mutual Films, having for the first time full artistic freedom to develop his VERY own style, all had some serious or even tragic elements in them, this last one of them (and the biggest box-office success) gives us just plain, simple comedy that reminds us of his beginnings at the Keystone Studios - only with more wit and artistic ambition; and with quite an unusual protagonist, too: Charlie (who usually wasn't on the best of terms with the police in his movies, anyway) is a convict here who, just with the beginning of that wonderful 25-minute short story, escapes from prison in the most hilarious way! (He'd do the same thing 6 years later in "The Pilgrim", but in a different style that time...) So we see him running and hiding from the cops with his usual, inimitable movements; only not in his 'tramp' apparel this time, but in prisoner's clothes... We see a whole bunch of policemen hunting him, shooting at him, and yet ending up rolling down hills or being tricked out by the little fellow in some other way! And then - something entirely different happens: down at the beach, where he's finally found rescue, he's got to save a mother, daughter and her fiancée from drowning; and the thankful family, of course, take him to their home and dress him like a real gentleman! And of course, our hero develops tender emotions very soon for the lovely daughter (a blonde Edna Purviance this time) and vice versa, while he and the big fat fiancée (Charlie's friend Eric Campbell at his best once again) pick on each other with every opportunity - until the jealous suitor sees Charlie's 'WANTED' picture in a newspaper... Well, from that moment on, of course, the chase continues!So, for all those who keep accusing Charlie Chaplin of being 'too much of a sentimentalist': they should SURELY watch "The Adventurer", to see that Charlie could also be just plain funny - and INGENIOUSLY funny, for that matter! Even after almost 100 years, this wonderfully crazy, fast-paced short FULL of unbelievable ideas still looks as fresh and entertaining as the day it first reached the movie theaters!

There are almost too many pratfalls in this short (then again when is there enough when done right). Chaplin plays a prisoner who escapes (his entrance in the movie is just fantastic on the beach), and is chased for a little while by the guards- as he does daring-do to escape like rushing up a cliff-side or doing a fun way of pulling a gun on someone- and then gets away by helping two women from drowning and is sucked up into their bourgeois existence. There's barely a beat when a gag is missed, and Chaplin takes every one. It was in the style of the 'Keystone Kops" series where there were chases and chases and more chases, and just lots of variations on gags. What makes it work is that it's gut-bustingly funny, from how he saves the pretty woman and leaves the other woman still drowning until he goes back (or how he knocks the big man back into the water, having to use his big fake beard to pull him out!). He also uses sliding doors to great usage here. And if memory serves there's even a fun gag involving ice cream! It's nothing brainy, it's just a really fun comic-book like short that utilizes all of Chaplin's physical prowess and his guts, and his timing running up those stairs in the house is one of the most brilliant things out there.

Although there isn't quite the depth to "The Adventurer" that many of Chaplin's films have, since most of it is just slapstick comedy, on that level it is still quite a success. It is non-stop fun with a lot of good gags, with good work not only from Chaplin but also from his supporting cast.Charlie plays a convict who escapes from prison and tries one thing after another to stay free. Early in the movie, when he happens to save a rich girl (Chaplin regular Edna Purviance) from drowning, he is taken into her home, and from there, some hilarious situations and a lot of frantic activity follow.One of the things that works very well in this feature is the re-use of a couple of the same gags with different details. Chaplin and the rest of the cast also work together well in building up the humor as it goes along. There are also some hints at some of Chaplin's usual social themes. For pure comedy, this is one of the best of Chaplin's short films.

Not all the early Chaplin films are classics, but this one is. The best bits are the chasing scenes, especially at the beginning (Charlie escaping from prison) and in the middle. The way Chaplin makes excellent and varying use of a humble lampshade should put many modern filmmakers with their inflated budgets to shame.