Chaplin - The Floorwalker (1916) - Video On Demand

Chaplin - The Floorwalker - Movie Review

The Floorwalker was Charlie Chaplin's first Mutual Film Company made in 1916. Chaplin's Little Tramp has the misfortune of walking into a department store right when a lookalike is robbing the safe of the store manager. It was noted for the first 'running staircase' used in films. Edna Purviance played a minor role as a secretary to the store manager, played by Eric Campbell.

The manager of a department store and the security man arrange an inside job when the store comes under investigation from detectives due to a discrepancy in the accounts. After causing havoc on the sales floor by fiddling with a series of items and display models, Charlie runs into the floorwalker (Charlie's near double) who has just robbed the safe and knocked out the manager. Due to this resemblance to the floorwalker, Charlie thinks he is in front of a mirror, as does his double, and they move in unison until Charlie notices his image is holding a bag of loot robbed from the office safe. The floorwalker attempts to get away by changing clothes with Charlie but the manager, now conscious and mistaking Charlie for his partner, seizes the money. A wild chase, the wrong way down the up escalator, and up and down in the lift, finally leads to his capture.

The Floorwalker was the first of Chaplin's twelve two-reel films for the Mutual Company. This was Chaplin's third film contract in as many years, and it gave him, aside from a large increase in salary, unprecedented creative freedom. He responded by giving the world perhaps the best series of two-reel silent comedies. Chaplin made great strides as film maker during this period, and laid the groundwork for his feature-length triumphs to come.

The difference between the Mutual films and his Essanay films of the previous year are obvious from the start. The technical quality of the film making in almost all categories increases, and, although there are some notable holdovers from Essanay, especially leading-lady Edna Purviance, the quality of his stock company at Mutual also improves. The Floorwalker gives us the debut of Eric Campbell, Chaplin's best heavy, and Albert Austin, another stalwart foil. Most importantly, the level of humor rises from the rough, knockabout slapstick of his earliest films.

The Floorwalker is more heavily-plotted than most of his earlier shorts. It uses Chaplin's common plot device of mistaken identity which he employed from 1914's "Caught in a Cabaret" to 1940's "The Great Dictator." This device allowed his tramp "everyman" to get a taste of the lifestyle of the rich and stuffy. This time he doesn't reach as high - merely to the ranks of the employed. The gags are good, in particular Chaplin makes excellent use of an escalator.

Chaplin - The Floorwalker - Cast & Crew

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