The Chaplin Mutual Comedies: 90th Anniversary Edition

David Shepard gave a sneak preview of these new DVDs at the Niles-Essanay Film Museum's Edison Theater on June 23,2006. I must say that while the last DVD restoration was great, this one keeps that same excellent film transfer, but adds more missing footage & title/dialogue cards from newly discovered prints.

ONE AM has the biggest improvement with a total of over 7 minutes of additional footage, I was not able to do a side-by-side comparison but there were scenes I did not remember. I do not want to spoil the comedy surprises of new footage here, you will have to enjoy it yourself.

Other shorts such as THE RINK included new comedy bits and title / dialogue cards that helped the flow & understanding of the story.

The bottom line is that this restoration does not improve on the already sharper picture quality of the previous release, but it does add missing footage not seen in the U.S. since the films' original releases.

UPDATE 7/20:
I have now had a chance to do a syncronized side-by-side comparison. While all of the other shorts are restored as mentioned above, adding new footage to the existing transfer, ONE AM is a totally new transfer.

My reaction to this new transfer is mixed. The big plus is a total of 7 minutes of new material added through out the short! In addition, the old transfer was from a print that was matted on the sides to add a soundtrack, causing a tall & thin picture. This new transfer restores the original square framed picture, adding to the sides of the picture. The negative side to this new transfer is that the complete full frame print is from a negative that is a couple more generations away from the original camera negative. This is most noticable in the opening (and longer) taxi scene. Picture details in the taxi are lost in the blacks, where the older transfer shows some vehicle details.

In a conversation I had with David, he said that trying to add the new footage to the existing footage on this title was too jarring, plus the sides of the picture were missing on the old transfer. The decision was made to go with the complete print for the whole transfer. It should be noted that the bulk of the short that takes place inside the house does not look bad and the benefits of the added picture to the sides are a big plus in keeping the new transfer.

David also stated that he was working on restoring Chaplin's Keystone comedies! If it is a David Shepard project, it is well worth getting.

If there's any truth to the proverb that the biggest enemy to great is good, this presentation of Chaplin's Mutual-films is not without an enemy. Granted, these twelve short films, made in 1916-17 to fulfill a contract which made the comedian into the highest-paid entertainer of his day, have been available in at least reasonably good prints through the years. This can be attributed to their lasting popularity, which assured that recent reissues of the films were still in circulation well into the era of TV. With this in mind, Chaplin's earlier films at Keystone and Essanay may appear to have been in more desperate need of restoration, as the public demand for these earlier, somewhat cruder films ceased as the years went by, causing the shape of surviving prints to deteriorate. However, while I fully support the ambition to have both the Keystones and Essanays restored as best as possible, a strong case can be made that it was during his period at Mutual that Chaplin turned out his first masterpieces, and to have these films available in "at least reasonably good prints" is simply not satisfying in the long run. This set, RESTORED 90TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION, does not only assure that the entertainment value of the films is kept intact; it actually takes Chaplin's artistic evolution seriously, making viewers able to study every nuance and detail through crisp, crystal-clear presentations. Image Entertainment has, simply, produced the best edition of the Mutual-films, ever.

As is to be expected, David Shepard, among others, has been involved in the restoration, using the best sources available. In some cases, most notably in ONE A.M. and THE RINK, the restorations even provide recently discovered footage, apparently not seen since their original releases. As for the music, one of my favorite composers Carl Davis has been brought in, and he does the films justice by providing the scores with an often poetic undercurrent, employing strings for the more devious moments in the films. There are a few times, I'll admit, when I think the music becomes slightly too melancholic, seen in context to what is going on in the films (one example being a few scenes in ONE A.M.), but for the most part it works wonderfully. Other than the films themselves, there are quite a few additional treasures to be enjoyed. First, two documentaries are included; THE GENTLEMAN TRAMP (78 min.) and CHAPLIN'S GOLIATH (54 min.). The former dates back to 1975, and should be of interest to most Chaplin-fans, as it is the sole documentary ever made on his life which had the comedian involved in its making. The film is narrated by none other than Walter Matthau, and includes much archival footage as well as beautifully shot home movies. The second documentary covers the life of Chaplin's irreplacable "giant" during the Mutual-period, Eric Campbell, based partly on insights from the heavy man's granddaughter and Chaplin-biographer David Robinson. Also among the extras are two fine and very interesting booklets, "The Chaplin Mutuals" by Jeffrey Vance and "The Making of The Gentleman Tramp" by Richard Patterson. There's also a photo gallery on both discs (identical to one another, as far as I can see).

Some viewers have observed that some films are not entirely complete; for instance, there seems to exist a few moments of footage of THE CURE not included in this set. Even so, this edition is the closest to perfection anyone has come yet, and I'm incredibly grateful for it. To newcomers of Chaplin, shorts such as EASY STREET and THE IMMIGRANT should work as splendid introductions. Well worth the money! (This review was updated and revised in May, 2012)

When Charlie Chaplin signed with the Mutual Film Company in 1916, he became the highest-paid performer at that time (with an annual salary of $670,000) and produced a dozen two-reelers that served as a blueprint for the rest of his career. The Mutuals captured the essence of Chaplin's serio-comic brilliance while revealing an artist at his creative peak. A stronger sense of ensemble was evident in the menacing presence of Eric Campbell, who became regarded as the ideal Chaplin heavy. "Easy Street" and "The Immigrant" (both 1917) represent the comedian's first masterpieces - incorporating social criticism that foreshadowed his feature-length efforts. The rough-edged quality of the Keystone and Essanay shorts has been replaced by a more polished style, with "The Rink" (1916) and "The Cure" (1917) displaying remarkable physical virtuosity. Charlie's later films never matched the exuberance and self-assuredness of that glorious 16-month period when the Little Tramp reached his artistic maturity.

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