Except for the opening and closing, Charlie isn't given quite as much to do in this short as in his earlier films, and this one has more of a plot than a lot of them. But Eric Campbell, as the jealous lover of Charlie's romantic interest, was masterful at turning such a small performance into comedy brilliance. My favorite moment was when Eric finds Charlie's picture in the newspaper, which Charlie promptly draws a beard over, only to make the picture look like Eric! It is evident that Chaplin's split-second sense of comedic timing was there, even in these early films, as exemplified in the two chase scenes. There's even a funny but slightly ambiguous ending, showing that his sense of storytelling was developing as well. If I were to introduce someone to silent films, I would probably do so with this one.
Review of The Adventurer
