The Champion
1915 · 31m · USA
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Genres: comedy, silent, sports
Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character stumbles into a boxing training camp and, after secretly placing a horseshoe in his glove, wins a fight against the world champion — all while fending off a crooked gambler and falling for the trainer's daughter.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Horseshoe-in-the-glove boxing gag is fine, foreshadowing City Lights is the only reason anyone remembers it. Mid Chaplin.
An Essanay-era warmup that prefigures the City Lights bout without yet possessing its emotional architecture. Pleasant rather than canonical.
Boxing-ring choreography that anticipates City Lights by sixteen years — Chaplin treats the ring as a dance floor and the horseshoe-in-glove gag is the running engine. 1.8M YouTube views for the b/w version says it still plays.
Reviews
The scenes in the training quarters are a steady laugh, but when Charlie faces his opponent in the roped arena, the fun is more than doubled. This one knocks them all out.
A great comedy which elevates itself above the dozens of shorts Chaplin made before, with very well choreographed slapstick and the modest beginnings of a cinematic genius.