''Work'' is a 1915 American

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

starring

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (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 considered o ...

(his eighth film for Essanay Films), and co-starring

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 him ...

, Marta Golden and Charles Inslee. It was filmed at the Majestic Studio in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. It is one of the first movies to appreciate the slapstick potential of a painting and decorating scenario.

Plot

Charlie is an assistant to Izzy A. Wake, a painter and wallpaper hanger. The two men are on their way to a job carrying their ladders and materials on a cart. The boss rides in the cart, leisurely sitting in front of all their paraphernalia, while Charlie is hitched to the cart like a mule. The boss also treats Charlie like a mule, beating him with a stick to get him to move faster. When the boss opts to take a shortcut up a steep hill, the out-of-control cart descends and is nearly hit by an oncoming streetcar. A second attempt to scale the enormous hill is successful. A further delay is caused by Charlie falling down a manhole. At the destination house, Charlie carries all the material on the cart into the house in one move. They have been commissioned to hang wallpaper, but Charlie becomes distracted by the pretty maid. The boss has a misadventure and falls, his head ending up in a bucket of paste. Meanwhile, the short-tempered homeowner is contending with the threat of an exploding stove and an amorous French visitor who is making passes at his wife. Shots are fired—and the target turns out to be Charlie who has been enjoying the maid's company. An enraged Charlie gives the Frenchman, his boss, and the homeowner each a face full of paste. As the fight moves into the kitchen, the troublesome stove finally explodes. When the dust dies down, Charlie is nowhere to be seen. Slowly the oven door opens. Charlie looks out and retreats back into the stove.

Cast

... Izzy A. Wake's Assistant * Billy Armstrong ... The Husband (uncredited) * Marta Golden ... The Wife (uncredited) * Charles Inslee ... Izzy A. Wake - Paperhanger (uncredited) *

Paddy McGuire Paddy McGuire (né McQuire, 1884 – November 16, 1923) was an Irish actor and comedian. Biography Paddy McQuire was born in Ireland in 1884 or 1885. A burlesque comedian with a rubber face, McQuire was a regular supporting player in the film ...

... The Plasterbearer (uncredited) *

... Maid (uncredited) *

Leo White Leo White (November 10, 1873 – September 20, 1948), was a German-born British-American film and stage actor who appeared as a character actor in many Charlie Chaplin films. Biography Born in Germany to Julius White and Ida Berg White, White g ...

... The Secret Lover (uncredited)

Reception

A reviewer from Bioscope praised Work, noting, "The humor is designed to rise in a long crescendo of screams to a climax of roars. Positively, the thing is irresistible."

External links

* * 1915 films American black-and-white films Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin 1915 comedy films Silent American comedy short films Essanay Studios films 1915 short films Articles containing video clips 1910s American films {{1910s-short-comedy-film-stub