Tango Tangles (1914)

Director:

Mack Sennett

Writer:

Mack Sennett (writer)

Release Date:

9 March 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

Out of costume, Charlie is a clean-shaven dandy who, somewhat drunk, visits a dance hall. There the...

Plot Keywords:

Pillow Fight | Slapstick | Dance Party

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Charles Chaplin	...	Tipsy Dancer
Ford Sterling	...	Band Leader
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle	...	Clarinettist
Chester Conklin	...	Guest in Police Costume
Minta Durfee	...	Guest

Also Known As:

Charlie's Recreation
Music Hall

Runtime:

12 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G

Company:

Keystone Film Company

Trivia:

Some sources credit the role of the Hat Check Girl to Minda Durfee; this role is actually played by Sadie Lampe; Durfee plays one of the guests at the dance hall.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: A young girl runs in front of the action during the ballroom scene, while her girlfriend is stopped and hustled off screen by a production assistant.

Charlie is upstaged

Tango Tangles, one of Charlie Chaplin's earliest silents, was made before The Little Tramp became his film persona of choice. Here, without his moustache, the surprisingly young-looking comic does a variation on his popular music hall drunk act, playing a dandy who tries to woo a cute dancer, much to the chagrin of his rivals for her affections -- a band leader and a fat musician, the latter played by Fatty Arbuckle.

This is quite a rare film in that Chaplin is completely and utterly overshadowed by one of his co-stars. Ford Sterling, an actor little remembered today, plays the bandleader, and offers such balletic, graceful and funny slapstick in his comedic fights with both Chaplin and Arbuckle that one could think that Chaplin might have taken some inspiration from the older actor in his own later performances as The Tramp.

This was a movie that cries out for sound. The story takes place at a dance (apparently a real one, based on the fact that a number of bystanders can be seen smiling and waving at the camera!), yet the music usually heard on the stock soundtracks provided for these silents on DVD and video does not match the action on screen, which appears to be performed in time with whatever music was being played at the time.

This isn't a bad film by any means, and it's interesting for its rare glimpse of the silent era Chaplin without his Tramp disguise. It also offers some funny moments for Fatty Arbuckle. But this is very much Ford Sterling's show and he's a joy to watch.