The Pilgrim (1923)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

In his last movie for First National, Charlie is once again a convict who just escaped from jail - and to disguise himself, stole the clothes of a priest! And, as fate would have it, on his train trip to 'nowhere', he gets off in a small Texan town where the people are just awaiting their new parson... So, without ANY knowledge about his new 'job', he's got to play the role - and his first church service becomes, of course, an INIMITABLE farce! (While he, from force of habit, always keeps an eye on the boxes with the collection money...) The only story from the Bible he seems to know is that of David and Goliath (and that's NO coincidence at all - for that was the very part Charlie played so often in all kinds of variations in his films!); and he tells it in a WONDERFULLY funny pantomime, which of course was ONLY possible back in the good old silent days...Then, he gets to know the family where he'll live; and the lovely daughter is, of course, once more Edna Purviance (this is the last movie he made together with her), and a romantic bond develops immediately... But very soon, complications turn up for the fugitive: his old jail mate happens to come to the same town - and although he plays the 'nice guy' in the beginning, in fact he intends to steal the family's money Edna's mother keeps in a drawer... So what is the 'parson' to do now?? Just like all the comedies Charlie Chaplin made for First National, "The Pilgrim" is another WONDERFUL example of comedy at its VERY best, FULL of funny scenes (like the one where the neighbors come to see Edna's family with their spoiled little boy; and Charlie has got to pull himself together while the brat keeps slapping him and pouring water over him - not quite unlike W.C. Fields in "The Old-Fashioned Way"...), not without a meaning, and with beautiful sentiments throughout, which however never slip into 'sentimentality' - a TREASURE for every fan of classic movies, and a PERFECT way to get the younger generations to know and love silent cinema!

As was now his tradition when leaving a studio, Charlie Chaplin here begins his final short feature for First National with an escape from prison. It also appears he was vengefully trying to bankrupt the studio, with lots of fancy sets, costumes and location shooting in what is one of his larger scale short pictures.But what really makes The Pilgrim stand out is that, like his earliest works for First National, A Dog's Life and Shoulder Arms, it is really a concerted effort, with all the breadth, sincerity and care in production of his full-length features. After some experimentation in The Idle Class and Pay Day the comic now returns to his roots, pushing pure pantomime to its limits. Sequences like his acting out of the story of David and Goliath or little asides such as his gestures describing features of people in a photo album demand the intention and intelligence of the audience, and are very rewarding gags as a result. The business with the hat in the cake is also a great routine, a classic Chaplin situation of the chaos caused by the little tramp becoming bigger than the tramp himself.Chaplin regulars such as Henry Bergman make only fleeting appearances in The Pilgrim. One time stalwart Albert Austin, now busy as a director, does not feature at all. Making up for this deficit however is one of the more substantial appearances by Charlie's brother Syd Chaplin. His pompous husband makes a great counter-foil for the tramp – his looks of horror and indignant gestures are priceless – and he was really strong enough to have become a recurring character in his own right. Sadly this was Syd's last appearance in one of his brother's films.The nicest thing about The Pilgrim is that it is a great return to stories driven by the little tramp's character – something that had been wavering in the last couple of Chaplin shorts. Many of the gags stem from his status as a plucky fugitive, and his complete inappropriateness – yet clever bluffing – in the role of a preacher. Once again we have a rounded yet unfulfilled love for Edna Purviance, and his redemption for her sake is given a credible build-up. With his last ever short, Chaplin demonstrates that these little movies where he had honed his craft were far from idle throwaways.We end with the all-important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 2 (2 for).

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.

Having escaped from prison for a crime that is never mentioned, The Tramp disguises himself as a pastor as he heads for Texas. Arriving from train, he is quickly mistaken as the new curator / priest that the small town is expecting. The Tramp is once again placed into a situation that he was act his way out of. Finding himself in the middle of a sermon, The Tramp must perform is way off stage to convince the town that he a priest. The ending, although meant to be funny, is more political that humor. The 1920's outlook on Mexico was the same as it was since the end of the Mexican American War in the 1840's. The audience laughs as we see Mexico and its people as savage and unpredictable as ever. Although the Tramp survives to fight another day, he manages to throw a political message out to the audience before the end of the movie.