Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors. From his post-Essanay period when he was working for Mutual, 'The Vagabond' is not one of his very best or even among the best of this particular period. It and his Essanay period shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career, from 1914, The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence periods where his style had been found and starting to settle. 'The Vagabond' is among the best of his early work and for me it is the first great Chaplin short under Mutual.Certainly other efforts of his have more pathos and a balance of that and the comedy than 'The Vagabond'. On the other hand, 'The Vagabond' looks pretty good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious here and preferred.'The Vagabond' is one of his funniest from this period and does it without being over-reliant on slapstick. It moves quickly and there is a more discernible and busier story to usual, even if at times it could have had more variety.Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, with a charming Edna Purviance and the chemistry between her and Chaplin. Summing up, very well done. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Charles Chaplin came up with the Tramp character one hundred years ago, in 1914.In 1916 the world had known him for two years.And that was the year he made this film, The Vagabond.This time he's a saloon violinist, who saves a girl, played by Edna Purviance from a gypsy caravan led by Eric Campbell.Then a painter finds the girl and paints her portrait.But does the painter get the girl? Or is it our beloved little tramp who gets her? Charles Chaplin has come up with a great story, once again.The funniest scene is where he performs for the girl.And he keeps falling into a bucket of water.This all reminds a bit of his latter film Limelight (1952), where he also played the violin.Chaplin was also an amateur violin player.He was really an artist, not just a regular movie maker.

A Musician-Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) leaves town following a chase to find himself in a gypsy camp. There he finds a poor abducted girl (Edna Purviance) who he attempts to cheer up with his music. Having witnessed a savage beating of the girl by the gypsy chieftain (Eric Campbell), the Tramp goes about saving the girl and setting her free. While attempting to woo her, a handsome artist chances by and has Edna sit for a portrait. The portrait attracts the attention of Edna's estranged family who attempt to take her away from the Tramp for good.I honestly can't think of a single Chaplin film during which I've laughed so little but on this occasion that is not a negative statement. Here Chaplin provides plenty of his trademark pathos and creates a film which is much more of a romantic drama than romantic comedy or slapstick comedy.The film drives to depths of sadness which I simply wasn't prepared for and around a minute before the end I was starring dumbfounded at the screen. Charlie's attempts to maintain the romance are endearing but you always get the feeling that they are futile. There is a level of romantic lyricism which I haven't found in any Chaplin release prior to this one. For the most part Chaplin foregoes comedy in favour of letting the story unfold and only finds time for the odd knock to the head or spitting of water. To me this film really shows the development of Chaplin from the slapstick comedian of his Keystone and early Essanay days, towards the kind of romantic pathos that he became renowned for by the early 1930s.Another obvious link between his early and latter career are the themes of the film. For me there is a link between this film and 1915s The Tramp and the idea of a beaten and brutalised gypsy girl is explored in even greater detail in 1928s The Circus. Both of those films end with the iconic footage of the Tramp walking away into the distance, happy and content, despite not getting the girl. The ending of The Vagabond seems to be heading down that line but thankfully takes a sharp turn. Given the sadness of the previous five or so minutes I don't think I could have taken any other ending! One interesting point about this film is the Tramp's entrance. The opening shot is of two saloon doors. After a few seconds some feet can be seen approaching the doors from the other side. After just a couple of frames it is obvious that it is the Tramp character from his distinctive walk, shoes and cane. Only those three things are visible until the doors open to reveal the whole man and it shows great confidence in the character's fame. I can think of no other screen character in history that could enter a scene with only their feet showing and the audience would know exactly who they are.Although The Vagabond is certainly not a film I'd recommend to someone unfamiliar with Chaplin's work, for those with an understanding of his history it is a momentous film. Despite very little actual comedy, Chaplin still plays with his audience's emotions and creates a memorable and poignant film that includes two outstanding performances from himself and frequent co-star Edna Purviance.www.attheback.blogspot.com

By the time he made the Vagabond, Charlie Chaplin was not just the most popular comic on the screen, he was a fully fledged hero of cinema. It seemed that, so long as he continued to be funny, he could do no wrong, and people would always want to watch him.And just the opening shot of the Vagabond shows Chaplin's confidence in his own familiarity and popularity. He appears here as just a pair of feet below a saloon door, his gait alone being enough for audiences to recognise him. He then walks to the back of the set, to a point squeezed between the wall and the edge of the frame, while some other musicians set up in the foreground. The framing provided by the wall, plus the fact that the little tramp is inherently interesting to us as an audience, mean that our focus is upon him. These are not just good approaches for comedy, they are professional cinematic techniques that any director could put to use.Then, as usually happens, a plot begins to emerge from this situation, but the Vagabond's is a plot with an important difference. Not because the story is extremely poignant (so were those in The Tramp and The Bank) or neatly structured (as was that of Police), but because Chaplin treats the dramatic scenes purely as drama. He backs up the subplot with a few completely straight scenes, with naturalistic acting and camera moves that would have been distracting in a comedy scene but give added impact here. The slow dolly back from Purviance's portrait, beginning with just the picture then gradually revealing its setting and the growing crowd of admirers, really demonstrates Chaplin's competence and understanding as a director.But what is amazing here is the ease with which Chaplin and his cast are able to slip so freely between comedy and drama. Charlotte Mineau gives what must be her best performance, and Edna Purviance shows a greater expanse of her range than we have hitherto seen. Most incredible of all is the acting of Charlie himself, his face a little hard to read under the toothbrush moustache, but doing some carefully nuanced work with gesture and body language. Lastly an honourable mention goes to Leo White, one of my all-time favourite Chaplin co-stars, in his last ever appearance with Charlie. He's not easy to recognise here (he's the gypsy harridan!), but doing a nice and very funny job as always. This wasn't the end for White though; he had various supporting roles through the rest of the silent era, and has a blink-and-miss-it bit part in virtually every Warner Brothers picture of the 30s and 40s.The only flaw in the Vagabond is the final twenty seconds, a vulgar and forced happy ending, although it is done smoothly enough so as not to ruin the overall feel of the picture. Even with this coda in place, we are left with a sense of satisfaction, of a story well told. And while Chaplin had done several strong and emotionally involving shorts before this, the Vagabond is perhaps the first one in which you could take out all the comedy and still be left with a decent drama. It was at this point that the little tramp really gained the stature to become a leading man.