CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Steffi_P By this point it was fairly clear that Charlie Chaplin's little tramp character was not a canonical, consistent individual embarking on one adventure after the other. He could be a man of any name or background, albeit with the same famous props and persona, even a foreigner coming to American shores for the first time.It was this flexibility of character that kept Chaplin continually inventive, as well as being the key to the breadth of his appeal. The situations Charlie finds himself in here would be familiar to a large proportion of the audience, either from their own lives or the stories of their parents. There is a layer of poignancy in the harsh and frank depiction of the sea crossing, and Chaplin's balancing of comedy and tragedy was never better. Jokes have a bittersweet edge, and sad moments are given a comic – but never disrespectful – twist.Chaplin's precision as a director is utterly beautiful to behold. When the camera is tilting and Charlie is lurching all over the deck, other passengers get up one-by-one to vomit over the side, giving a kind of rising level of madness to the scene, and making the tramp's tottering look even more precarious. Later, when the passengers are having dinner, the rocking of the boat provides plenty of great gags, but look at what happens when Edna Purviance walks in. Not only do we cut to close-ups, losing all the distracting background business, but the rolling subsides to a gentle swaying. The change is smooth enough for us not to notice, but it subliminally colours the moment.The supporting performances are gems as always, but this time special attention goes to Henry Bergman. In the first half, Chaplin ekes a few laughs out of the poor man's rotund stature, with Bergman's rolling across the deck actually being quite an impressive feat. In the second half he gives one of his most fun performances as the flamboyant artist, not being exactly laugh-out-loud funny but creating a bold character all the same.And Chaplin himself is in the middle of it all, now doing his little tramp so effortlessly it looks as if his funny business is just happening, rather than having been thought up. He was now like Jimmy Stewart or Gary Cooper would be years later – always playing the same familiar type who could be adapted to any setting. The added bonus for Chaplin is that, as a silent star, audiences could project any name or voice they wanted upon him. This, then, is also one of the reasons why the little tramp could not have survived into the sound era – but that's another story.

ackstasis 'The Immigrant (1917)' shows Chaplin really finding his feet as a performer and a storyteller. In this 20-minute comedy, the Little Tramp arrives in New York City following a tumultuous transatlantic journey, throughout which the vessel pitched like an amusement park ride. The ever-resourceful Tramp is first seen sprawled over the side of the ship, as though indulging his sea-sickness, but then emerges to reveal himself with a flailing fish in hand. There's also a very touching scene, foreshadowing an unforgettable moment in 'City Lights (1931),' in which Chaplin surrenders his money to a pretty girl (Edna Purviance) in the most humble way he can manage – only to get accused of pickpocketing!Following his arrival in America, the broke and lonely Tramp finds some money on the sidewalk and buys a meal, only to realise – too late – that he's lost the coin. Desperate to avoid being beaten up by the burly waiter and kitchen staff, he tries to obscure the fact that his finances are inadequate. Chaplin's timing, as ever, is exquisitely funny, and even then he had mastered the combination of comedy and sentiment that would make him one of Hollywood's most powerful and respected artists. Edna Purviance is delicate and sympathetic as a fellow immigrant, and the massive Eric Campbell is amusingly intimidating as a café head- waiter who's willing to flay a man for being ten cents short of the bill.

RainDogJr I have the Charlie Chaplin (the Little Tramp) Collection of 5 DVDs, from Passport Video, since long time ago however, and I really feel stupid for that, I have only a few of Chaplin short films. Well, the last weekend I watched and really liked a couple of Harold Lloyd short films (Bumping Into Broadway and An Eastern Westerner) and basically I just thought, "well, what I am waiting, let's watch some Chaplin shorts". The Immigrant is so much fun, divided in two parts this 25 minutes film shows Chaplin first on board and later, when he finally is in the Land of Liberty, at a restaurant. It is the American dream for the little tramp but he will find nothing but hard times. Previously he had an odd trip and we can't argue that, we enjoy some of his "adventures" on board meeting some people and of course one of them will join him in America. Between them, the tramp and the girl, we watch good moments in difficult times, the tramp as always being kind but sometimes not very kind. The girl is having not only the hard time of being on board with a dream in mind, the dream of founding a new place where the things can be a little better but maybe everything will be just that, a dream. So apart of that her mother is sick and both need some help. For her fortune the tramp is there not only to show us how you can eat when the tide is making things a little complicated but also to be kind with the girl. To begin he helps the girl to get some food however the problems are bigger when the mother of the girl is stolen. But again the kind and realistic tramp is there to put a smile in the girl's pretty face. After the mentioned incidents of the tramp and the girl it was going to be impossible for both not to recognize the other if they meet again now in solid ground. And when they are at the restaurant is when the funniest part begins. There all the personality of Chaplin's character is shown, to begin he is again the helper of the girl and we will watch a very strange and understandable behaviour of the tramp, you know he and the girl eating and he without a cent. Simply hilarious; probably the sequence that resumes this tramp is when the artists arrives to their table. The tramp has been "fighting" to get some money and he knows what happens when a client can't pay (in the Harold Lloyd short film Bumping Into Broadway we watch a similar scene for a similar case, in both our protagonists sees the person who they owe beating a man in their same situation) but he refuses the help of the artist. He ends paying with the money of the artist (with the tip that the artist left) however nobody but us knows that. Look at Chaplin when the waiter realizes that the tramp actually could afford the food. And the tramp even ends as a very kind man since he even left a tip to the waiter, he did what the waiter doesn't, simply great and very funny to end with the tramp and the girl together.Right now I can't really write that The Immigrant is one of the best short films that Chaplin made since I have seen only a few however I can write that this is a very recommend short film that I really liked.

CitizenCaine Chaplin's eleventh film for the Mutual Film Corporation, which he edited, wrote, produced, and directed highlights the experiences of early twentieth century immigrants. A group of European immigrants heads to the United States aboard a ship. On the way, there are many sight gags and slapstick moments, such as the swaying of the ship (which is highly exaggerated), the card shuffling, and the mealtime musical chairs with the dishes. The New York harbor scene is especially poignant, as Chaplin himself was an immigrant only a few years before. Many of the shipboard experiences in the film probably echo his own during his immigration to the United States. Chaplin helps a woman and her daughter aboard ship and later meets the same daughter in a restaurant where he has dinner with her. However, Chaplin must figure out a way to pay for their dinners because he comes up short of cash. Meanwhile, another customer gets the works from the establishment, headed by waiter Eric Campbell, for not paying up. Chaplin spies a coin on the floor, and he has to quickly pocket it before anyone else sees it. This comical scene is the highlight of the film. Chaplin bumps into an artist who hires Chaplin and Edna Purviance (the daughter) as models, and Chaplin gets the guy to pay an advance. He then uses this advance to force Edna to marry him. This is a combination of the immigrant experience and the determination to survive and make good with a comic bent of course. *** of 4 stars.