Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "A Burlesque on Carmen" is a silent short film from 1915, so this one is of course in black-and-white and it is now already over a century old. The version I watched ran for slightly over half an hour, but I see there's also version out there that run for over 40 minutes. And there is one that features Peter Sellers as narrator, which is a bit strange as this is a silent film like I wrote. is he reading the intertitles? I am not sure, but if you like him , then perhaps that's the version to choose for you. The title already gives away that this is another version of the famous Prosper Mérimée story about Carmen and she is of course played by Chaplin regular Edna Purviance. You will find more than just a few other names in here who were really prolific and successful back in the day, even if their most known works are not necessarily associated with Chaplin, such as Jamison, Turpin or White. From that perspective, it is a bit of an oddity for a Chaplin film, but also from the perspective that literature adaptations are not necessarily anything you'd expect Chaplin to star in, even if he clearly changed the material enough for this to work from a comedic perspective. Overall, I cannot say I enjoyed the watch too much and I give it a thumbs-down, even if it is without a doubt, maybe because of the unusual approach, one of Chaplin's most known short film works. Not recommended.

Tom Gooderson-A'Court Charlie Chaplin's 13th Essanay film is loosely based on Georges Bizet's famous opera Carmen and stars Chaplin as Darn Hosiery, a Spanish Officer on watch at a popular smuggling point. Local barman Lillas Pastia (Jack Henderson) persuades an attractive gypsy girl, Carmen (Edna Purviance) to distract the guard while they smuggle their goods. Despite having no interest in the man Carmen uses her charms to distract Hosiery who ends up in a love quartet for the gypsy's heart.Burlesque on Carmen is an above average Essanay picture and features some nice subtle comedy as well as the usual trips, kicks and pokes. It also features the first noticeably decent performance from Chaplin regular Edna Purviance.Purviance who appeared in every one of Chaplin's Essanay films and went on to appear in over thirty with the comedian over an eight year period had up to now, in my opinion, merely been a background prop for Chaplin to move about and turn his attention to when necessary. Often, through no fault of her own she would play characters with names such as 'A Woman', 'Girl' or 'Maid' but here as Carmen, with a proper fleshed out character, she shines. She is saucy and flirty yet firm and strong headed and is at the forefront of the story. It's nice to see her finally come into her own.What's also nice is for Chaplin to take the action away from his traditional locations such as a house or park and transplant the plot to Spain. This gives him the excuse to try different sets and costumes, many of which add to the humour. He has great fun with a rather bushy military moustache and finds humour in his Uniform. The imagined heat of the Spanish sun also gives Edna Purviance a chance to show her face (and body), often hidden under bonnets and shawls. This is the first instance where I actually noticed the lightness of her hair as it is so often hidden from view. As I mentioned at the top there is a fair bit of subtle humour here to go along with the more obvious attempts. I loved how Chaplin slyly stole a beer and the looks he gave his fellow officer when trying to get 'time alone' with Purviance were fantastic.For me the biggest laugh came when Chaplin is annoyed at a man blowing a horn. He carefully positions himself behind the man, lifts up the back of his tunic, unsheathes his sword, sharpens it, raises it above his head and then kicks him up the arse before returning the sword to its sheath. I loved the misdirection and patience of the joke. Overall I laughed out loud around five or six times which puts it towards the top of the Essanay films in that respect.The final few minutes are surprisingly dark, even for a comedian famed for his pathos. I was totally shocked by just how grim it was and was glad for the final reveal even if the relationship didn't make much sense.www.attheback.blogspot.com

JoeytheBrit It's surprising how many films Chaplin made out of his tramp character in his earlier years. Here, in a parody of the famous opera (hence the highly original title), Chaplin plays a soldier in charge of the guard detailed to prevent smuggling onto its country's shores. The ne'er-do-wells who want to bring in their goods employ Carmen, a voluptuous young lady who is rather free and easy with her favours, to entice Chaplin away so that they can go about their business as usual. This one's a bit of a mess, with only a few scattered laughs found amongst a fairly turgid attempt at lampooning high(ish) art. Definitely not one of Chaplin's best, but then he was churning out so many films during this period that I suppose he was bound to produce a turkey every now and then.

MartinHafer This film was recently reassembled by Blackhawk Films/Image Entertainment from fragments and adulterated versions released by the studio without Chaplin's permission. Because of this, the DVD tried very hard to assemble the best original version and I appreciate the effort.This is a pretty Chaplin short in that it has nicer sets and costumes and just looks nicer than the usual comedies of the day. And I am sure that to lovers of the story of Carmen it's an impressive film (though being a SILENT it must lose a lot considering Carmen in an opera!). However, despite the quality of the film, I just didn't think it was very funny. Nice to look at--Yes. Funny--not especially.