Chaplin at Essanay Studios - part 4, the last of the four part series, showcases Chaplin's final films made for the studio. Among these are two films re-edited by Essanay after Chaplin's departure for Mutual Studios in 1916 and a film made completely without Chaplin's consent and completely from outtake materials. The films included in Part 4 are: A Night in the Show (1915), Burlesque on Carmen (1916), Police (1916) and Triple Trouble (1918).

First up, A Night in the Show (1915), casts Chaplin in two roles as spectators in the music hall. There's Mr. Pest (a type alive and well to theatergoers today) who can't quite find his seat or stay in it. Mr. Pest hilariously disrupts the act so many times that he becomes part of the show. And then there's Mr. Rowdy, who may've had a few too many. He almost goes over the balcony railing several times, pours liquor onto the audience below for amusement and turns a hose on the fire eater's flames thinking he's saved the day. The short is based on a sketch from Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe called A Night in an English Music Hall. Chaplin began performing with the Karno's troupe at the age of 17. And it was with this group that he made his way to the US in 1910. Appearing in A Night in an English Music Hall on the American stage gave Chaplin the exposure to launch his career. On seeing the sketch, a journalist reportedly called Chaplin "the world's greatest impersonator of inebriates and the biggest laugh-maker on the vaudeville stage." And Mack Sennett, who would sign Chaplin in 1913, was impressed enough to consider whether the young comedian was "good enough for pictures."

The second short, Burlesque on Carmen (1916) parodies two of-the-era films based on the Bizet opera Carmen. Both films were released in 1915, one by director Raoul Walsh and the other by Cecil B. DeMille. In the Chaplin version of the story, the Don Jose character becomes Darn Hosiery, an officer more laughingstock than lover. The film was intended to be a two reel short. But after Chaplin left Essanay, the studio re-edited the film and inserted additional material shot by Leo White and featuring Ben Turpin as a smuggler, turning the movie into a four reeler. Chaplin sued over the changes, but lost twice (the second time on appeal). While the courts may have approved Essanay's changes to Burlesque on Carmen, the critics weren't so accepting. As Photoplay reviewer Julian Johnson said, "In two reels this would be a characteristic Chaplin uproar. Four reels is watering the cream."

It's rather ironic that Essanay decided to pad Chaplin's two reeler, because in 1916, when he began working on a feature length film called Life, the studio pulled the plug on production midway through and reminded Chaplin of his contract calling exclusively for two reel films. The remnants of Life became Police (1916), the third short featured in Chaplin at Essanay Studios - part 4 and the last film Chaplin made for the studio. In Police, Chaplin's Tramp character is released from prison and finds the straight life with a little help from frequent co-star Edna Purviance. This time Chaplin intended the film to be a three reeler, and after his departure, Essanay cut it down to two reels. Chaplin assumed the extra footage had been destroyed. But unsurprisingly, it would turn up again.

The film Triple Trouble (1918), released two years after Chaplin left Essanay (and without his permission), was made up mostly of leftovers, including the shaved segments of Police. Other unused scenes from Life were strung together with pieces of Work (1915) and some new footage. This all combines into a bizarre plot where Chaplin plays a janitor in the home of an inventor who¿s working on a new secret weapon. Since it was unauthorized and didn't bear Chaplin's creative stamp of approval, Triple Trouble has been excluded from many Chaplin filmographies. But in Chaplin's book My Autobiography , the movie is acknowledged as "a Chaplin film."

Chaplin at Essanay Studios - part 4 closes the door on Chaplin's run at Essanay -- the studio where the Tramp character first evolved. Unfortunately, the studio also soon closed its own doors. Its financial problems could not survive the loss of Chaplin and Essanay folded soon after Triple Trouble was released. So after fifteen films with Essanay, Chaplin left for Mutual Studios in 1916.

Chaplin at Essanay Studios - Part 4 Producer: Jesse T. Robbins,
Director: Charles Chaplin
Screenplay: Charles Chaplin, Vincent Bryan, Leo White
Cinematography: Harry Ensign, Roland Totheroh
Film Editing: Herman G. Weinberg
Music: Robert Israel,
Cast: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Wesley Ruggles, Leo White, Billy Armstrong, Ben Turpin.
BW-105m.

by Stephanie Thames