Caught in a Cabaret

'Caught in a Cabaret' is directed and written by Mabel Normand but she allows Chaplin to shine. She is the leading lady, but this movie is purely Chaplin's show. I don't know how much creative control Chaplin had over his stunts or in this film overall but his performance was great. He didn't play simple troublemaker still, his character was quite a swindler.

Charlie works as a waiter in the cheap Cabaret. In his lunch break, he saves Mabel from the mugger who has already chased off her boyfriend (Harry McCoy). Charlie presents himself as a high society man (Prime Minister of Greenland, or Greek Ambassador - I've seen two versions). Mabel invites him to her party. Charlie goes back to work, and after finishing his shift, he goes to the party. In there he gets trunk and makes somewhat of a fool of himself. Mabel's bitter boyfriend leads Mabel and the party company at Charlie's workplace where his true identity is revealed.

The plot is very coherent. Many of the jokes and gags are reused but they work well. The film doesn't offer many surprises or belly laughs but it is funny and entertaining. Besides quite a well-developed plot (well, compared to some other Keystone comedies from that era) the movie is not very memorable.