User Reviews

In the spring of 1978, a few weeks after the death of Charlie Chaplin, a museum in my hometown scheduled a festival of his films. On the bill were several of the famous features such as The Kid, as well as some comparatively lesser-known short comedies. That's where I first saw The Idle Class, and I still remember how well it went over with the audience, provoking big bursts of laughter that seemed to erupt every 30 seconds or so. Even viewers who'd already seen lots of Chaplin's short comedies (myself included) were blown away by this one, which was both laugh-out-loud funny and poignant in equal measure.

Seeing the film again today, I feel it belongs with Chaplin's best work. The first thing that strikes me now is his economy of expression. Note how few title cards there are, and how brief and simple the wording is. It isn't easy to set up a story plainly and clearly in silent cinema without using lengthy expository passages, at least during the opening scenes, but here Chaplin manages to establish the premise with remarkable efficiency and very few words in a matter of minutes. We soon learn that Chaplin is playing a dual role, and that one of his characters is a wealthy sot, while the other is his familiar Tramp character. We also learn that Charlie the Tramp has hitched a ride to a resort for the Idle Rich, apparently in order to play golf (golf!?!), which brings him into close contact with his feminine ideal, Edna, and her wealthy cohorts. Chaplin does not heavily emphasize the irony that Edna is already married to a rich drunk who is Charlie's double, and who is selfish and unworthy of her, nor does he stress the point that practically all of these privileged people appear to be quite spoiled and useless. "Political" elements are present in The Idle Class for anyone who feels inclined to look for them, or to write a dissertation on 'Chaplin & Society,' but in my opinion the director was not interested in making a movie about social inequality, not at this point in his career, anyway. I believe he was interested in the absurdities of human behavior, and in deflating pomposity for comic effect. In any case, and whatever his intentions, the gags are in generous supply in The Idle Class, brilliantly conceived and beautifully performed.

Earlier postings have mentioned the bit when the rich husband, seen from behind, appears to be racked with sobs when he reads a note indicating that his wife has left him, on account of his drinking -- although in fact he's shaking a cocktail. I believe that's one of Chaplin's all-time best gags, and it sure rocked the house at the museum screening. Even funnier is the extended sequence in which the rich husband, obviously nursing a hangover, wanders down to the lobby of his hotel in his underwear. He's horrified to discover his lapse, and must then maneuver his way back to his room without being seen. Also worth noting is a great, wordless sequence in which Charlie the Tramp sees Edna ride by on horseback, and fantasizes about rescuing her from a runaway horse. Her gratitude turns into love, and within seconds they've married and Charlie has fathered her child! It's hilarious and a little sad, a brief story-within-a-story told without any words whatsoever.

I'll sum up by simply saying that The Idle Class is a timeless comic gem, certainly one of Charlie Chaplin's best short films, and that it's a genuine treat for anyone who appreciates great comedy.

Another example of Chaplin's brilliance in film-making, this short work. Many of his favorite themes come along, such as several chases and a mix-up between him and 'the husband'(also played by Charlie). Best scenes include the one where 'the husband' reads a letter from his wife that he should drink less. We see him pick up a picture of her, then he starts shaking like he's crying... but he's just mixing another drink. That really cracked me up. The scenes on the golf course are also very funny and well-made. Then the movie slows down a bit with the ballroom-thing, but the ending is just the best: with Charlie kicking the father of 'the wife' right where he should... great scene! In short: good short Chaplin, though not up there with The Adventurer, The Tramp or Pay Day. 7/10.

It's summer season. The rich travel by train to a resort. Edna (Edna Purviance) arrives looking to join her husband (Charles Chaplin) who is a hopeless drunk. Also on the train, the Tramp (Charles Chaplin) arrives with the luggage under the train. The Tramp falls for Edna at first sight. During a costume party, Edna mistakes the Tramp for her husband.

I like the doppelganger idea but they need a double scene. They do have a moustachio guy in a knight's suit but that's not enough. They need to do the mirror bit along with other double gags. This starts off with a couple of great gags. The Tramp coming out of the train and the drunken pants-less husband are both terrific. After that, it's not as imaginative.

One of Charlie Chaplin's best short comedies, "The Idle Class" uses some of his favorite themes to very good effect. Charlie has a dual role, playing his usual 'tramp' character and also playing a rich idler. He thus sets up some identity confusion and also the kind of class contrasts that often set up some of Chaplin's best material. There are plenty of good gags in this one, and some memorable scenes, with the hilarious costume party sequence being especially good. This was one of Chaplin's last short comedies, and it is constructed very carefully, with excellent timing in the gags and in the plot. While in a much lighter vein than the full-length pictures he was then starting to make, it has the same level of craftsmanship and is very entertaining.

This Chaplin short opens promising enough with elegant Edna Purviance arriving at the station tres elegante simultaneously with The Tramp falling out of a dust bin setting the stage for the his entrance into high society. But first he must put in a round of golf. While he brings his clubs he neglects to bring a ball. Meanwhile Edna's alchholic husband, also played by Chaplin forgets to pick her as well as his pants up.

This Chaplin lacks the energy and tightness of his usual short. Playing dual roles he comes up with some excellent bits making nice use of the sport of golf but the scene which starts promisingly enough quickly becomes disjointed and overlong. The masquerade ball where his identity is mistaken for Purviance's husband also has some fun moments as Charlie attempts to explain but a scene with his other character stuck in a knights armored helmet (something Peter Sellers would refine forty years in the future) goes on too long interrupting Charlie who works best alone though the films final seconds has a subversive extra that should elicit joy from the masses.

While Charlie Chaplin's little tramp persona has been famous worldwide for nearly a century, a character he created back in his musical hall days is less well-known. That character was the alcoholic aristocrat. Here, in the Idle Class, he makes his final appearance, and his only one opposite the tramp, in a mistaken identity comedy that prefigures Chaplin talkie The Great Dictator.

In spite of this being his swansong, the posh drunk's personality is more fully fleshed out here than ever before, as if Chaplin was eking the utmost out of the character before abandoning him. Chaplin also involves him in gags of a type he did not often do; the pull-back-and-reveal joke, like the shot revealing he is wearing no trousers, or the elaborate arrangement of people and props as he tries to conceal it from the people around him. These jokes are hilarious, but they are not typical Chaplin – they draw too much attention to the artifice of it all, and threatens to detract from the humanity of the characters, which is why he would never have used such gags with the little tramp.

Speaking of the little tramp, he is far from absent in The Idle Class, and there is plenty of his kind of humour here. He gets a great entrance, emerging from a little hatch on the underside of a train after the grand arrival of an assortment of toffs. There are some supremely confident gags on a golf course, where in the classic style of the Mutual shorts the focus is upon the trail of chaos that the tramp leaves behind him. For example, we see Charlie sauntering into the distance while in centre-screen his two fellow golfers get into a fight over a misunderstanding he has caused. In a following shot only his legs appear, as he stomps on a straw hat in one corner of the screen, causing yet more mayhem. Charlie is not shown directly, but it is his personality and his influence on the comedy you remember. Compare that to the scenes of the wealthy drunkard, in which Chaplin is always on screen because the character is weaker and requires our constant attention to work.

So, an odd little Chaplin short, featuring much material of a kind he would not return to again. And yet it is very effective and funny, even when it wasn't in a mode that suited him. As if to prove the value of the kind of gags we see in The Idle Class, they went to live on in the work of his fellow silent comics. Whether the influence of this picture was significant or not, those pull-back-and-reveal gags are used to great effect in Harold Lloyd's films, while those elaborately staged sight-gags were of course a staple for Buster Keaton.

All of which heralds the timely arrival of that all-important statistic – Number of kicks up the arse: 7 (2 for, 4 against, 1 other).

The old identical twin routine, with a tramp (Charlie Chaplin) being confused with a member of the idle rich (also Charlie Chaplin), and hilarity (ok mild amusement) ensuing. It's not a homerun or anything, but there are nice moments in Charlie waddling while crouched way down to conceal the fact that he's forgotten to wear his pants (ah yes, the old I forgot to put on pants bit), his twist-a-whirl style of hitting a golf ball, a hobo lying on the golf course with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of golf balls in his mouth that pop up when his belly is pressed, and the fighting with the rich man, trapped in a knight's armor with the face mask down and stuck. Gosh, I hope I didn't just give away the whole film. There isn't much to the romance, but I liked the tramp's fleeting fantasy of rescuing the leading lady (Edna Purviance) and his thoughts racing forward to marriage and kids, and little moments of attraction the two have, the cutest of which is a subtle little holding of hands.

After a few years of slapstick, Charlie Chaplin's movies took a more serious turn in 1921. He continued making comedies, but they now looked at social class. "The Kid" focused on a father and son in the ghetto, while "The Idle Class" contrasts rich and poor. Chaplin depicts the Tramp - having gotten a free ride on a train - sneaking into a golf course and messing with the lives of the rich snobs. I guess that it's sort of a precursor to "Caddyshack". And of course, the dual role is something that he later did in "The Great Dictator". It's a fun romp with ample social commentary. Also starring are Mack Swain (Big Jim in "The Gold Rush"), Al Garcia (the steel mill boss in "Modern Times"), Edna Purviance (Chaplin's occasional co-star at the time; Penelope Ann Miller played her in Richard Attenborough's movie about Chaplin) and Lita Grey (Chaplin's future wife).

The Idle Class (1921) : Brief Review

A lower class tramp meets a Higher class Wife and her husband to create a comedy of confusions. This isn't a twin formula but sort of similar, that allied faces or replica formula or whatever you call it. It might snatch origins from Shakespeare's 'Comedy Of Errors' where the same looking faces are misunderstood as the same person and then errors are turned into gags. A tramp sneaks into a upper class golf resort. The tramp meets a rich woman who is having an argument with her drunken husband. Complications arise when she mistakes the tramp for her husband. It becomes even more mad when the husband suspects his wife flirting with some other person. Well, here's a big loop in the film, a big big loop which we should overlook for the sake of cinematic Liberty. It is 1921 so yes we CAN forgive it. Anyways, The Idle Class is half-an-hour long yet starts off on a slow note. We shouldn't talk about Chaplin making his feature-length debut in the same year, his first even universally acclaimed classic- 'The Kid', or else The Idle Class would look so tiny in the comparison. It has its own fun, own charm and scenes that can be enjoyed by kids as well as adults. It all begins with that entire dancing sequence in the hall, the continuous confusion, the fights, the tricks and everything. Like i said, it starts off slow because the most funny character in the film is not shown in the start. It's about those other characters, that Idle Class stuff and so it feels idle just like the characters. In the 2nd half it turns into a laugh riot and then some brilliant ending gives a Full stop to it. Again, it's only and only about Chalie Chaplin. Every single laugh here is provided by him and that's why it is a Must watch for his fans and also for fans of comedy cinema. Overall, a very good comedy but little slow, even for such a short runtime.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

Charlie Chaplin is a poor tramp.Charlie Chaplin is a wealthy and alcoholic husband.Edna Purviance is his neglected wife.The poor tramp sneaks into a upper class golf resort.He finds himself from a masquerade with the neglected wife.The resemblance between the tramp and the wealthy husband makes her think the tramp is the husband.Charles Chaplin is the director, the producer and the writer of The Idle Class (1921).The master comedian does excellent job in double role.His leading lady Edna Purviance is wonderful as always.Then there are greats like Mack Swain and Henry Bergman.This silent short comedy has plenty of funny moments.It's hilarious when the wealthy husband tries to open the visor of his knight's costume.Or when the tramp is seated next to the neglected wife as her husband.This movie only proves the genius of Charlie Chaplin.

(1921) The Idle Class SILENT COMEDY

Clocking in at 32 minutes that is edited, produced, written directed band starring Charles Chaplin as he is playing duo roles- one as a wealthy mongol, the other as a regular tramp who eventually comes across with his other half. Classic comedy routines also includes the golf sequence, the tramp being mistaken as the wealthy husband counterpart, and the costume party to name a few. The Idle Class may have been the basis for Chaplin's other film "City Lights" in terms of the drunk sequences. ! This is the thirty-third film Charlie Chaplin starred actress Edna Purviance.

Charlie's Little Tramp is one of those people whose life is haphazard and unpredictable. Here there are two elements. His role here is to be mistaken for an identical figure, a rich man. Charlie plays golf and at every turn, causes destruction to some poor person. He doesn't mean to, but chaos always ensues. He finally finds himself in the home of the rich man, a man with a drinking problem and a frustrated wife. Of course, it's a case of mistaken identity, but Chaplin ends up in all kinds of trouble. Very nice silent feature.

The post-war period, until the depression, must have been a class-conscious period in America, with some people very rich and most others (eg., farmers) poor. Charlie is the tramp character so he's poor. The plot is said to have been developed by him after he wandered around the prop room and spotted a bag of golf clubs. The story is certainly simple enough. Chaplain finds himself on a golf course and a series of gags ensue, after which he's chased by a cop and runs into a mansion where a costume party is in progress. He's taken for the host, who is a ringer. The other guests believe that the host's tramp outfit is simply a costume for the party. The real host, meanwhile, is encased in a suit of armor whose visor has dropped and jammed shut so no one can see his face. Charlie gets out of it okay and ends the movie by kicking the security guard in the pants and running away.

To me, the funniest gag, in a movie filled with funny gags, has to do with Charlie as the real host. (He has a double role.) The high-class host is a drunk. In his natty evening dress, but without trousers -- don't ask -- he comes home to find a note from his wife. "I am taking up other quarters until you rid yourself of your drinking habit," says the note. Charlie reads it and slowly turns away from the camera and bends over a table, his shoulders racked with sobs. What remorse! But, no. When he turns again towards the camera we see he is matter-of-factly shaking a cocktail mixer! It's called a "garden path" joke, and it efficiently explodes our expectations.

It's hard to imagine how Chaplin could have found any humor in alcohol use, given his family history. His girl friend at the time, Edna Purviance, was to become bloated from alcohol abuse too.

Well, as I say, though, the story isn't much. It's really two stories: (1) the golf course sequence, and (2) the mixed identities at the costume party. Both of them are good. There's more slapstick in the second part and probably more gag continuity in the first.

I saw this only a few hours ago and I'm still laughing, enough to be compelled to add a description of one more joke. On the golf course, Charlie has hit a ball that lands in the open mouth of a fat man asleep on his back. As the fellow snores, the white ball appears and disappears in his mouth. How does Charlie manage to hit the ball again? He steps on the guy's belly, the ball pops a few feet up in the air, and he hits it in mid air using his golf club like a baseball bat. If the joke loses something in the course of its transposition into print, well, blame it on Charlie's "genius," in the original sense.

It's pretty consistently funny.

Twin billing for Charlie Chaplin in this delightful case of mistaken identity. Charlie plays both an upper-class husband, slave to alcohol, and the more familiar role of a dusty, scrappy, opportunistic tramp who merely goes with the flow, stumbling wherever the wind may blow. There's a mix-up, a confused wife, an irate father, fisticuffs at a costume party - simplistic stuff - but the star's effortless charisma, elaborate attention to detail and smooth physical charms lift it to another level.

When he's on a roll, I could spend hours watching Chaplin riff on everyday life, and in that sense The Idle Class represents a creative peak. He's irresistible in this picture; shrewdly thieving clubs on the golf course, craftily dodging the law at a ritzy banquet, sneaking rides on trains and cars; floating into trouble and then floating right back out again, largely unscathed. His physical comedy is a riot, continuously inventive, with deep, genuine belly laughs at every turn. It's marvelous.

While obvious concerns over classism linger on the fringe (this was the onset of the roaring twenties, after all), Chaplin lets those simmer in the viewer's mind rather than addressing them too head-on. The snooty, wealthy types are justifiably lampooned, the point is made, no need to harp on at the expense of the light-hearted laughs that are flowing so freely. An instant favorite.

Chaplin's short film, September 1921's "The Idle Class," took him over five months to complete. With the comedian's track record, love had to get in the way, and he was ready to cross the threshold of marriage bliss for the second time before he embarked on its scripting and filming. Chaplin had proposed to 19-year-old actress May Collins in April 1921, which she accepted. A couple of months later, he changed his mind, thinking to himself he "suddenly decided he could scarcely stand to be in the same room with her." Instead of being honest with his revolting opinion of her, Chaplin repeatedly called in sick at work, claiming he had a bad case of influenza.

Chaplin also experienced writer's block, not knowing what plot lines he could develop. Coming across a set of golf clubs, he suddenly got a light bulb moment and constructed a series of skits revolving around The Tramp's adventure on the links. One interesting visual is he and other golfers reached into a sand box to build up a mound on the opening drive of each hole. Tees as we know it didn't become popular until a year after "The Idle Class" was made when golf pros promoted their use. The container holding the sand was called the 'tee box,' which today's golfers still call that area used to drive the ball as the 'tee box.'

This film marks the first use of a double Chaplin character the comedian would display so effectively in his later movie, 1940's 'The Great Dictator.' Edna Purviance plays the wife of the rich Chaplin character who has a tendency of imbibe a bit too much. The Tramp enters the country club's masquerade ball, where confusion reins when the two Chaplins are revealed. Earlier, the snobbish Chaplin is seen in the lobby without his pants on. He avoids getting caught by hiding behind several objects, including a newspaper. Mike Myers was inspired by the sequence in the opening of 1999's 'Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,' using natural timely shields to hide the fact he was in public without clothes on.

Lastly, 13-year-old Lina Grey is seen as a maid in the concluding scenes. Her life and Chaplin's would converge in another three years with interesting consquences.

'The Idle Class' is a mistaken identity comedy where Charles Chaplin plays a dual role - A lonely alcoholic husband against his Tramp. This is without competition my personal favorite Chaplin short. Maybe because this movie is a bit unusual type for Chaplin. Rather big raunchy but kicking stunts and gags 'The Idle Class' mostly consists of subtle jokes that usually have a surprising punchline.

The two plotlines are cleverly bound together - the millionaire's neglected wife (Edna Purviance) arrives at the resort. With the same train arrives The Little Tramp. We can see the wife having troubles with her husband, and we watch The Tramp's adventures at the local golf course. Both storylines are very well developed so they could have been a separate movie. In here, Chaplin as a director starts to play with the viewers' nerves - when and how these two are going to meet. Chaplin also manages to perfect both roles - he is of course at his best as The Tramp but his alcoholic millionaire is a comedic genius down to the detail.

Lonely Tramp, lonely husband, and lonely wife. If I must say that there are two Charles Chaplin's short movies you have to see, then 'The Idle Class' would be one of them.

A train arrives at the depot with a range of passengers – from the rich down to a tramp of few means. One rich woman has asked her husband to collect her at the station but his terrible forgetfulness means he does not. All three of them head to the members-only golf club, although the tramp is not strictly invited. He causes confusion and trouble on the greens, while his more than passing resemblance to the rich woman's husband causes plenty trouble at the masquerade ball that evening.

As part of broadening my cinema experience I spent an afternoon checking in with screenings of a few Chaplin feature films and shorts and The Idle Class was one of the latter. Having just watched A Day's Pleasure and finding it amusing, I expected more of the same from Idle Class but actually this film was much funnier. The plot is not really important until the tramp and husband come together in the final scene and up till then it is just one perfectly timed and choreographed piece of confusion after another. The golf course fights were my favourite but the ball itself is pretty funny. As usual Chaplin's performance is quite brilliant, putting so much into his face and physical comedy that really you never thing words as missing so much as superfluous. The support cast of regulars such as Purviance, Swain, Bergman and a few others all put in solid work with well-exaggerated physical deliveries that compliment the subtle performance from Chaplin.

Overall a real delight. Consistently funny with plenty to laugh about.

Although I prefer late Chaplin to early Chaplin - "The Idle Class" is hilarious. Chaplin's light-hearted barbs at the rich are always appreciated. prefer his darker, more savage critiques of Capitalism ("Monsieur Verdoux," etc) but - hey, It's Chaplin. What more needs to be said? He had more talent in his foot than most "actors" or "directors" have in their entire bodies. Even when he's bad he's great.

THE IDLE CLASS came out in 1921, the same year that Chaplin posted his first long feature, THE KID, and it shows touches of an artist getting to the top of his art thanks to subtler physical comedy, and a mordant take on class differences -- be it in nature, at golf, or at a tycoon's house.

Edna Purviance looks splendid as the wife of the rich nobleman portrayed by Chaplin, so splendid in fact that she catches the Tramp's eye and he already imagines the bliss of marriage and children with her... she in fine clothes, he in rather more modest attire. The problem is that the nobleman - the exact replica of the Tramp, only in finer clothes - has a drinking problem. In one of the silent cinema's most famous sequences, Purviance threatens to leave if he does not put an end to drinking: she walks away, we see Chaplin from behind, apparently convulsing in sadness, possibly crying, and that is when he turns around and we see that he is shaking his drink in a shaker before pouring it in a glass and downing it.

Just over 30 minutes long, THE IDLE CLASS had me chuckle all the way, thanks to clever comic sequences and a masterly performance from Chaplin. Great score, too, Bossa Nova-like, so it cannot have been the original item, though it certainly dovetailed with the action. Congratulations and thank you, Charlie! 9/10.

After the phenomenal success of "The kid" Charlie returned to production of short films in his desire to fulfill his contractual obligations to First National as soon as possible. And by September of 1921 a new movie masterpiece was already finished - "The idle class" starring Chaplin in a dual role of Tramp and a husband.

The story revolves around people of so called "idle class", high class society people who spend their everyday lives playing golf, going to masquerade balls or doing any other things of no real purpose other than to amuse themselves. And there is Charlie, a lonely stranger with no roof over his head and no money in his pockets who comes across these people of stinking wealth by accident and gets mistaken for the husband of another lonely soul, played by stunning Edna Purviance; she is tired of her husband's drinking but still wants to be with him with all her heart. Her husband on the other hand wears shades on his brows and doesn't seem to notice anything under his nose, even has he got his pants on or not. And this little case of fate in the form of a Tramp makes the husband jealous and something clicks inside of him.

Sometimes we forget how to love a person after we've been together for a long while and to not let it all fall apart completely we should cherish every moment with our close one and be able to see through our darkest moments and go on fearlessly hand in hand.

This 30-minute movie is quite a different beast from "The kid", less dramatic but as entertaining and meaningful as any other of Chaplin's movies. It speaks loudly about social inequalities and how differently people see and perceive the world in general; it also speaks of destiny and what is meant to be will happen no matter what. Charlie is a true artist and a master of expressing his thoughts without making much effort which yet again proves that seemingly easy things are might not be that easy and difficult things are not that difficult.

A great scene in the film is when the HUSBAND has his back to the screen so you can't tell when he is actually doing. To some it looks like he is crying until he turns around to face the camera. In fact, the drunk HUSBAND is mixing himself a martini in his glass shaker. Just one of many situations where Chaplin plays with the audience.

This is one of my all-time favourite Chaplin movies, right up there with Easy Street, Shoulder Arms, etc. And oh, the background score. Watch it just for the score. Trust me, you'll know what I mean when you do.

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

It is hard to not expect a lot after not long before Chaplin had one of his earliest career highs in 'The Kid'. 'The Idle Class' doesn't disappoint, and it shows Chaplin having properly found his style and fully settled. As said with many of his post-Keystone efforts, it shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career. The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. After Mutual the style had properly settled and the cinematic genius emerged. Very much apparent in one of his best overall short films 'The Idle Class'.

The story is slight and slightly too simple but is at least discernible and is never dull, and does it while not being as too busy or manic.

On the other hand, 'The Idle Class' looks very well done, from Essanay onwards, and it is certainly the case here, it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.

'The Idle Class' is one of the funniest and most charming short films of Chaplin. It is hilarious with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick and the charm doesn't get over-sentimental. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight. The second half is both hilarious and enchanting, with the sentimentality and such kept at bay rightfully.

Chaplin directs more than competently and the cinematic genius quality is emerging. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The support is good from the likes of the ever appealing Edna Purviance.

Overall, great, hilarious and charming. 9/10 Bethany Cox