A Dog's Life

Of Charlie Chaplin's many works, "A Dog's Life" is in my top 5, under "The Kid", "City Lights" and "Modern Times". Though just a short, I think this film is one of Chaplin's funniest and most poignant of them all. It had me laughing the whole time and this is the film that made me fall in love with his hands: It was the miming scene where the Tramp has to pretend to be the bully he's just knocked out, to get the wallet back, simply by using hand gestures! It's a moment that shines for all silent movies, showing how little sound is needed to communicate - it's a favorite scene of mine. This is a great film, and especially when coupled with "The Kid" (Chaplin's best work, I think, and my favorite film of all time) how could *anyone* refuse?

This was Charlie Chaplin's first film for First National, and with his pictures there, he could create movies of longer, or varied, length, rather than the two-reelers he was obliged to churn out before. His Mutual shorts were a vast improvement over his previous work, but watching them I'd sometimes get the sense that his ideas required more time to elaborate, to fully realize, or unfold. The hilarity of the gags in "A Dog's Life" result from this newly acquired freedom to expand his films.

I don't think it's one of Chaplin's most important works, or one of his best, but "A Dog's Life" is very funny and left me in high spirits. The crying set piece was hilarious. As well, Chaplin continued to use props and settings to his comedic advantage, such as with the missing boards and the door of his fenced home when he eludes a policeman in the beginning of the film.

Perhaps, the most interesting aspect of this one is the elaborate pantomime that goes on. The creation of the world within a silent film often created problems for lesser filmmakers on what the role of sound is within that world. There is obviously sound in the world of "A Dog's Life", but the tramp continually ignores it and oft prefers to use pantomime to express himself--or others, as in the elaborate scene using his hands. This demonstrated a lot of thought on Chaplin's part, and it's something that could be done only in the silent era. For all the comic genius in America at the time, the fact that the clowns couldn't talk shouldn't be overlooked, for it was full of advantages.

In 'A Dog's Life' our little tramp takes care of dog, the nice touch in this movie. Other things are familiar. He encounters the police, he tries to steal food from a salesman, has money problems in a bar, has some trouble with two thugs and of course he gets the girl.

The best single moment in this short is when he pretends to be one of the two thugs. With perfect timing this a perfect piece of comedy and just this part makes the movie worth watching. There are other funny moments, especially with the dog's tale. A nice short that is a little too long. The very funny final moments (including the part with the two thugs) make sure we don't think about that too much.

This film was one of three that were later combined by Chapin into a compilation that was released to theaters in the late 1950s under the title "The Chaplin Review".

Of the three films combined for The Chapline Review, this is probably the most familiar in style and, to me, the least interesting. While it is STILL a very good film, it just didn't seem all that new or different. We have the Little Tramp down on his luck and looking to feed himself when he stumbles upon a poor lonely dog being picked on by the other dogs. So, he adopts it and they both set out on some adventures. I know this may sound strange, but to me this film felt a lot like an earlier incarnation of THE KID--though of course in this case it's a cute mutt and not Jackie Coogan. A very good and entertaining short with no serious flaws.

A Dog's Life has more layers than the usual Chaplin films, taking the character slightly more literally than he usually does. The overall appeal of Chaplin's Little Fellow is that he is such an everyman that he can be thrust into an almost endless multitude of situations, and Chaplin uses his limitless talent to mold it into brilliant, humanitarian farce. In this film, the little tramp is more of a homeless fellow than usual (I think he's usually just poor and struggling), and in the process he be-friends another homeless and struggling tramp.

There are some great scenes in the film, although even at only 40 minutes it is a bit too long for the material to support. One scene in particular, where Charlie knocks a bully unconscious, is going to be the most memorable one in the movie, along with a scene where he outsmarts some police officers. There is a charming romance that is neither cloying nor overly involving, just the right amount for a short, light-hearted comedy. This probably would have worked even better as a two reel film, but as it is it stands as one of Chaplin's better three reelers.