All good things come to an end, and when that good thing was Charlie Chaplin's tenure at a studio, it tended to come to an end in style. This was Chaplin's last picture for Mutual, and his second studio finale to have the apt if disparaging theme of the little tramp's escape from the long arm of the law.But really, the man-on-the-run angle is just a bit of trivial cheekiness. This is not one of Chaplin's great story pictures. Instead, he appears to be simply having a bit of fun with his last fling at Mutual. The Adventurer consists of a varied series of escapades, linked loosely by the narrative, but all of which could easily have come from another picture or even been expanded into a short in their own right. So we move from Charlie the fugitive to Charlie the rescuer of drowning women, to Charlie the party-crasher and so on. And yet The Adventurer is not vague or bitty. Instead this is perhaps Chaplin's most flowingly funny picture to date. The comic now had the professional ease of a seasoned acrobat, and here he reels off the gags with an almost casual comedic agility.Supporting Charlie here are the usual familiar supporting players – Edna Purviance, John Rand, Albert Austin, Henry Bergman – all of whom would follow him to his next stable, First National. And yet these are all in relatively minor functional parts in the Adventurer. Chaplin's real partner here is Eric Campbell, who sadly would not follow the tramp on any more adventures. Campbell died several months after the picture's release. Here however you can see him at his best, as he seemingly relishes playing one of his most unforgivably mean characters. He exhibits a wonderful knowledge of what his job is in the comical scheme of things, brilliantly treading that line between authoritative ogre and buffoon.And so we end again with that all-important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 8 (5 for, 3 against)

Charlie Chaplin made a dozen short films for Mutual Films and this is one of them. It's a very good film, but also very odd because the Little Tramp is in this case the Little Jail Bird! Charlie playing an escaped prisoner is not that unusual in his early years, but those used to the sweeter character he played in his full-length films won't really recognize this characterization.Despite being a wanted man, Charlie seems pretty decent as he helps several people who fall into the sea. As a result of his efforts, he is taken back to the home of one of the rich people he saved. When he awakens, he thinks, initially, he's in prison. But, once he realizes where he is, he relaxes and has a good time--until the police arrive and a series of mad dashes and chases occur--much like the very beginning of the film.Cute, fun and, all in all, pretty insignificant fare from Chaplin.

I've seen The Adventurer well over a dozen times and each time it is just as funny as the time before. I repeatedly find myself thinking during the first scenes (where Charlie is on the beach and on the lamb from the police) that those scenes must be the high of the movie and as such that the movie will progessively sink from the close of those scenes on. Yet each time I watch the film I am pleasantly refreshed to the fact that the whole film is equally great.Chaplin is excellent in the film, and his frequent foil in the early movies, Eric Campbell, is also perhaps at his best.This film is well worth watching (several times).

Charles Chaplin plays an escaped convict, who saves a rich girl and her mother, and is treated as a hero.But how long can he hide from the law.The Adventurer is a great short silent comedy movie from 1917.The movie has many funny scenes, like when Charlie is chased by the cops.It is great fun to watch these old silent movies and see how much the movies have changed from those days.