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Shoulder Arms (1918)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Charles Chaplin (writer)
Release Date:
20 October 1918 (USA)
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Plot:
Charlie is a boot camp private who has a dream of being a hero who goes on a daring mission behind enemy lines. full summary | add synopsis
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User Comments:
The Tramp Goes To War
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Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Charles Chaplin | ... | Recruit |
 | Edna Purviance | ... | French girl |
| Syd Chaplin | ... | Sergeant / The Kaiser (as Sydney Chaplin) |
| Jack Wilson | ... | German Crown Prince |
| Henry Bergman | ... | Fat German sergeant / Field Marshal von Hindenburg |
| Albert Austin | ... | U.S. soldier / German soldier / Kaiser's chauffeur |
| Tom Wilson | ... | Training camp sergeant |
| John Rand | ... | U.S. soldier |
| J. Parks Jones | ... | U.S. soldier (as Park Jones) |
| Loyal Underwood | ... | Short German officer |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
46 min | 36 min (TCM print)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Certification:
Canada:G (Ontario) |
Argentina:Atp
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Many in Hollywood were nervous that one of their most famous peers was going to tackle the subject of WWI. It was released shortly before the Armistice so it did not help boost national morale. But it did end up as one of Charles Chaplin's most popular films and it was particularly popular with returning doughboys.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Charlie, disguised as a tree, enters a pipe to escape a German. When the German tries to pull Charlie out he seperates the lower part of the tree costume along with Charlie's shoes. When Charlie emerges from the other end of the pipe he is still wearing shoes.
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Movie Connections:
Featured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
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The big names in film tried to do their part for the war effort, and Charlie Chaplin was no exception. This patriotic and propagandist picture is part of his contribution, although the war was nearly over by the time of its release. The tramp goes to war, humorously accomplishes acts of heroism and kicks the Kaiser in the bum. It's a very funny film, although I don't think it nearly one of his best. It's with 'A Dog's Life' as his better output for First National before he made his early masterpiece 'The Kid.' They are his first three-reelers, which contain sustained, more elaborate gags than he could usually orchestrate in his two-reel shorts at Mutual.
It can be difficult to balance a pro-war message with slapstick antics and scenes of burlesque on the front, but one wouldn't think so watching 'Shoulder Arms.' It's also preferable in many respects to a "more serious," dramatic work with a similar message, such as Griffith's 'Hearts of the World.' Chaplin had become a true virtuoso of screen comedy by this time; he makes it look effortless. He knew very well by now that a film with fewer gags--with more elaboration, refinement and careful timing--could be better than any knockabout, Keystone-type farce with a dozen pratfalls a minute. The sequence where Chaplin is disguised as a tree is a pertinent example. Even with wars raging, Chaplin can lift the spirits of millions.