Charlie Chaplin is at it again in another comedy short for which he wrote, directed as well as starred in THE PAWNSHOP (Mutual/Lone Star Studios, 1916). Following the pattern of working man comedies for the studio starting with THE FLOORWALKER (1916) and THE FIREMAN (1916) followed by occasional drifter characters as in THE VAGABOND (1916), for his sixth Mutual comedy, he's back in the working force again, this time in a pawn shop creating havoc under the watch of nameless characters as his employer (Henry Bergman), the employer's daughter (Edna Purviance) and fellow co-worker (John Ran, resembling silent comic Chester Conklin) with whom he shares a kicking contest from time to time in the seats of their pants.The plot is a slight one consisting of runabout gags in the usual Chaplin tradition. After arriving late for work, Charlie begins his new day of antics as using a duster on a fan that's still in motion, shifting the latter back and forth, unintentionally hitting those around him, particularly his co-worker (John Rand) and his employer (Henry Bergman), to dust off the ornamental fixtures outside the pawn shop as observed by a policeman (Frank J. Coleman). Nearly getting fired, Charlie is given a second chance, making an impression with the boss's daughter (Edna Purviance), later coping with oddball customers at the front counter, including an out of work actor (James T. Kelly) with a hard-luck story; another (Albert Austin) wanting two dollars as a trade in for his alarm clock; an elderly woman (Charlotte Mineau) wanting something for her gold fish bowl; and a jeweler (Eric Campbell) wanting to see some diamonds for purchase, unaware to all (except for the viewer reading the title card identifying him as "A Crook") that he's there to rob the place.An extremely funny comedy, with one of the highlights being that from Albert Austin, the man with the alarm clock. He really doesn't do anything but just stands there, watching Charlie playing doctor as he checks over the clock with a stethoscope, resulting to a hilarious scene close. Somehow, these few minutes between Chaplin and Austin is as good as it gets. Another moment of funny business has Charlie helping Edna in the kitchen by passing plates and cups to dry through a clothes wringer. Surprisingly, Eric Campbell, the giant-size adversary usually part of Charlie's antics, gets little screen time, making his first appearance very late into the story. In spite of his limitations, Campbell makes every moment of his count where laughs are concerned. Henry Bergman, (no relation to Ingrid or Ingmar), resembling some cast member from "The Jazz Singer" in his Hebrew garb, doing what he does best as part of Chaplin's stock company of players.A laugh fest at best that, along with Chaplin's other Mutuals, THE PAWN SHOP has circulated on public television in the sixties and seventies with musical soundtrack with sound effects lifted from early 1930s reissue prints, prints that have been available to home video in the 1980s and 90s by Blackhawk and/or Republic Home Video, or original scoring for commercial television for "Charlie Chaplin Comedy Theater" that originated in the 1960s. In later years, THE PAWN SHOP has become available on DVD, namely KINO Home Video with new orchestration and at longer length (28 minutes) through silent speed projection, the print occasionally shown on cable television's Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 13, 1999). So if anyone has anything to pawn, particularly a clock once belonging to Albert Austin, take it to Charlie's pawn shop, and then go seek professional help. Next Chaplin Mutual comedy: BEHIND THE SCREEN (1916). (***)

One of Charlie Chaplin's really early movies casts him as a pawnshop employee who, through no fault of his own, has a tendency to make a mess of everything. The whole thing is a riot, especially the sequence with the ladder. I think that it was a few years later when Chaplin started incorporating social themes into his movies. In the meantime, the man known as the Tramp knew exactly how to show some absolutely hilarious stuff. The daughter is played by Edna Purviance, who was probably his most frequent co-star, appearing in his movies as late as the '50s.All in all, if we appraise "The Pawnshop", it's worth a whole lot! Just plain fun.

Charlie plays an assistant at a pawnshop with a eye for the owner's daughter and a skill for making mischief. "The Pawnshop" is perhaps least plotted of Chaplin's Mutual films. Charlie thwarts Eric Campbell's plan to rob the business, but little screen time is devoted to that story. This is a situational, or should I say, occupational comedy, where Charlie and his talented cast and crew try to make the most of a particular setting. The best sequence in the film comes when customer Albert Austin arrives with a clock to pawn. Charlie hilariously and inventively destroys the clock in his attempt to discern its value. This "business" - the ability to wring comic potential from simple everyday items - is a lost skill among modern comics. Chaplin was a master at it, and this film serves as a good example why.

"The Pawnshop" is a pretty good Charlie Chaplin comedy, with some routine stretches but also some very good slapstick. It features Charlie as an assistant in a pawnshop, engaged in a heated rivalry with another employee, trying to stay on the good side of the boss and the boss's pretty daughter, and occasionally waiting on a customer. The beginning has some very funny moments, with some slapstick that makes good use of the props, which include a feather duster and a ladder. There is a funny finale with Eric Campbell - one of Chaplin's best regular supporting players - playing a thief. The parts in between have some good moments, too, but they overdo it a bit with Charlie's fights with the other shop assistant. Overall, this is an average short feature for Chaplin, which means it is pretty good by most other standards.