User reviews

Entertaining, but not among Chaplin's best.

Interesting plot: the Tramp becomes a policeman! (It could happen...). From here many adventures ensue.

Has the usual Chaplin slapstick and sight gags but also has some darker themes: bullying, abuse of power, power-madness, instant fame and even drug abuse (though here it appears more of an advert for drugs - it was 1917 I guess, so they didn't know better).

However, it is not as powerful, clever or laugh-a-minute as Chaplin's later stuff. Chaplin's gags seem less well thought-out and more about cheap laughs here. I guess he was still honing his craft and exploring his own boundaries.

Good performances. Eric Campbell is scary as the bully, he of the fearsome eyebrows.

Easy Street starts with Charlie with as a poor, destitute tramp. After attending a storefront revival service, and meeting the always delightful Edna Purviance, he decides to turn his life around. He quickly gets a job as a policeman and he finds himself assigned to Easy Street, the worst neighborhood in the city ruled by tough Eric Campbell. Using his own unorthodox tactics, Charlie eventually subdues Eric and neighborhood and they all live happily ever after.

Easy Street was one of the twelve films Chaplin made for Mutual. Mutual gave Chaplin unprecedented freedom and responded by giving them, overall, twelve of the best comedy shorts ever made. Easy Street is easily the best of them. It is a very funny short. This is the film I show when I want to introduce someone to Chaplin or silent films in general. The gags are inventive, and they are extremely well-played by his regular company of Mutual performers. Chaplin himself is at his best in this film, but where would he be without Eric Campbell, the best heavy he ever played against. (Sadly, Campbell would die in a car accident after the completion of the Mutual comedies. His loss would be felt in the First National comedies, which rarely reached the heights of the best Mutual work.)

But there is more to Easy Street than laughs. It is unusually mature for a silent comedy of its period. Chaplin usually presented his tramp character as a happy-go-lucky figure - a vagabond by choice, not circumstance. This film starts with the tramp as a down-and-out character, much in need of the new beginning he gets at the mission. In perhaps his first attempt at social commentary, Chaplin provides an unblinking view of ills of the society of the time. The most graphic example is the drug addict shooting up with a needle. People often have a misconception of silent comedies being simply quaint. That isn't quaint.

This is a must see.

I've been a Chaplin fan since I was in grade school, and Easy Street was the movie that converted me for keeps. It wasn't the first of his films I saw, but once I'd seen it I knew that Charlie Chaplin was truly as great as his reputation proclaimed. He's wonderful here, at the peak of his powers, funny and moving and seemingly super-human, like some kind of cartoon dynamo. And today, more than 30 years since I first encountered it (and almost 90 years since it was made!) this is a film I could watch again anytime, not just because it's funny -- although it is -- but also for darker, more melancholy reasons. Easy Street is certainly a comedy, but it's no one's idea of a light-hearted romp: the humor in this story is rooted in poverty, violence and substance abuse, and unfortunately all of these things are just as relevant today as they were in 1917. It's well known that Chaplin grew up in dire poverty, and it's reasonable to assume that the squalid world of this ironically titled work is based on his childhood memories. This film stands as proof that the greatest comedy is born out of pain, and that's why I can return to it again and again, for although human suffering is always topical and always relevant, so is the urge to transcend suffering through humor. In this film Chaplin triumphs over the deprivations of his own childhood, and viewers can share in his triumph.

In the opening scene we find Charlie fallen on hard times, no longer the dapper Gentleman Tramp of earlier appearances but a real derelict, ragged, pale, and sleeping on the ground. He is drawn to a nearby mission by the sound of singing, joins the congregation and soon pledges to go straight; he even proves his conversion is genuine by pulling the collection box from his baggy pants and returning it to the startled minister. Before long Charlie has applied for the job of police officer in the roughest neighborhood imaginable, Easy Street, a slum ruled by an enormous bully, magnificently portrayed by actor Eric Campbell. The unfortunate Mr. Campbell, who would be killed in a car accident less than a year after giving this performance, deserves a belated nod of respect for making Easy Street such a memorable experience. Although clearly intended as a comic caricature, Campbell's nameless bully is nonetheless a formidable figure, a mighty beast with a shaved head and heavy eyebrows, and the close-ups that reveal Campbell's stage makeup do nothing to diminish his powerful aura.

The film's most unforgettable sequence comes when Officer Charlie, dressed in a Keystone Cop style uniform as he nervously walks his beat for the first time, suddenly comes face-to-face with Campbell, an ogre several times his size. The scene is filmed in a single lengthy take, beginning with a tracking shot as Charlie strolls down the sidewalk, encounters the bully, and then tries to stand up to him. The bully, who appears to be made of granite, becomes increasingly sure of himself as Charlie falters. When Charlie finally resorts to clubbing him over the head, the blows have no effect whatever; in fact, the bully impassively offers his head for more clubbing, just to demonstrate how little it bothers him. Charlie tries to flee, but the bully yanks him back and starts toying with him, like a cat tormenting a mouse before moving in for the kill. Scary, right? Well it's funny in the movie, but scary too, and it comes as a relief when Charlie (in an iconic moment as familiar as Harold Lloyd dangling from the clock) resourcefully uses a nearby gas lamp to subdue the bully -- temporarily, anyway.

While the scenes with Campbell are moments to savor, there are also a number of low-key sequences involving the lady from the mission, played by Chaplin's perennial leading lady Edna Purviance, and during these scenes we get a vivid picture of life on Easy Street. Edna takes Charlie to a flat full of kids whose exhausted-looking parents obviously can't cope. Charlie, impressed with the scrawny Dad's ability to father so many children, quietly pins his own badge on the man's chest. It's a sadly funny moment, but the larger picture is bleak, and before the story is over we've been presented with images of domestic abuse and drug addiction. None of this material is prettified or sentimentalized in the "Hollywood" manner; this looks more like newsreel footage, and some viewers may well find it depressing. Easy Street is no stroll in the park, but somehow Chaplin is able to leave us on a note of hope, even while making it clear (with one last gag involving the reformed bully and his wife) that he's fully aware of the wishful thinking involved. Still, it's a beautiful ending to a great movie, one that demonstrates Chaplin's artistry as beautifully as any short film he ever made.

Easy Street is one of the first films that really solidified Chaplin's intentions to continue to represent the poorer people of society. In this film, Chaplin's common rich vs. poor theme is especially prevalent in the way that the predicament of the poor is presented, and especially given the fact that, at this point in his career, Chaplin was earning roughly $10,000 a week.

Although this is one of Chaplin's best short films, it is strange that in the church near the beginning of the film, he turns the hymn book upside down as though he can't read, but then he is soon able to read the help wanted sign at the police station. At any rate, after he leaves the church, having found Jesus, he finds the streets seething with comical violence. He sees that the police are looking to hire, and his hesitant entrance into the police station is one of the funniest parts of the entire film.

Clearly, it's amusing enough to see the tramp in a policeman's uniform, but the way that he and the bully that seems to have claimed ownership of Easy Street interact is also some classic comedy. The irony in this film is that Charlie is trying to get this huge guy under control so that he will stop terrorizing the people, but then when he does, in fact, defeat him, the people are afraid of HIM. As is almost always the case when Charlie performs some heroism in his films (usually inadvertently), he acts like it was no big deal when people arrive (see the scene in The Gold Rush when Jack gets knocked out by a falling clock, and Charlie thought that he had done it).

The part that most clearly represents Charlie's sympathy for the poor in this film is the scene when he catches the woman stealing from the sleeping street vendor. At first, it seems that he is going to turn her in, but he is so heartbroken that he runs to the street vendor (who is still asleep), and steals more food for the woman, and then encourages her to hurry off before the vendor wakes up and realizes what has happened.

This rich vs. poor theme is one of the many that traverses a good majority of Chaplin's career, but there are many other things that can be seen in his later films, like the love interest element of The Bank that can be seen in a very similar form later in City Lights. In this film, there is a short sequence where Charlie sits on a hypodermic needle that had been used by a man to shoot up with (something like that wouldn't be quite as funny if it was done today), and his reaction to the small dose of the drug is almost exactly the same as that in Modern Times, when he pours cocaine onto his food, thinking it's salt.

Easy Street is an entertaining and heartwarming story in many ways, and the ending leaves the feeling that something has really been accomplished in the film. As Charlie calmly walks the sidewalks in his policeman's uniform, everyone on the street is orderly and well dressed, and even the bully tips his hat to Charlie as he walks by. Unfortunately, very few people watch Chaplin's films anymore, but even if only a few are watched, this should definitely be one of them.

This is the one in which Chaplin gets a job as a policemen and is given the prime task of policing Easy Street, a notorious hotspot of vice and crime, from which the police are usually wheeled back to the station in a wheelbarrow. Eric Campbell, often seen in Chaplin films as an upper-class braggart with an elaborate beard here plays a clean-shaven bully who rules the street with an iron fist, and it's not long before Chaplin has to go head to head with him.

This one is pretty funny. The street has such a reputation that even an 8-year-old kid can scare the police. To defeat Campbell's bully, Chaplin has to trap his head in the gas lamp of a suspiciously rubbery lamppost. One aspect of the film that looks quite bizarre today is the way that one character who is clearly a junkie is portrayed as a figure of fun.

The tramp needs money to get around, and first tries to steal it from the Mission. But then he decides to actually do something with his life, gives back the money and becomes a police officer. He takes on the big villain and makes everything right again in the neighbourhood.

As stated before on this pages, this is an early try from Chaplin to make some social points on this one. The athmosphere is a lot darker than his other shorts, with the fighting a bit heavier (we see Campbell actually throwing a police officer against some other), and the appearance of what seems to be a drug addict.

It sure isn't my favourite Chaplin short, though there are some funny moments. I'm a bit surprised it gets so much praise (and a high grade) on these pages. For real classics (in my very, very humble opinion) watch The Aventurer, Pay Day or The Tramp instead.

6/10.

Easy Street (1917) : Brief Review -

Charlie Chaplin as a Heroic Cop inventing useful cliches on "Tough Street". That's Enough! The toughest beat for a cop is named 'Easy Street'. This is a good metaphor even after 104 years, don't you agree? Or haven't you seen the similar stuff in at least one film in your life which was of course made years after East Street. Well, that's called inventing cliches. Hollywood was getting involved in almost every genre in the 10s decade but Comedy wasn't really explored by the mid 10s. Chaplin did the job alongside Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton by the end of the 10s decade and continued the same in the 20s decade too. We owe them a lot for that. Easy Street is an action-comedy, an unknown genre then but a popular one Today. I live in India, i belong to Bollywood Industry so this Action-Comedy Genre is well known, and well in demand which makes this film a very important affair for me. And like i said, Chaplin discovered useful cliches which i have seen in almost every cop film belonging to action-comedy genre in Hollywood as well Bollywood. A reformed tramp becomes a police constable who must fight a huge thug who dominates an inner city street. Chaplin again does some innovative acrobatics and brings laughter but most importantly it has that linear equation formed correctly. Comedy stunts are not easy in any era, whether it was 1917 or 2021, this segment always has to have sense which obviously comes from proper management. Here, that linear equation, that well planned cat and mouse game in pacy line-up makes it looks sensible and so does extremely funny. Eric Campbell can be seen doing all his trademarks here. Overall, Easy Street is short and sweet and believe me watching Chaplin in Cop's avatar is some pleasant thing for sure. Enjoy the original resource of those cliches you have been enjoying for years.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

This is as complete a 2 reeler (each reel was about 10 minutes in the old days) as you can get in a silent film. Charlie Chaplin is really in character & in stride in this movie.

The setting of the plot in the mission & on a poor neighborhood street is drawn from Chaplin's own childhood. The bully was too, although he was probably a composite of those who mistreated Chaplin as a child. The tramp becoming a hero is no better done than in this story.

The film not only has excellent comedy, but manages to pull a little on the heart strings without getting too emotional. Edna Purviance provides an excellent female lead. Eric Campbell plays the giant bully very well too. Charlie is in great form too.

If your into checking out 2 reel comedies,I highly recommend this film. This is one that made 2 reeler's an art form during this era of silent films.

I liked "Easy Street" better than "The Cure", and I watched them back to back. There were actually some laughs in this one. I tuned out toward the end and apparently missed something to do with a drug addict and Charlie sitting on a needle. These movies are too fast paced for my modern attention span.

It has a couple of memorable moments: the bully bends a lamp-post in half with his massive strength, so Charlie puts the lamp over his head and turns the gas up to anaesthetize him. After this, there's another memorable sight gag: every time he turns his back, he gets swarmed by the riff-raff of Easy street, but when he turns to face them, they immediately disperse.

It's pretty amusing but I could never imagine finding myself in stitches at one of these movies. I think humour has changed. There, I said it.

Comedy wise this is probably the most disappointing of Chaplin's Mutual films that I've seen so far. In the entire film I only laughed out loud once and generally there were very few funny moments anywhere. What the film does contain though is another tender story about overcoming the odds, hard work, temperance and love which is something that Chaplin was becoming the master of at this stage of his career.

Easy Street itself looks to be modelled on the sort of South London streets that Chaplin would have grown up on himself. They don't look very American to me and it's only when a late chase takes us outside of the confines of Easy Street that it becomes obvious that we are in America. Like much of Chaplin's work, Easy Street is routed in a Dickensian world that predates film altogether. The crime and violence on Easy Street may well have been a satirical response to pre Prohibition America where if history is to be believed the masses drank until they passed out or were knocked out. The saving grace of the Policeman and the Christian Mission is very appropriate to the era.

What is nice about Easy Street is that Chaplin's character is without selfishness. In many of his early films he was the reluctant hero or came to be the hero through mistake or after he had attempted to con or rip people off. Easy Street shows a further departure from this and towards his later incarnation as the victim/underdog of his future films. It's a shame that in Easy Street though Chaplin wasn't able to balance the character, story and comedy and that the latter suffers. The basis of an excellent film is in place but like most people I watch a Charlie Chaplin film to laugh and I didn't do that in this film.

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When a tramp decides to go straight, he returns the money he has just stolen from a mission and commits to putting back into his community by joining the police force. Unfortunately for him his assigned patrol is Easy Street – a virtual no-go area controlled by a violent and intimidating bully. Unaware of this the young tramp heads onto the beat.

Very highly rated on this site, this short film is a typical Chaplin film as it mixes comedy with an social heart. In this regard I must admit that I found it amusing (but not hilarious) and engaging (but hardly cutting in its insight). What I supposed is most telling is that the film isn't dated and boring, it still seems fresh and lively even though technology has moved so far ahead of the period; that doesn't mean it is brilliant but it must stand for something I guess. The scenes are well laid out and tickled me but personally I much prefer the shorts of Laurel & Hardy for their sheer comedy value.

Chaplin is his usual reliable self and does his tramp personae well. He is given sturdy support specifically from Campbell as the E Street bully but also from others who react to Chaplin rather than doing something themselves. Overall then an amusing little short that will please Chaplin fans. Not one of his best but certainly worth a look for those with more than a passing interest in the man.

A title card says "Back on top again". A tramp huddles in a doorway below a sign saying "Hope". Does this look like the opening to a slapstick comedy? In this, the ninth of Charlie Chaplin's pictures at Mutual studios, it is indeed a good few minutes before we even get a joke. But such was the delicacy and professionalism Chaplin put into his craft audiences did not, and still do not mind.

While many of Chaplin's preceding pictures had featured some element of drama or poignancy, you can see in Easy Street that his merging of the two with comedy is now completely seamless. He is continually switching from one to the other, setting up deeper moments then bursting them with a gag. He even uses one to set up the other. An early Chaplin picture might have had us follow Charlie the rookie cop and discover with him how rough his beat is, but what we actually get is several cuts to scenes of fighting on Easy Street, culminating in the mighty Eric Campbell scaring off all comers. Campbell struts around the now empty street for a moment, and then, in the background, Charlie comes plodding round the corner. All those shots of the scuffle go towards building up this iconic and very funny entrance.

Although Chaplin himself is on top form here, a couple of honourable mentions should go out to his supporting cast. This is perhaps the ultimate burly bully role for Eric Campbell. When you see him in that melee, he even looks like a big man among other big men, not just because of his gargantuan size but the way he carries that size. I love that close-up of him swallowing the key. If you're a good lip-reader you can tell he's saying "Ya see this? Ya see it?" which you have to imagine in a thick Scotch brogue (Campbell was from Strathclyde). Then there is a lesser-known Chaplin-regular, Charlotte Mineau, playing Big Eric's wife. Mineau was normally just a type-filler for a slightly older woman, but here she gets to show off her own slapstick skills, doing some very athletic bounce-back manoeuvres when Campbell pushes her over. For some unknown reason this was her last appearance for Chaplin.

Easy Street is not the funniest Chaplin short by a long shot, but it is surely his best merging of dramatic and comedic elements so far. What other comedian of this period was tackling crime in the slums, domestic violence and drug abuse? Come to think of it, what mainstream filmmaker was? And in spite of its weighty subject matter Easy Street provides the laughs and the entertainment. When you look at how nicely done it is on all levels, you can see not only was Chaplin making by far the best comedies of the time, he was making some of the best pictures of any kind.

Here comes the all-important statistic –

Number of kicks up the arse: 1 (1 for)

Mr. Chaplin,of course, had gotten his initiation into the Motion Picture Business with Mack Sennettat the Keystone Studio. The year was 1914 and Mack signed Charlie to a one year deal. Acting and physical comedy were all deeply embedded in the Chaplin personality as he had just about grown up on the stage. He had done a lot of different work, including the boy in the stage play, THE ADVENTURES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES.

At the time of his discovery by Sennett (There was no American Idol Show then!)he had just finished a tour of the States in a show called, "A NIGHT IN THE English MUSIC HALL", which was called "THE MUMMING BIRDS" in Britain. He had a featured part in a sketch where he played an annoying Drunk.* Also in the show was a fellow Englishman by the name of Arthur Stanley Jefferson, a Red Headed lad who took the Stage Name of Stan Laurel.** After this first year in the Sennett Stable, the young Chaplin's stock had risen considerably. He had started out as mostly a supporting player and quickly moved up the ladder to featured comic. By the end of 1914,he was writing, directing and acting in front of the camera. Enter Essanay.

The Essanay Film Manufacturing Corporation of Chicago was founded by partners George K.Spoor and G.M. Anderson(better known as Broncho Billy).*** The name is derived from the 'S' in Spoor and the 'A' in Anderson. Hence we get S and A, or the single name, "Essanay".

Spoor and Anderson opened up their coffers in order to obtain the services of Charlie. He also got plenty of perks in the deal. He would essentially be his own boss, writing, directing, etc. hat was good for 1915, but what next?

In 1917 the Chaplin show moved on. Now a fresh new deal was inked with 'The Little Tramp' late in '16. Mr. Charles Chaplin now had big buck$ in $alary, lot$ of ca$h for budgetary consideration and full artistic freedom. He could make his films as he wanted, taking whatever time needed, employing what methods he saw fit to use.

All that resulted was a fabulous 12 two reel films, each one a gem. He had elevated the 2 reeler Comedy Short Subject to the level of most Feature Films. The films would be released as a production of Mutual's Lone Star comedies. Much like Jackie Gleason's HONEYMOONERS episodes of '50's Television fame, it is just about impossible to pick a favourite.

EASY STREET has always been rated right up at the top of the bunch to this writer. In it the Little Tramp is seen as a "Derilict", living on 'Skid Row' and will do just about any thing. After meeting up with a lovely Mission Lady (Edna Purviance), Charlie is smitten and vows to make himself. As he leaves the Salvation Army-Type Rescue Mission, he even gives back the collection basket that he has stolen.

The Tramp soon answers a 'Help Wanted' sign hanging on the local Police Station. Then for the remaining three quarters of this film we see a great variety of the finest mixtures of sight gags and true sentiment. He proves to be firm, yet charitable. His persona as a Police Officer is multi-faceted. He is not only the 'Man', or the 'Big Heat'.

The sequence leading up to his tangling with the Bully of Easy Street (Eric Campbell) is a magnificently engineered gag upon gag, finally reaching a crescendo. And, just when victory seems to be at hand, the 'Problem' returns.

The end of the film shows that Beat Cop Chaplin not only has been successful in 'cleaning-up' of Easy Street crime conditions, but also has done okay with the Mission Lady.

Just as an after thought, in looking at this 1917 Comedy, we may very well have a glimpse into the heart and soul of The Little Trasmp. In his later years in the U.S.A., Mr. Chaplin came under suspicion for his Political Beliefs. This was the era of one Joe Stalin and the "Red Scare". Charles had gotten a reputation for his inquiry about radical or 'Un-American Idologies, not that he ever opened up his check book to Moscow or anything like that. Anyway as we all know, he was refused re-admission into the United States following a European trip in 1952.You see, Chaplin had never become a U.S. Citizen and had been classified as an "Undesirable Alien". He did not return until 20 years later when he received a Special Oscar at the 1972 Academy Awards.

Examination of the Morale at the End of EASY STREET would seem to contradict the presence of any Communist sentiments. A very poetic Title Card tells of the need for both Social Compassion and a Law Abiding citizenry. It's there, honest! Just watch it! * Elements of his act a very much in evidence in many of his early films at Keystone, Essanay and Mutual.

** Yes, that same guy who later gained immortality as 1/2 of the Film Comedy Team of Laurel & Hardy. Besides his own parts, Stan also understudied Charlie's Drunk Act.

*** "Broncho Billy" was the first Western Hero on the screen. While Chaplin was at the Essanay Company, He appeared in a cameo shot in the G.M. Anderson, "Broncho Billy" film, HIS REGENERATION. Mr. Anderson reciprocated and was in a Chaplin CVomedy.

EASY STREET (Mutual, 1917), Written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, stars Charlie Chaplin in another classic comedy short from his Mutual Studio 1916-17 period. A story comedy, this one contains the usual quota of slapstick, chases and assortment of characters in and around the tough district of Easy Street, with plotting that could have been lifted from a Bible story of "David and Goliath" where the meek (Chaplin) encounters with the way of the strong (Eric Campbell).

Opening title card: "A new beginning." A homeless tramp (Charlie Chaplin) in the poor city district of town, sleeping by the bottom of the steps of the Hope Mission, is awaken by hymn singing parishioners. Entering the building, Charlie seats himself next to a woman and her baby. As the minister (Albert Austin) preaches his sermon, Charlie takes an interest in the young attractive organ player, Prudence (Edna Purviance), the preacher's daughter. In the meantime on Easy Street, police brave a losing battle of gang fights lead by a giant bully, Bill Basher (Eric Campbell) having the law enforcement officers carried away in a stretcher, bruised up in torn uniforms. A sign, "Policeman wanted," immediately posted outside the door attracts the attention of the passer-by Charlie. Now a new fledge police officer, Charlie's beat becomes Easy Street, which turns out not so easy when coming face to face with the meanest looking brute feared by the community, Bill Baster. Will Charlie live long enough to retire and collect his pension? Time will tell, even if it's only for twenty two minutes.

EASY STREET certainly ranks one of Chaplin's finest. Though not particularly playing New York City's finest, situations depicted could very well be anywhere. A glimpse of a sign captured on screen indicates the setting to be Los Angeles, California, and not in Charlie's homeland of the dive district of London. What makes those Chaplin Mutual comedies to be his best would be his creative genius of turning a simple story and making it as funny as can be, even with serious suspenseful moments by placing hero and heroine inside a locked room with a dope fiend. Of course there's the oft-casting of Edna Purviance as Charlie's female co-star, and other staff players as Henry Bergman, Frank J. Coleman, Charlotte Mineau, John Rand and Loyal Underwood in their assigned roles. None come close to scene stealing as Eric Campbell, the bully of the district. Working under Chaplin's company for the eighth time, Campbell abandons the traditional weird beard for a dirty face, shaved head and pointy eyebrows in the matter of the devil's horns. Of the scenes depicted, the best segments are those involving Chaplin and Campbell: Campbell showing how solid his head can be as Officer Charlie hits it repeatedly with his club; a scene involving them using a street lamp; and of course, the end result not to be missed. With Campbell often labeled as "Chaplin's Goliath," for EASY STREET, he's Chaplin's Hercules, considering his super human strength and ability to break out of tight situations, including handcuffs.

Aside from Charlie promoting himself from tramp to policeman, there's moments in between his official duties where he shows heart and humility towards those in need, such as a hungry woman caught stealing a loaf of bread to feed her family. For Chaplin, he doesn't do this for sentimental purposes but showing how his character can be just as human as anyone else, and still get few laughs in the process.

Years before cable television broadcasts as Arts and Entertainment in the 1980s, EASY STREET had become one of many early Chaplin comedies to be shown on either public or commercial television, the latter as part of the 1960s series, "Charlie Chaplin Comedy Theater." Prints containing 1920s sounding orchestral score with singing and sound effects from 1930s reissues were most commonly shown on PBS stations prior to 1972, the same prints acquired from Blackhawk/Republic Home Video in eighties and nineties. At present, restored prints, new orchestral scoring with silent film projection speed have become available from Kino Video in both video and DVD formats , the same prints occasionally used on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: December 6, 1999). Next Chaplin Mutual comedy, THE CURE (1917). (***1/2)

You can't help but look at Charlie Chaplin in this film and picture Buster Keaton in the same role. Chaplin spends half the movie jumping out of windows or off of roofs to get a laugh. There is a great deal of physical comedy in EASY STREET. You can't help but wonder if Chaplin made this film to show Buster off???????

Charlie Chaplin remembered the rough and tumble neighborhoods he grew up in and the moral anchors the scattered Christian missionaries provided for the indigent residing in those rough boroughs of London.

He brings law and order into his January 1917's "Easy Street," in his attempt to tame those bullies he was so familiar with growing up. Chaplin, after attending a session at a missionary, decides on applying for a police position. Once he gets badged, he's patrolling one of the meanest streets in the city. Actor Eric Campbell's character is the toughest of a tough lot, to which Chaplin sets out involuntarily to control the beast. A street gas light proves to be the comedian's best weapon; it was while filming this scene the lamppost, bent in the middle, fell on Chaplin, requiring him to be rushed to the hospital.

Chaplin used the bookends of the missionaries, one in the beginning and another, a newly-constructed missionary in the tough neighborhood, to convey the movie's message. All the reformed neighborhood thugs, including Campbell, are dressed up to go to service. Here, Chaplin is making an overt statement on the power of redemption.

"Easy Street" is unsurpassed among Chaplin's short comedies, an extremely funny film that also has depth and sensitivity. The combination is done especially well here. Charlie plays a tramp who has a religious experience, becomes a policeman, and tries to clean up the violence and crime on "Easy Street". He tries to help the many poor of the neighborhood, while combating the street's toughs, leading to some memorable confrontations with burly villain Eric Campbell. There is some terrific slapstick interspersed with some compassionate scenes of the effects of poverty and crime on the innocents of the area. Chaplin uses a lot of his comic talent and a good variety of gags, and combines it with some thoughtful portrayals of life.

This is Chaplin at his best, and it is as good as any of his many short films. It will be a favorite for most Chaplin fans, and a good place to start for those wanting to take a look at his short features.

The genius Charles Chaplin's greatest oldies! Chaplin was a genius as a writer, director, actor and composer. a lot of the funny things in charlie chaplins oldies can you find in old donald duck and mickey mouse shorties. he was the absolutely most talented comedian's of all time. Eric Campbell who is the policeman who chase charlie is in this one the bully who the policeman (charlie) is cha... no he get chased by cambpell is this one two. but it is exchanged roles!

'Easy Street' is a short comedy from Charlie Chaplin and in this one he doesn't play his popular tramp. Although he is not the tramp I find this short one of the best from Chaplin I have seen. It is as funny as the other shorts he has made but for some reason the story here keeps your attention a lot easier. I had a great time watching this.

Chaplin is a police officer who must go to Easy Street where a man is causing some trouble. Chaplin arrests the man, sort of by accident, but because all the other police officers are scared of the man he manages to escape. He faces Chaplin once again, and the moments where Chaplin is followed are hilarious. There a lot of other very nice moments, and of course there is a girl. A terrific Chaplin short.