The Immigrant (1917)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Writers:

(more)

Release Date:

17 June 1917 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Charlie is an immigrant who endures a challenging voyage and gets into trouble as soon as he arrives in America.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Thief | Immigrant | False Accusation | Statue Of Liberty

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Immigrant
Edna Purviance	...	Immigrant
Eric Campbell	...	The head waiter
Albert Austin	...	A diner
Henry Bergman	...	The artist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kitty Bradbury	...	Mother (uncredited)
Frank J. Coleman	...	Ship's officer / Restaurant owner (uncredited)
William Gillespie	...	Cafe violinist (uncredited)
Tom Harrington	...	Marriage registrar (uncredited)
James T. Kelley	...	Shabby man in restaurant (uncredited)
John Rand	...	Tipsy diner who cannot pay (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford	...	The cheater (uncredited)
Janet Miller Sully	...	Passenger (uncredited)
Loyal Underwood	...	Small immigrant (uncredited)
Tom Wilson	...	Gambler on ship (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Vincent Bryan		uncredited
Charles Chaplin		uncredited
Maverick Terrell		uncredited

Produced by
Henry P. Caulfield	....	producer (uncredited)
Charles Chaplin	....	producer (uncredited)
John Jasper	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Roland Totheroh		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)

Art Department
George Cleethorpe	....	property master (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ira H. Morgan	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
George C. 'Duke' Zalibra	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Transportation Department
Toraichi Kono	....	driver: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Other crew
Ed Brewer	....	technical director (uncredited)
Tom Harrington	....	assistant: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Lone Star Corporation

Distributors

• Mutual Film (1917) (USA) (theatrical)
• Image Entertainment (1991) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Madacy Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Koch Vision (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• IC International Classics (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Living Colour Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)

Also Known As:

A Modern Columbus (USA)
Broke (USA) (8mm release title (short version))
Hello U.S.A. (USA)
The New World (USA)

Runtime:

20 min | Argentina:30 min | Germany:24 min (restored version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Lone Star Corporation

Trivia:

The scene in which Charles Chaplin''s character kicks an immigration officer was cited later as "evidence" of his anti-Americanism when he was forced to leave the United States during the McCarthy "Red Scare" period in the 1950s.

Goofs:

Continuity: An axe disappears off a wall between shots during the craps game. Chaplin originally shot a gag using the axe (photos of this sequence exist) but cut it from the final film, which created a continuity error.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)

Out of the cattle boat, endlessly rocking . . .

This legendary comedy stands as one of Charlie Chaplin's great achievements, a seamless blend of humor, romance, suspense and social commentary, all packed into an 18-minute running time! It's especially impressive when you consider that only three years earlier Chaplin was a complete novice at movie making, cranking out reels of crude and chaotic slapstick for Mack Sennett. In THE IMMIGRANT Chaplin demonstrates a total command of contemporary film-making skills at a time when he was well ahead of many of his peers in terms of cinematography, editing, and basic storytelling ability. Still, what most impresses the viewer is Charlie himself: here we find this iconic character in full bloom, at the very moment when Chaplin had attained peak virtuosity as a performer. He's a marvel, and a joy to watch.

The first half of this film is set on the sort of beat-up, wildly rocking cattle boat that had served as passage to America for an entire generation of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and it's likely that many of the people who saw THE IMMIGRANT when it was new could relate to the experience first-hand. Charlie is one of a large group of people, apparently of Eastern European origin (although this is never specified) emigrating to the United States. Some viewers may find the humor in these scenes pretty vulgar, what with the relentless sea-sickness motif. The very first shot of the film suggests that Charlie is already suffering from a violent bout of mal-de-mere, although there is a surprise twist that reveals we've jumped to the wrong conclusion. Whether you find these gags funny or not, it can't be denied that they're based on harsh reality only slightly exaggerated for comic effect; after all, before he was famous Chaplin himself came to America with the Karno Comedy troupe in a boat not unlike the one we see here, and his memory of that experience must still have been fresh-- unpleasantly so.

In any event, the highlights of the shipboard sequence include Charlie's attempts to navigate the slick floor of the dining hall, his meeting with Edna and her mother, and a game of cards with some hard-core gamblers that is, in turn, hilarious and scary. The shipboard segment closes with one of Chaplin's most famous gags: as the immigrants get their first view of the Statue of Liberty the camera lingers for a moment on their expressions, at which point they are suddenly pushed back behind a rope line and then herded through customs like cattle by brusque, uniformed officials. As this takes place, Charlie sneaks a quick look back at the horizon, as if wondering whether Miss Liberty is really out there after all, and then he manages to give one of the rude officials a swift kick. A most satisfying moment, that.

The second half of THE IMMIGRANT takes place in a restaurant, and this sequence is a comic masterpiece in and of itself. Charlie, hungry and broke, enters the restaurant thinking he has at least enough money to pay for an order of beans and a cup of coffee. When he realizes he's mistaken about his ability to pay, his prime objective is to escape the wrath of enormous waiter Eric Campbell, who is almost as menacing here as he was playing the bully in EASY STREET. Campbell is a huge factor (so to speak) in making this sequence work so beautifully, as he had a knack for portraying comic villainy in a way that was both funny and genuinely frightening; Charlie's fear at what may happen to him if he fails to pay his check feels very believable. The many ingenious devices Charlie contrives to avoid facing the music make up the rest of the show, and as the suspense mounts the gags get funnier. (It was interesting to learn from the documentary "Unknown Chaplin" that this sequence was written and filmed first, and that the lead-in material on the boat was devised afterward.) It's in the restaurant that Charlie also reunites with his shipboard sweetheart Edna, and their relationship feels natural, touching, and real, and provides this wonderful comedy with an appropriately poignant finale.