Shoot the Glass

When you watch a movie by (and starring) Charlie Chaplin, you can be sure of two things; it’s going to be funny, and it’s going to have a heart. At least that’s true of all his movies I’ve seen so far.
The story is a simple one. The titular kid (an adorable Jackie Coogan) is abandoned [...]

I feel it’s only fair for me to admit something right away. I didn’t see the original “silent” version from 1925. My online rental service sent me the 1942 re-release. This version has the Chaplin narration added in, a completely different score, all title cards removed, and it’s a fair bit shorter.
I had heard this [...]

I am told that this, along with It’s a Wonderful Life, is the movie that gets played most during the holiday season on American TV. Meanwhile, it’s not even available on DVD in Europe. It made me wonder if this was going to be a very American story, and the powers that be didn’t think [...]