A Few Words About A few words about... The Chaplin Mutual Comedies (1 Viewer)

[Jay Pennington]

I, at last, was able to begin viewing my set this evening, and happily add my voice, whatever little value it has, to the crowd in highly recommending it. I've been hoping to hear Davis scores to these films ever since I first saw Unknown Chaplin in the mid-80s. Never thought it would actually come to pass!

We all owe so much to David Shepard's dogged persistence in repeatedly upgrading these restorations over the years. About ten years ago he was even nice enough to respond to a newsgroup query of mine about the laserdisc sets with an informative email.

I have to agree with some of Jeffrey Nelson's observations, though, in the best "glass half full" vein possible (as he intends them, obviously). I would've loved to see the intertitles restored/recreated to their original style. It is nice that these have been frozen to eliminate multigenerational gate weave, but the freezes are done crudely and look rather like high-compression jpegs.

The intercutting of new introductory titles with the old, weaving film-based Blackhawk ones ("the happiest time of my career", etc.) is a bit jarring--that could've easily been avoided by remaking the old ones while they were about typing in the new ones. Heck, I wouldn't mind if they were eliminated altogether and the feature allowed to start right away. The text is rather scholastic in nature, redundant to the information in the DVD booklet and already known by most of the "choir" viewing the material anyway. I suppose Mr. Shepard is still in the mindset of the film rental "Cavalcade" compilations, and feel they need opening credits, as it were, but it might be time to retire that notion for home video purposes. We DVD viewers are an impatient bunch and when we hit that button on the remote we want the program to start right away.

It's too bad that more footage might've been included, too (not to take away from the fact that these are the most complete we've ever seen them). I'm sure there are many good reasons (such as the alternate take redundancy already mentioned), although in my opinion comparatively poor print quality is not sufficient cause to leave footage out if it's the only element available. If it's remotely watchable, and even only a frame long, I'd personally prefer it be included in the interest of completeness. As for the issue of the scores already being recorded before more footage surfaced, well, music can be edited to compensate. Such is done all the time in modern post-production when picture editing continues after scoring is completed.


But these are simply "maybe next time" thoughts...I wouldn't want anyone to hesitate buying this set for a microsecond.

 

[jackbogart]

anyone see these at best buy or any sams clubs or costcos??

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

And now, to depress all you hardcore Chaplin fans, here's my updated documentation of the Mutuals, outlining bits missing from various releases and also presenting Doug Sulpy’s compiled timeline of the trials and tribulations these poor films have been through over the years. All info was gleaned and distilled from various posts at the Chaplin newsgroup, email correspondence, and my own observations:

(NOTE: Information re: proper intertitles and placement thereof is taken from the detailed descriptions of each film originally submitted by Chaplin to the Library Of Congress for copyright purposes)

(8/19/06: NOW UPDATED WITH NEW IMAGE 90th ANNIVERSARY RELEASE INFO AND NEW DETAILS ON THE FOOTAGE MISSING FROM THE CURE!)

__________________________________________


So, I thought that, with the help of knowledgeable Chaplin film enthusiasts and collectors such as Doug Sulpy and Connie Kuriyama, we could perhaps hammer out a master list of shots and intertitles missing from the old Image DVDs, as well as alternate shots, takes, and camera angles that have turned up. The new R2 DVD of the Mutuals from BFI has restored at least a few bits, and the 90th anniversary re-release of the Mutuals by Image has restored a bit more. Here's what I've got so far, paraphrased from what I've read at the newsgroups alt.movies.chaplin and alt.movies.silent, and from what Doug has told me (please feel free to chime in with additions/corrections):

EASY STREET – “The Lost Sheep” should be the first intertitle of the film, while the intertitle used in that place in the DVD version and most other prints, “A New Beginning”, should occur when Charlie’s in the mission and decides to go straight. Other assorted intertitles are missing or in the wrong place as well. Missing tight close-ups (three different shots I think) of Eric being gassed. An intertitle that says “GAS!” is missing from many prints, but was restored for the remastered LD set and all subsequent releases. (Close-up of Eric being gassed is different in European prints.) Also missing is a gag shortly following this, where Charlie tromps on Eric’s stomach as he steps around him to use the phone (only the Kodascope prints seem to retain this footage; the rest contain a bad jump cut). Also missing is a second shot of the police chief waving goodbye as he walks away at the end of the first reel. Reel 2 (which begins right after Charlie is knocked over by the exploding gas pipe) should begin with a scene where Edna comes out of the mission with the parson and his assistant, and starts off on her “errand of mercy”; this scene is missing in the DVD version. Also missing is a shot where Eric arrives at his house after escaping from the police station only to have the doormat stick to his feet – he kicks it off, only to knock a hole in the wall before going upstairs and engaging in the battle with his wife.

Update: Sadly, the Image 90th Anniversary edition restores none of the missing footage. However, the new release does restore the following intertitles:

“Where ignorance is bliss” is restored, right before Charlie starts walking down the street towards Eric in their first scene together.

The intertitle “I think I’ll phone a policeman”, right before Charlie flips the phone door open, has been changed to say “Guess I’ll phone a policeman”, which is what it should read, according to the info originally submitted for copyright on the film.

The intertitle “Charity”, after Charlie discovers the food the woman has stolen and she starts crying, has been replaced with the correct intertitle “Don’t cry”, and “Charity” has been moved to its proper place right before Edna takes Charlie to the family.

“Poverty and riches”, right after the first shot of the family Edna takes Charlie to, has been restored.

“They are hungry”, right after Charlie gives the father his badge and shakes his hand, has been restored, which eliminates the tell-tale jump-cut and explains why Charlie leaves the flat.

Unfortunately, “The lost sheep” opening intertitle is still missing, and “A new beginning” is still wrongly taking its place. Perhaps the next time around…

BEHIND THE SCREEN – The opening title card which says “Applying for work at the moving picture studio” is missing, as well as the entire opening bit with Edna going up to a guy with a clipboard, straightening her clothes, then it cuts in for a bit closer shot, and then the intertitle "Can I be an actress, please?”. This footage is present and accounted for in the Republic Video VHS and laserdisc version, and also the remastered laserdisc set restored by David Shepard. Who knows why it isn’t in the old Image DVD.

Update: the Image 90th Anniversary edition restores all of this material.

THE FLOORWALKER – The old Image DVD is missing footage of Eric chasing Charlie down the escalator. Also missing is an important shot regarding a note read by Eric, which helps explain the plot; it reads:

Mr. George Brush,

General Manager of the Big Store,

Dear Sir: Discovered $80,000 shortage in your accounts. Sending detectives to investigate.

M. Lowenstein


The intertitle that reads, “They are on our trail; let’s grab it and go!” originally read “They are on our trail; let’s grab it all!” The intertitle that reads “Spondulicks forever” shouldn’t be there at all. There also exists an alternate shot of the mannequin arresting Charlie.

But wait, there’s more…from an alt.movies.silent newsgroup post by Doug Sulpy:

“Insofar as cuts to the Mutuals are concerned, I've spoken to someone who's seen several minutes in "The Floorwalker" that are not in any circulating print…”

And from an email to me from Doug regarding these extra minutes:

“This is stuff in addition to the missing note and the extra escalator scene, a couple of more minutes, but I don't really know about the content, except he said there was more in the beginning (which makes sense, as it does seem to begin somewhat in progress.”

What could these missing minutes be? Details hopefully soon!

Update: The Image 90th Anniversary DVD restores the long-missing note at the beginning! The plot makes sense at last!

THE RINK – The opening intertitle, “Papa and his daughter Edna”, is missing from the old Image DVD. This intertitle is present and accounted for in the Republic Video VHS and laserdisc version. The opening panning shot of Edna has an annoying jump cut in most prints and video versions, but it’s complete and smooth in the old Blackhawk Super 8mm prints. There's a part in the earlier half of the film where Charlie and the other waiter are fighting in the kitchen. If you pay attention to most any version of the film, you may notice two quick splices during this scene. During their fight, the cook (Albert Austin) throws some food their way, and Charlie briefly stops the fight to catch the food on a plate. In the scene where Charlie stops at a table before going into the kitchen to mix a drink, there’s a jump cut. Missing here is an intertitle where people order cocktails, giving Charlie a reason to mix the drink. Also, there’s quite a bit missing from the end; the last shot you see in the DVD version is of Eric and crew chasing after Charlie, then THE END title card. Missing are the following shots: the crowd falls down in the road, Charlie tips his hat and smiles, and then falls off the car. The Republic VHS and laserdisc version fades out while Charlie is tipping his hat and smiling. Only the Kodascope prints seem to contain the complete ending, with Charlie falling off the car. In the old Blackhawk Super 8mm prints, the shot of Charlie shooing Edna off the rink (right before the long shot where he and Eric Campbell bounce off each other’s stomachs) is a different take than the Republic, Image, and BFI versions. The BFI DVD release restores all missing bits detailed here except the ending, which is unfortunately the same as the old Image DVD.

Update: the 90th Anniversary Image DVD release of the Mutuals retains all the footage contained in the BFI release, and additionally restores most, but not all, of the ending; lamentably, the final shot of Charlie falling off the car is STILL missing. Sigh…

THE PAWNSHOP – The first shot you should see in the film is the pawn shop proprietor pacing in FRONT of the counter, waiting for Charlie, followed by the usual scene with Edna making a pie, followed by a similar scene of the pawn shop proprietor pacing BEHIND the counter. The shot of the proprietor pacing in front of the counter is missing from the old Image DVD and most other video versions.

Also, the sequence in which Charlie demolishes Albert Austin's clock has been mistaken to consist of only one take. But there is one obvious shift in camera angle, marked by a close up insert of Austin gaping, which allows us to see the clock's innards writhing on the counter. There is also another, subtler shift in camera position while Charlie opens the clock with a can opener, and that one was once covered by a close up of Charlie's hands manipulating the clock. This shot appears to be missing from the versions available on the various home video formats, but is intact in the old Standard 8mm Blackhawk prints (not the Super 8mm prints). If you look closely at the video prints you can see a jump cut where it once was.

Update: the new Image 90th Anniversary DVD edition is still missing these two shots.

THE FIREMAN – There's a shot missing from the DVD and other video versions of Charlie and Leo White sitting on the end of the fire engine yelling FIRE to each other.

Update: the new Image 90th Anniversary DVD is still missing this shot.

THE CURE – Several shots have recently turned up in a British 9.5mm print that are not in any of the video releases.

From a post by Richard Ward at alt.movies.chaplin:

“I recently got a British Pathescope 9.5mm print of "The Cure" (under the title "The Water Cure"). While it is a one-reel abridgement of the original, it has several shots that I didn't remember seeing before, including one of Eric Campbell nursing a hangover on the "Morning After." Every copy I have ever seen loses Campbell after he goes into the spring. Is this shot in any of the current video releases?”

And from an email to me, also from Richard Ward:

“The other "new" shots in my print of "The Cure" are a couple of curious cutaways of a crowd outside of the spa reacting to the action around the spring, a fairly long take of the three judgmental ladies each getting up and individually staggering toward the spa building after imbibing, and a shot of Henry Bergman sort of rolling the contortionist from side to side on the massage table.”

And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Doug has since painstakingly reconstructed the film, incorporating Richard’s material and recreating the opening and intertitles in the correct original Mutual style. I’ve made an A/B comparison of the official version and Doug’s reconstruction. Here’s the full story, and it ain’t pretty (the time codes are approximately where the missing footage should appear in the Image 90th Anniversary release):

For starters, there are two missing intertitles within the first two minutes of the official version. At 1:02 there should be a title that says “The man who discovered the spring”, right before the shot of the wheezing old guy in the nightcap. After that shot, at 1:08, there should be a title that reads “To be cured of drinking”.

At 2:43, right after the first close-up of Eric’s foot in the door, there should be a tight close-up lasting about three seconds of Charlie struggling and pushing against the door glass. (I never noticed the continuity error in this scene before – when Charlie first gets trapped in the door by Eric’s foot, his hat and cane are left on the floor outside the door. A couple of shots later, and he’s got them in the door with him. Oops!)

At 4:12, where there is a telltale jump cut, there should be an intertitle that reads “His wardrobe”, right after Charlie starts to fiddle with the trunk latch.

At 4:41, there should be an intertitle that reads “Come take the waters”, said by Albert Austin to Charlie, giving Charlie a reason to follow him out of the room and covering up another noticeable jump cut.

At 4:50, the first 3 seconds of the shot of Albert walking Charlie up the walk to the well is missing; the shot actually starts with them much nearer the door.

At 5:04, the end of the shot of Albert helping Charlie up after he plunges his cane into the well is missing; they’re supposed to sit down completely before the next shot commences (about half a second of footage).

At 5:28, there should be an intertitle that reads “Try our water and you’ll never drink again”, said by Albert to Charlie right after Charlie pushes the cup away and right before Charlie smiles while watching Albert take a drink, eliminating yet another jump cut.

At 6:45, there should be an intertitle that reads “You’re better already”, said by Albert to Charlie right after he finishes wiping the water off his face from Charlie knocking his cup, followed by Charlie rubbing his chest to indicate his agreement. Another pesky jump cut gone.

At 8:59, the last part of the shot of the bellhop staggering down the hall after Charlie kicks him out of his room is missing. Instead of cutting to the next shot while the bellhop is still facing away from the camera at midpoint between the camera and the wall, it should continue on for about 2 more seconds until the bellhop reaches the end of the hall and turns to face right.

After Albert is ordered to throw out Charlie’s liquor, he grabs three bottles, goes to the window, and throws them out. They are shown landing in the well, and then Albert is shown going back inside. Missing here, at 14:00, are the following six shots totaling about 9 seconds: Albert grabbing more bottles from the top right trunk shelf; Albert throwing some of them out the window; the bottles hitting the well; Albert throwing the rest of the bottles in his hand out the window; these bottles hitting the well; Albert shaking his head before going back inside. Then the usual version resumes with the shot of the now nearly empty trunk. I always wondered how Albert emptied that trunk so fast.

At 15:38, the intertitle which occurs after Charlie dries off from his pseudo-swim should read “Their after dinner drink”, not “The after dinner drink”. After this intertitle, the usual version follows with a shot of the lady in the plaid dress (hereafter known as “Plaid”) dipping her cup in the well and sitting down with her two already-seated comrades, a lady in a white dress with a darker jacket (hereafter known as Two-Tone), and a lady in an all-dark dress (hereafter known as Dark). Missing is the first part of this shot, totaling about 5 seconds, which shows all three ladies entering the well circle, Plaid and Two-Tone dipping their cups, Plaid handing Dark the cup she just dipped, Dark and Two-Tone sitting down, and then the usual version continues with Plaid dipping a cup for herself and sitting down alongside Dark and Two-Tone.

After the above-mentioned shot of the three ladies at the well, the next shot is of Charlie in the steam room sitting down on the bench, right before Henry Bergman tells him “You’re next!”. Missing here, at 16:00, is the first two seconds of the shot, which shows Charlie still standing, closer to the camera, Henry pointing toward the bench, and Charlie walking to the bench with his back to the camera, turning around, and then sitting down.

Then, after the “You’re next!” intertitle, the usual version continues with Henry pushing the contortionist down on the table, the contortionist grabbing his head in pain, Henry pumping his arm, etc. Missing here, at 16:03, is the first part of the shot (about 1.5 seconds), which should start with the contortionist sitting upright with his legs over the edge of the table. Henry then swings his legs up onto the table, then pushes him down, the contortionist grabs his head in pain, etc.

The next shot in the usual version is a close-up of shocked Charlie watching the torture, followed by a shot of Henry pulling up on the contortionist’s legs. Missing, at 16:12, is a different but similar close-up of Charlie, followed by a shot of Henry rolling the contortionist back and forth, side to side (five seconds altogether for the two shots). Then the usual version kicks in with the familiar close-up, Henry pulling on the contortionist’s legs, etc.

At 16:29, three seconds of chest-pounding torture is missing from the shot directly after the one where Charlie picks up the brush and looks at it.

At 18:20, after the shot of Charlie backing towel-wrapped John Rand into the radiator, the usual version follows with the intertitle “The waters have a strange effect”. This is in the wrong place, and should occur at 18:33, between the shots of Charlie sitting on the top hat, and Edna discovering the drunken dancing mayhem in the lobby.

After the mistakenly placed “The waters have a strange effect” intertitle in the usual version, there’s a close-up of those three lovely ladies at the well again. Missing here, at 18:26, is the next shot (about six seconds), which is a somewhat long shot of Dark and Plaid each getting up and staggering down the walk away from the camera, the same two Charlie later runs into in the hall.

After Charlie runs into Dark and Plaid in the hall, there’s a shot of Charlie walking towards the camera through an open curtain and happening upon a mirthful drunken couple sitting on the step at the bottom right corner of the screen. After the girl puts her male companion’s hat on, the usual version continues with a closeup of Charlie’s face as he pulls one eye open wide with his hand as if he can’t believe he’s witnessing such startling behavior. But before that close-up, at 19:42, there’s a different close-up missing of Charlie, looking disconcerted, turning his head slightly back and forth, blinking in disbelief. Then should follow the familiar shot of Edna being chased toward the camera, then the aforementioned eye-propping close-up, then Edna running up the stairs. The usual version places the Edna-chasing shot and the shot of her running up the stairs both after the eye-propping, and Doug’s version splits the chasing and stair-running with the eye-propping.

After the scene where Charlie takes care of the thugs in the hall, pulling the lifeless form of one of them back and forth on the floor like a gate with his cane, the usual version follows with a shot of Charlie and Edna facing the camera about to enter the well circle, with the revolving door in the background. Missing here, after the cane/gate bit, at 20:23, is another shot of drunken lobby dancing, with several people dancing around in a circle with joined hands, and then the first part of the aforementioned shot: we see Charlie and Edna come through the revolving door in the background and walk all the way up the walk to the well, instead of just abruptly appearing there. These missing bits total about 12 seconds.

The intertitle that reads “For my sake” in the usual version should actually read “Drink it for my sake”. The next intertitle, “For your sake”, appears too early in the usual version, right as Charlie’s holding his nose; it should not appear until right before Charlie dips the cup himself for the first time, where there is normally a jump cut.

At 21:51, after the shot of drunken Charlie putting his hand on his chest and Edna, facing the camera, rising to leave in disgust, the usual version is missing the first half second of the next shot, which shows Charlie getting up from a seated position, instead of cutting in with him already standing.

At 22:48, after the intertitle “The next morning”, the usual version continues with a fade-in of Charlie coming through the revolving door. Missing are the following shots: a medium shot with Eric seated in a chair to the left of the revolving door and Dark and Plaid seated to the right; a close-up of Dark and Plaid holding their heads in agony; and a close-up of Eric holding his head in agony. Then the shot of Charlie coming through the door, with no fade-in, which must have been added later by distributors; the complete shot starts earlier than the faded-in shot.

At 23:21, after the shot of Charlie holding the ice to his face, two seconds of footage from the end of the close-up shot of Dark and Plaid nursing their hangovers is missing; it usually ends with Dark having only her left hand holding her head. It should go on a bit longer, and she finally ends up with both hands holding her head.

Update: the new Image 90th Anniversary release contains no new footage, but it does rectify a goof from the earlier DVD release; a mistakenly repeated shot in the steam room has been removed.

ONE A.M. – Quite a bit of footage is missing from most available video versions of this one; some of this footage is contained in the old silent Blackhawk 16mm prints (the sound prints are from the Van Beuren negatives, which don’t have it), and some has turned up in TV prints which were sourced from a print that was at one time located in the National Film Archive, London. The additional scenes in the NFA print are spliced into it from material of other origin and are of inferior quality than the rest, which has understandably led some fans to believe that this extra material was merely outtakes. Luckily, David Shepard has acquired a complete non-spliced original 35mm print with English intertitles from circa 1919, which contains all of this extra footage, apparently proving that it was part of the film all along.

The following bits are missing from the first part of the film as represented in the Image DVD, as well as most prints:

1. The opening moments where Charlie first pulls up the taxi are edited - the DVD includes a bit of this.

2. A medium shot of the following action: reaching out through the taxi door, Charlie tries to open the handle on the wrong side of the door. He then leans against the doorframe, and finally discovers the real location of the handle.

3. After putting out the cigarette in Albert's hand, Charlie pays him, gets his coat caught in the doorway, and tries to pry his way out of the taxi by putting his foot on the tire. Finally, he falls on the ground, gets up and walks toward the house (only the final moments where he walks toward the house are on the DVD).

4. Brief close-up of Charlie staring at the stuffed cat (there's a jump in the DVD where this should be).

5. Much more footage of Charlie chasing the bottle around the table.

And now, the stair climbing begins, and things get complicated…

For the correct original continuity, we’ll start here: Charlie flips his hat onto the emu's head, gets his foot stuck in the stuffed cat, kicks it loose, falls down, close-up reaction shot of Charlie, he gets up, and says "Good Night". At this point, the DVD cuts. The silent Blackhawk print, however, includes the next shot... Charlie tries to go up the stairs, looks back, and then slides backwards down the stairs face first.

Cut back to DVD for next climb...

Charlie tries to go up again, but goes backwards down the stairs instead. He goes over to the table, pours a drink, tries to drink it, falls down, gets up, lights a match on his shoe, goes to ascend the left stairs again.

DVD cuts again.

The silent Blackhawk print continues the shot of his climb... slides down the railing.... Starts to pour another drink while laying on the ground...

At this point, the NFA version picks up... Charlie gets up, wobbles towards camera drunkenly... tries to make it to bottom of stairs, but acts like he's walking underwater. Walks up the stairs, leaning backwards at an impossible angle... falls backwards on his face again. Tries again, and makes it all the way to the top before tumbling backwards down. At bottom, lights another cigarette and notices Alpine climbing gear on wall to his right (our left). Straps on backpack, puts on hat, and picks up a pick and long climbing stick. Using the pick on the railings of the staircase, pulls himself up the stairs. At the top, however, somersaults backwards down again. (Missing intertitle here: “If I could yodel, I could make it”.) Tosses off the climbing gear, approaches step again...

Cut back to DVD. Camera is now at a different angle. Charlie ascends the left stairs, and now there's a black object on the left side of the third stair from the top that wasn't there before the jump cut, which is the Alpine hat. The pendulum knocks him back down the left stairs (and that hat along with him). A close-up of Charlie straightening his nose. (Missing intertitle here: “I’ll try another route”.) Charlie slides the rug across the floor to the right, climbs the right stairs, is frightened by the bear, descends the stairs, and glides the rug across the floor to the left until he hits the table. There's a close-up of Charlie while he searches his jacket for a match (missing intertitle here that should say “No more matches”). Then he gets up on the table, crawls at first while the table spins, then stands up and runs for a few seconds, there's a close-up (the DVD is missing a good chunk of the running on the table gag here), then a missing intertitle that should say “Light exercise” right before Charlie falls off the table. (It’s now clear from the added footage, intertitles, and better framing that the reason he’s running on the table is that he’s trying to light his cigarette from the gaslight hanging from the ceiling, which is cropped off the top of the frame in many prints.) Another close-up, then Charlie ascends the left stairs once more, grabs the top of the carpet, it comes loose, and he rolls down the left stairs inside the carpet.

The DVD also fades a bit early at the end of the film, cutting out the moments where Charlie finally puts his head down and goes to sleep and the final fade.

Update: the Image 90th Anniversary edition uses David Shepard’s complete print of ONE A.M., restoring all of this material. Complete at last! If only the rest of them were…

THE VAGABOND – This one is also complicated. There are a couple differently edited versions of this one about. From an AMC post by Doug Sulpy:

"Okay... I'm picky, but I just spent a couple of hours comparing "Vagabonds" and I'm more confused than when I started.

At first glance, the latest incarnation (on the 2nd edition of the laser "Mutual" box, and presumably on the DVD) would appear to nail it... but... no.

In comparing this version to the Blackhawk super 8 film, I noticed many differences, particularly in the beginning of the film. One of the most important is that on the 8mm you CAN see a substantial amount to the left of the saloon set (where much action takes place). This is window-boxed on the laser, presumably to get in as much image as possible, but the film version still shows much more... why?

The 8mm has a cutaway shot to the bar crowd that's missing from the laser entirely, and an alternate shot of the band playing as Charlie's collecting "their" money. In addition, there's a splice during the shot where Charlie finally outruns the crowd in the bar and stops outside long enough to flash us one of his patented Chaplin smiles. EVERY version I checked except the 8mm has the splice at this point...
So, this would make sense if the latest "Vagabond" simply used the same material that the previous Van Beuren re-issues used (I have this on the Republic laser, and also on the Chaplin Lost And Found Mutuals, which are the same print with minor subtitle differences). But they DIDN'T because the latest "Vagabond" DOES have shots missing from all other prints except the 8mm (the iris in on Edna, the "mother" scene in the right place). So it seems they used some of the more complete print, but not all of it (now why on God's green earth would they do THAT?).

While I'm at it, I guess I should point out that the latest "Vagabond" on laser has an entirely different shot of Charlie walking down the road. On the latest laser (and 8mm) he simply walks down the road and turns left. On the earlier lasers we have a different take where he picks up a handful of dirt, throws it in the air, and walks against the wind.

In addition, there's also evidently a different introductory shot of the mother and her friend. The 8mm pans on this shot without stopping, while every other print begins with the camera stationary. In addition, Charlie's final nose-thumb to the bar crowd shot fades on every version but the 8mm, where it continues until he's left the frame, then cuts.

Finally, I wonder if there's an entire sequence that Charlie edited out of the film. Near the end there's a very, very brief shot of him collecting eggs from a farmwoman. Granted, this could simply serve the purpose of communicating "Charlie's off getting eggs while Edna's being rescued from a life of tub-scrubbing"... but if you look at it carefully, you can see that Chaplin's grinning ear-to-ear as the shot cuts in, then looks back at the woman. It seems to me that SOMETHING was going on here dealing with Charlie and the egg acquisition...

And anyone else ever notice the Falstaff Beer sign on the bar door has fallen off by the end of the scene?"

Update: the Image 90th Anniversary edition contains the same footage as the old DVD.

THE IMMIGRANT – Some extra juicy vomiting footage is missing from most extant prints; this footage is reported to have appeared in a version broadcast on Japanese TV a few years ago, as well as a print broadcast by the BBC. One intertitle is also missing from the Image DVD, and one intertitle has been misplaced. From an AMC post by Doug Sulpy:

“The copyright material from July 5th, 1917 describes the film in depth, and contains some material that does not seem to exist in any extant prints. Specifically, lots more vomiting. After Charlie's first encounter with Albert Austin (the sick Russian), it says:

’... the little fellow beat(s) a hasty retreat and runs for "clearer weather" over to the starboard side. Here there is another "storm" threatening, for an ambitious youth who insisted on a second service of pork unfurls the white flag to a gigantic wave and with his mother's assistance he manages to empty the contents of his anatomy in a series of volcanic spasms, but in such a manner as to again cause much annoyance to Charlie, who suffers little damage other than a few stray bits which nestle on his derby while he is artfully dodging. Scarcely has he taken himself from the path of the seasick youth, then he is again confronted by the Russian who seems bent on arousing Charlie's ire by divulging an additional batch of the secrets of his stomach.’

YUCK! ... Anyway... it's at this point that Charlie sits down, as Austin sits next to him, and the film continues in familiar territory.

Some other possible differences occur after the dining room scene, where, after Charlie looks back at Edna and gets seasick himself, it says: ‘... necessitating a hasty grip on his mouth and a dash to the railing outside. Once more he wards off the storm and he happily
shuffles along to survey the boat.’ -- In the available prints, it cuts to the ‘More Rolling’ intertitle right after Charlie gets seasick and covers his mouth.

It sounds like there may have been a bit more before the start of the card game as well, but that's hard to tell.”

In addition, the Image DVD is missing at least one intertitle ("The Widow and Her Daughter"); the opening continuity of the film should be as follows:

Title Card
Shot of the ship (which seems to be truncated in most prints...perhaps this shot will be longer in the BFI DVD version)
Shot of the steerage deck (crowd shot)
Title: The Widow and Her Daughter
Shot of Edna and her mother
First shot of Charlie...

Also, the intertitle "I'll Engage You Both Tomorrow" is in the wrong spot (it should be earlier, when Henry Bergman's talking to them at the table).”

From another AMC post by Doug Sulpy:

“(Glenn) Mitchell describes the very same missing shots, says they're missing from most prints, but were included in the ‘Chaplin SuperClown’ BBC series print.”

Raoul Sobel and David Francis also apparently reference this footage in their 1977 book “Chaplin: Genesis Of A Clown”.

And from yet another AMC post by Doug Sulpy:

“Since it does nothing around here but snow, day in and day out, I've had a chance to compare (perhaps a little TOO closely!) various prints of "The Immigrant" - what I'll call the DVD version (from Image), a European print (commercially unavailable, as far as I know), and a Kodascope reissue (from 1926 - almost, but not quite identical to the
DVD version).

Sadly, "The Immigrant" (and probably the other Mutuals as well) had already been trimmed by the early 1920's, when they were issued by the Clark-Cornelius Corporation. What is obvious is that someone was given orders to go through the film and cut out every frame they possibly could without altering the basic action. Thus, almost every transition shot in "The Immigrant" has been cut. The characters once walked from place to place - now they jump. This is not altogether harmless – in at least one instance, it omits a gag entirely, involving Frank J. Coleman and Loyal Underwood. The gag between Frank and Loyal occurs when Frank storms away from the card game (on his way to rob Edna's mother). Loyal is bending over to tie his shoe, and Frank kicks him in the ass and sends him sprawling as he passes. After robbing Edna's mother, Frank heads back the same way; Loyal sees him and dives headfirst into the vent pipe (???). Other missing footage (besides the additional vomiting scene at the beginning) includes moments like Charlie checking the bottom of his shoe after tripping on the coin, or laughing at Eric Campbell behind his back, only to turn stone faced when Campbell turns back to glare at him. As I mentioned in another thread, there are occasionally different takes between the European and DVD versions as well - most notably Charlie and Edna meeting in the restaurant, and the group of passengers watching the Statue of Liberty. There are also some instances of different camera angles of the same performance. This goes for the Kodascope as well - which has differences from both the DVD and European prints, and includes one brief shot that isn't found in either: a medium shot of Charlie leaning against the ship's rail, after having just gotten up from the ground after the "seasick" scene with Albert Austin. The last part of the previous shot - showing the two of them getting up off the ground after the mess call is missing from the DVD as well (this is also on the Kodascope).

The intertitles didn't escape unscathed, either. According to the copyright material, "He was ten cents short" should really be "He was short ten cents", "I'll engage you both now, starting tomorrow" should really be "I'll engage you both tomorrow," and Henry Bergman's request for his check shouldn't be there at all. Nit-picking, I know, but the film has been restored enough times that you think someone would have got it right.”

Apparently, the European print Doug is referencing contains all of the cut footage.

Update: I’ve seen Doug’s restoration of THE IMMIGRANT, with the missing material described here painstakingly put back from various sources, the intertitles recreated in the proper original Mutual style (which is apparently beyond the capability of the powers-that-be who keep officially restoring the Mutuals), and it’s an even better film than it was. Unfortunately, the new Image 90th Anniversary edition is the same-old same-old. Again, maybe next time…

MISCELLANEOUS ALTERNATE SHOTS (from an AMC post by Doug Sulpy):

"In "The Floorwalker" there are different versions of the scene where the mannequin's arm falls on Charlie's shoulder, and he thinks he's been arrested. One is a medium shot, and one is a long shot.

In "The Vagabond," there are two different versions of the shot where Charlie's walking down the dirt road, right before he enters the gypsy camp. One of them has a small bit of business the other doesn't.

In "The Count," there's a shot during the final chase where Charlie kicks a policeman in the stomach. In "The Funniest Man In The World" the shot is different than in any other source I've seen - strangely, the commonly available sources have a version of the shot that one would assume Charlie WOULDN'T use, because he obviously misses kicking the guy in the stomach.

Those are the only three alternate shots that come to mind, although some instances of the many cases where shots are in one print but not another could also be attributed to the difference between the A and B negatives."

A MUTUAL TIMELINE (from an AMC post by Doug Sulpy):

"1916/17 - THE 12 CHAPLIN MUTUALS ARE PRODUCED BY LONE STAR FILM
CORPORATION, AND RELEASED BY MUTUAL FILM CORPORATION

1919 - LONE STAR FILM CORP. SELLS THE MUTUALS TO THE CLARK-CORNELIUS CORPORATION

The Mutuals were sold in June, 1919 for $300,000 to the Clark-Cornelius Corporation. This included all negatives, prints and outtakes (although Chaplin evidently retained the latter). The contract also specified that there were two negatives for each film - one in America, presumably, and the other in London.

1922 - THE CLARK-CORNELIUS CORPORATION IS DISSOLVED INTO CC PICTURES, INC.

In October, 1922 CC Pictures Inc. became the sole stockholder of the Clark-Cornelius Corporation, and thus acquired the rights to the Chaplin Mutuals. This is the ultimate source for the various "Chaplin Classics" prints which have come down to us (except for a lone Blackhawk 8mm issue of "One A.M." with the original Mutual intertitles, I know of no earlier circulating prints). The opening titles of these look almost hand-written, and have the name of the film in quotes against a black background (see above). Most of the Mutuals survive in this format thanks to the Kodascope reissues (see below), and these are almost invariably the most complete versions of the Mutuals obtainable. When Blackhawk films remade the intertitles in 1974, they consciously used a type style similar to the "Chaplin Classics" intertitles. Intriguingly, a trade advertisement from Clark-Cornelius for "The Adventurer" reproduced in the booklet accompanying the 1995 laserdisc reissue describes the film as "re-cut" and "re-titled," suggesting that even the "Chaplin Classics" prints have been altered from the originals.

1923 - RIGHTS SOLD TO LOUIS AUERBACH, WHO SELLS THEM TO EXPORT AND IMPORT FILM COMPANY, INC. (1925)

In 1923, H.C. Cornelius sued CC Pictures, Inc., who consequently sold the Mutuals to Louis Auerbach, who then sold them to Export and Import Film Company, Inc. in April, 1925. The next month, Export and Import Film Company, Inc. sold the films to Mutual Chaplins, Inc.

1925 - WHILE STILL UNDER THE BANNER OF CHAPLIN CLASSICS, INC., THE MUTUALS ARE OFFERED BY EASTMAN KODAK (KODASCOPE) FOR RENTAL IN 16mm.

In the 1960's, Blackhawk used an undetermined number of "Chaplin Classics" Kodascopes to make dupe negatives for 16mm and 8mm prints of at least some of the Mutual titles. It's the Kodascope version of "The Rink" (and Blackhawk's copies of it from the late 1960's) that has the more complete ending where Charlie falls to the ground. Blackhawk's Kodascope-based copy of the "Vagabond" is also the most complete version of that film available. Most of the other Mutuals seem to have survived in Kodascopes (or prints derived from them).

1932 – THE MUTUALS SOLD TO THE VAN BEUREN CORP - DISTRIBUTED BY RKO

In 1932, the Mutuals were sold to the Van Beuren Corporation for $60,000. At this point, optical soundtracks were added to the prints. In addition to annoying generations of fans with their 'Mickey Mouse' sound effects, some of the Van Beurens removed subtitles ("The Floorwalker," "The Adventurer," "Easy Street"), shuffled the sequence of events ("The Vagabond") or trimmed the beginnings or ends of reels ("The Rink"). Van Beuren subsequently became a subsidiary of RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

1941 - DISTRIBUTION CHANGED TO COMMONWEALTH/GUARANTEED PICTURES

In 1941, the Commonwealth Pictures Corporation acquired the films (retaining The Van Beuren credit). These added "Guaranteed Pictures" titles to the beginnings of the films. Prints were issued both as individual films (duped from the Van Beuren/RKO issues), and as groups of four subjects edited together. The titles of these were "Chaplin Carnival" ("The Count," "Vagabond," "Fireman" and "Behind The Screen"), "Chaplin Cavalcade"
("One A.M.," "Pawnshop" "Floorwalker" and "Rink") and "Chaplin Festival" ("Immigrant," "Adventurer," "Cure" and "Easy Street"). In doing so, more cuts were made (the pre-'Can I be an actress?' shot with Edna in "Behind The Screen," for example, and some of the opening shots of "The Adventurer" as well). At some point, prints were reportedly made from material sourced from the compilations, but cut back down to two-reeler size. Stan Taffel explained how to tell the two apart: "If you have a Guaranteed Picture title and it dissolves into the title of the Mutual film, you have a genuine single release print. However, if your Guaranteed print has a preprinted splice that 'cuts' into the Mutual film title, you have either a packaged print from the four or six pack or you have a composite print, meaning one that was fixed up from several sources to make up a complete print." The current DVD and laserdisc packages still use the "Carnival" / "Cavalcade" and "Festival" configurations described above, although the films themselves have been supplemented and restored.

1944/45 - COMMONWEALTH ALLOWS THE ORIGINAL COPYRIGHTS TO EXPIRE

The Mutuals become public domain.

1969 - COMMONWEALTH SELLS THEIR LIBRARY TO TELEPROMPTER CORP.

David Pierce reports that Commonwealth sold their film library in 1969 to Teleprompter Corp. who marketed the films for TV.

1975 - TELEPROMPTER CORP. SELLS THE RIGHTS TO EASTIN-PHELAN CORPORATION
(BLACKHAWK FILMS)

In 1975 Blackhawk Films bought the Teleprompter library, primarily to obtain the Chaplin Mutual negatives. New 16mm pre-print material was prepared by Blackhawk employees David Shepard and Bill Lindholm, who added missing shots back to some of the films and restored the intertitles (necessarily looping the Van Beuren music scores to fit). These editions of the film were able to be re-copyrighted on the basis of the restorations.

1984 - THE SHEPARD ERA

In 1984 David Shepard and Kimberly Shepard acquired "certain exclusive rights" to Blackhawk's Mutual film elements. These were subsequently licensed to Media Home Entertainment for issue on videotape and laserdisc.

In 1985, Blackhawk Films was acquired by Republic Pictures Corporation, who issued their own editions of the Mutuals. Republic's editions are taken from video masters created in 1984 from Blackhawk's 16mm material. These significantly crop the images, don't attempt to restore the material at all, and retain the Van Beuren-era score. Evidently, they were able to do this because they used public domain source material (the Van Beurens), rather than the Shepard restorations.

In 1989, Republic's interests in the Mutuals were sold to David and Kimberly Shepard, now doing business as Film Preservation Associates. At this point, the Mutuals were re-scored and issued on laserdisc from 35mm source material, distributed by Image Entertainment.

Finally, in 1993, Kimberly Shepard waived all rights in Film Preservation Associates, and the Mutual materials became the property of David Shepard.

The laserdisc set was upgraded in 1995 and subsequently issued as three independent volumes on DVD.

THANK YOU David Shepard, David Pierce, Stan Taffel, 'Bobster123', David
Hayes and Glenn Mitchell. All I did is try
to put it together, so please blame me for any mistakes here. I'll
update this as more information becomes available."

And now, since Doug's post of a few years ago, the new Image edition has been released. Sadly, not what it could have been, but still a must-buy, as it's probably the best we're "officially" going to get for a long time.

 

[oscar_merkx]

wow what an impressive update about the history of the Mutual Comedies

 

[PaulP]

Sorry to revive this old thread, but given the ultra-knowledgeable members here, I thought my question would be best answered here. I just watched some Chaplin films I DVRed a while back from TCM along with the 2003 documentary. I realized that with my 900+ DVD title collection I don't have anything by Chaplin. But it appears there are no real definitive releases out there. Everything seems to be marred by something. Although there are bits missing in this 90th Anniversary edition of the Multuals, I'll go ahead and pick it up, but I was wondering about the state of Chaplin's other shorts, namely the Keystones, the Essanays, as well as the later Nationals and other miscellaneous films. I'm also under the impression that the features that are part of Warner's Chaplin Collections are subpar releases.

 

[Sammy-G]

Chaplin's complete Essanay catalog has been released by Image Entertainment in 3 volumes. They look great.

The Keystones are in various states of disrepair and can be found among dozens of cheapie discs...the BFI has been working on massive restorations and we should eventually get some DVD releases out of those.

 

[Jeffrey Nelson]

Yes, by all means go ahead and pick up the newest Mutuals set. It's by far the best they will get for a long time. As for the other Chaplins...

KEYSTONE: All the films (save for the missing HER FRIEND THE BANDIT) are currently being restored by the BFI, Cineteca di Bologna, and Lobster Films. There are no current good editions of the Chaplin Keystones available on DVD; the public domain comps are reportedly horrible. A few have turned up in good quality here and there, such as THE ROUNDERS on Laughsmith's excellent compilation entitled The Forgotten Films of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. And we're still waiting for the new UCLA restoration of TILLIE'S PUNCTURED ROMANCE to hit DVD...until then, the old DVD is the best you can get on that title.

http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/restoring/bfi/
http://www.cinetecadelfriuli.org/gcm/previous_editions/edizione2004/Tillie's.html

ESSANAY: All the Essanays were restored and released by David Shepard on DVD through Image a while back, using print sources from all over the globe. An amazing job of restoration, although for some reason the running speed is too slow and jerky, which throws off the comic timing. I'm extremely thankful for DS' efforts, but he does tend to run silent comedy films too slow for my taste sometimes. If this is the way these films were originally projected, I'd be surprised. At any rate, they're the best we're gonna get for a long time, and are currently available in a box set entitled Charlie Chaplin Short Comedy Classics, along with the old DVDs of the Mutuals and the Eric Campbell documentary CHAPLIN'S GOLIATH. I got the box set used for cheap, and will eventually give the Mutuals and the doc away.

http://www.amazon.com/Charlie-Chapli...0554006&sr=1-8

THE FEATURES: The Warner DVDs are sourced from botched PAL-to-NTSC transfers, with very slight motion-blurring (more noticeable on some films than others) and 4% speedup (resulting in a higher pitch, most noticeable with the talkies, of course), and in many cases are incomplete, for they are from the reissue versions cut by Chaplin decades after their original release. The cover art is horrible as well. The only one worth picking up in my opinion is THE GOLD RUSH, for it actually contains, as an extra mind you, the original silent version of the film, restored by Brownlow & Gill. The best versions of the rest all around are the way out-of-print uncut Image DVDs, prepared by David Shepard, but good luck finding them at an affordable price now...

 

[PaulP]

Jeffrey, thanks for your speedy and expert answer. I will surely purchase the 90th Aniversary Mutuals set, as it seems to most definitive and quality release available. I'm a bit hesitant in picking up the Short Comedy Classics set, since it appears to duplicate the Mutual shorts, and it sounds like a new restoration (or transfer) would be in order. And thanks for that link regarding the Keystones. Is there any approximate timeframe when we can expect this work to be finished and released? It sounds like an amazing acheivment! And as far as the features and other films, can we expect anything else or are these Warner volumes it? I guess what I'm wondering is if it's possible we'll have the complete Chaplin catalog restored and correctly presented.

 

[David_B_K]

I strongly second Jeffrey Nelson's comments about the Chaplin features. Like him, I only bought The Gold Rush from Warner in order to get the original silent version (the 'official' version of The Gold Rush is the one in which Chaplin removed all the title cards and narrated the film, which really kills it for me).

Luckily, I was able to get most of the original Image versions. the films that fared the worse in the Warner versions are the First National shorts. Late in his life, Chaplin reissued these films with frames reprinted in an effort to slow down the films. He apparently felt that modern audiences would respond to the films better if they moved at "normal" speed. Needless to say, this really buggered those films, and the Warner version (known as the Chaplin Revue) should be avoided at all costs.

I was never able to get the Image DVDs of Modern Times or The Kid, but I have the Image laserdiscs, and they are to be preferred IMO over the Warner DVD versions, which were cut.

IMO, the Keystone films are not worth a great deal of time. It may be worth looking at a few of them to see the growth in Chaplin, but there are only so many laughs to be had watching people get kicked in the ass. I'm not a big fan of all the Essanay films, but there are a few good ones worth keeping.

 

[PaulP]

Just placed an order for this set at DeepDiscount.com - they're having a 20% off sale, and it came out to just $32.15.

 

[oscar_merkx]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6938328.stm

 

[oscar_merkx]

does this mean we will be getting another set of dvds ?

 

[Patrick McCart]

It seems to be just a live performance of the same scores on the DVDs.