Charles Chaplin made his film debut in Making A Living, minus the recognizability we would come to know later. Other than his cane, Chaplin is not dressed as the tramp. Chaplin is dressed as an Englishman who appears to first propose to a young lady and then must find work. Chaplin's idea of finding work is to usurp the effort of a fellow reporter who snaps pictures of the aftermath of an auto accident. The film is quickly paced but poorly edited, although it may simply be the age of the print. Many of the scenes just do not flow well in progression as a result. Chaplin holding an opponent at bay with his cane is very funny and foreshadows his use of the tactic in later films. It's clear audiences must have taken to a lot of fighting in films then, but the repeated scrapes come off as pure silliness. The best scene comes at the end with the streetcar, which would have been performed by stunt men today. Most of these films were ad-libbed then, which explains the relative disjointedness on film. However, it is still historical of course to see Chaplin in his first film, even though he is not honed. *1/2 of 4 stars.
Review of Making a Living
