Review by Shana Dennis

Main Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Henry Bergman, Eric Campbell, John Rand, Albert Austen

The Pawnshop (1916) is one of Chaplin’s funniest slapstick shorts from his days at Mutual Film Corporation. Chaplin the hopeless employee arrives late to work, irritating his boss (Henry Bergman). He creates havoc within the store, to the frustration of his co-worker (John Rand), bumping and breaking almost everything in sight. . Highlights of this short include a hilarious fight scene in which Chaplin beats up his co-worker but, with good Chaplin timing, falls to the floor as he hears the beautiful boss’s daughter (Edna Purviance) entering the room. He manages to gain her sympathy while his co-worker gets a stern talking too. Chaplin fixes the clock of a customer (Albert Austen) by breaking it further and adds lots of stunt slips and falls with some dancing in-between for good measure.

This short is a delightful introduction into the films of Charles Chaplin for those who have not viewed his work before.