''Behind the Screen'' is a 1916 American silent short

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

written by, directed by, and starring

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

, and also starring Eric Campbell and

Edna Purviance Olga Edna Purviance (; October 21, 1895 – January 13, 1958) was an American actress of the silent film era. She was the leading lady in many of Charlie Chaplin's early films and in a span of eight years, she appeared in over 30 films with hi ...

. The film is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

Plot

The film takes place in a silent movie studio. Charlie Chaplin plays stagehand named David who has an enormous supervisor named Goliath (Eric Campbell). David is overworked but is still labelled as a loafer by the lazy Goliath and his supervisor. A country girl (Edna Purviance) arrives at the studio in hopes of becoming an actress, but is quickly turned away by Goliath. Most of the other stagehands go on wildcat strike to protest their sleep being interrupted during their lunch break. Only David and Goliath remain on the job.The girl returns and stealthily dresses in one of the striking stagehand's work clothes. Disguised as a man, she gets a job as a stagehand too. David discovers that the new stagehand is actually a female. When he gives her a series of quick kisses, the action is seen by Goliath who makes effeminate gestures at David. Edna overhears the strikers' plans to blow up the studio with dynamite and helps thwart their villainous plot. Much of the film is

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

comedy involving Chaplin manhandling large props, mishandling the control to a trap door, and engaging in a raucous pie-throwing fight which spills over into another studio where a period drama is being shot. In one scene Chaplin deftly carries 11 chairs over his back in his left hand and lifts a piano in his right hand. ''Behind the Screen'' was the last of Chaplin's comedies to use a movie studio as a backdrop. Earlier Chaplin films, such as ''

A Film Johnnie ''A Film Johnnie'' is a 1914 American-made motion picture starring Charles Chaplin, Roscoe Arbuckle, and Mabel Normand. Cast * Charles Chaplin - The Film Johnnie * Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Himself * Virginia Kirtley - The Keystone Girl * Peggy ...

'', ''

His New Job ''His New Job'' is a 1915 American short silent comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. Gloria Swanson appears as an uncredited extra. The title is an inside reference to this being Chaplin's first film after leaving ...

'', and '' The Masquerader'' had also been set, at least partly, in a silent movie studio. In ''Behind the Screen'', Chaplin pokes gentle fun at Keystone Studios where he broke into the movies in 1914 and worked under contract for

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

for a year. The pie-throwing sequence is an obvious allusion to the Keystone style of slapstick comedies where such skirmishes were overly common. One intertitle humorously refers to the pie-throwing gimmick as "a new idea."

Cast

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

as David (Goliath's assistant) *

as The Girl * Eric Campbell as Goliath (a stagehand) *

Albert Austin Albert Austin (13 December 1882 – 17 August 1953) was an English actor, film star, director, and script writer, remembered for his work in Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Austin was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, and was a m ...

as Stagehand (uncredited)

References in documentaries

The 1983 documentary series ''

Unknown Chaplin ''Unknown Chaplin'' is a three-part 1983 British documentary series about the career and methods of the silent film luminary Charlie Chaplin, using previously unseen film for illustration. The series consist of three episodes, with title ''My H ...

'' revealed previously unseen footage from this movie, including an alternate take where Purviance's character is shown playing a harp; an outtake in which Edna, playing the guitar, starts laughing (the documentary supports the belief that Purviance and Chaplin were romantically involved at the time); and several takes of a sequence in which Chaplin's character narrowly misses having his feet chopped off by an axe (accomplished by filming the scene backwards) - this sequence was never used in the final film. The 1995 documentary ''

The Celluloid Closet ''The Celluloid Closet'' is a 1995 American documentary film directed and written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book ''The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies'', and on lecture and film clip ...

'' draws attention to the scene where Chaplin's character - after learning that Purviance's character is really a woman - kisses her while on the set; at this point, a male stagehand enters and, thinking that Chaplin has kissed a man, starts acting in an overtly effeminate way until Chaplin kicks him.

Review

A reviewer for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' penned, "The latest Charlie Chaplin release is a two-reeler that is to be classed with one of the best laugh-producers that the world's champion high-priced film comic has done for Mutual. Most of the stunts might be classed with the earlier and most successful type of work pulled by Chaplin. Yet not once does he have possession of the bamboo cane nor does he wear that humpty-dumpty derby. The action, which in no case drags, takes place presumably on the floor of a film studio with a large chance for fun with the numerous props."

Sound version

In 1932, Amedee Van Beuren of Van Beuren Studios, purchased Chaplin's Mutual comedies for $10,000 each, added music by

Gene Rodemich Eugene Frederick Rodemich (April 13, 1890 in St Louis, Missouri – February 27, 1934 in New York) was a pianist and orchestra leader, who composed the music for numerous films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly cartoons and live-action sho ...

and

Winston Sharples Winston Singleton Sharples (March 1, 1909 – April 3, 1978) was an American composer known for his work with animated short subjects, especially those created by the animation department at Paramount Pictures. In his 35-year career, Sharples s ...

and sound effects, and re-released them through

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

. Chaplin had no legal recourse to stop the RKO release.SilentComedians entry

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Behind The Screen 1916 films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin American black-and-white films American silent short films 1916 comedy films Silent American comedy films Articles containing video clips 1916 short films American comedy short films Mutual Film films 1910s American films