TheLittleSongbird 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. From his Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'A Night Out' is not one of his very best or even among the best of this particular period. 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, from 1914, The Essanay period is something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. 'The Champion' is among the best of his early work and for me it is the first great Chaplin and perhaps something of a turning point for him.Certainly other efforts of his have more pathos and a balance of that and the comedy than 'The Champion'. On the other hand, 'The Champion' looks pretty good, not incredible but 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 here and preference.'The Champion' is one of his funniest from the Essanay period and the first effort of his to be more than amusing. The boxing match is one of the best sequences from anything in the early part of Chaplin's career. It moves quickly and there is a more discernible and busier story to usual, even if at times it could have had more variety.Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, with a charming Edna Purviance. Summing up, surprisingly great. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) This 1915 movie "The Champion" runs for half an hour and celebrated its 100th birthday this year. Accordingly, it is still a black-and-white film and also silent and by many considered one of the films Chaplin made during his peak. There's really only 2 options: either his short film period or his feature film period, which of course also included political messages in contrast to the short films. Anyway, I personally believe that this is not one of his finest works. Maybe, at age 25 he was simply still too young. Also in here is the very young Edna Purviance who was maybe 20 when this was made and she was at the very beginning of her career. There aren't really any memorable moments in this short film and Chaplin frequently manages to put nice focus on his dramatic and comedic scenes as well. But not here. The longer the film goes on, the more chaotic it gets and the more it would have needed at least a slight ounce of order. The last shot was nice though. Charlie gets his reward for winning the fight (against the world champion??? seriously?) and we see that it was deemed inappropriate to have people watch you during kissing. An interesting snippet looking at how things are today. That one shot is obviously not enough thou to let me recommend this half hour. Watch another Chaplin film instead.

CitizenCaine Chaplin was certainly the champion of silent films and was rapidly becoming well known in early 1915 when he edited, wrote, directed, and starred in The Champion. Chaplin plays a hapless guy with a dog, who still retains its dignity even in desperate straits. Chaplin seasons the stubborn dog's sausage; otherwise, it appears the dog refuses to eat. They happen upon a local fighter needing a sparring partner where Chaplin gets the brilliant idea of utilizing a horseshoe in his boxing glove in order to even the odds. Chaplin becomes invincible and later secures a match with a champion. The championship boxing match predates the one in City Lights by over 15 years, but Chaplin is magnificent dancing around the ring as the champ tries in vain to put him away. The referee takes as much of a beating as the fighters in the ring. This is pure slapstick fun with just enough plot to balance the film, unlike most other Chaplin films up to this time. Edna Purviance is Chaplin's love interest in their second film together. Ben Turpin appears as an obnoxious vendor. The silent screen giant of westerns Bronco Billy Anderson is the enthusiastic man in the audience. Warner Brothers director of 1930's and 1940's films Lloyd Bacon appears as one of the sparring partners. **1/2 of 4 stars.

The_Movie_Cat In 1915 Chaplin produced fourteen films for Essanay, just over a third of his output for the previous year under the conveyor belt-like production values of Keystone. This was a trend that would continue, with Chaplin's quantity shrinking more and more each year until the two-features-a-decade of his final years. However, with this shrink in output, the quality would increase, with massive advancement in the artistry of his work.This said, the Essanay shorts, while more inventive, better plotted and better realised than the Keystone work, initially aren't all that better. A case in point is The Champion, still a relatively primitive piece that has no great meaning or comedic punch (pun unintended). It's worth remembering that this was still only twenty years since the emergence of the first extensive film productions, and that it would have been sophisticated in its day. Yet despite this, the lack of continuity between internal/external locations and lapses of plot logic (Chaplin's Tramp becomes a feared boxer because he has a horseshoe in his glove… later he is able to perform the same feats of knock out artistry without the horseshoe, which makes no sense at all) do pall somewhat.Probably most notable for inspiring a sequence in "City Lights", this is still the era of large comedy moustaches and lack of screen realism. While comedy can be exaggerated, with nothing to ground it in any form of reality it has no great currency over 90 years on. Thankfully the Essanay shorts began, most notably from "The Tramp" on, to develop Chaplin's character as a more sympathetic and socially relevant persona; the seeds of which can be seen here, with a more likable take than Chaplin had previously indulged in. Charlie himself resented the working practises of Essanay, claiming in his autobiography that the company was "smug and self-satisfied" and that "their last consideration was the making of good pictures." In all, The Champion is interesting as a historical document and notable for the rapid progression Chaplin was making. On its own terms though, it isn't terribly good.