Blistering performances.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This, of course, refers to the title character (who appeared already before this one in films) in this 27-minute black-and-white silent short film from over 100 years ago. Chaplin reprised this role several times later, also in his most famous full feature films. The action in this film takes place mostly at a farm. The Tramp helps the farmer and his daughter (Edna Purviance, who is a regular in Chaplin movies) deal with a bunch of crooks who try to burgle the place. Chaplin, at one point, acts as if he would cooperate with them and get 50% of the money the steal, but it's all fake. The truth is that he is madly in love with the farmer's daughter. Unfortunately, at the very end, her fiancé appears and I felt sorry for the Tramp, but also for myself because I sat through this half hour which really wasn't that great. i did not feel that they had enough material for half an hour and the criminals also became a bit repetitive quickly. I usually like it if they include something beyond Chaplin's slapstick comedy routine, but here it wasn't working or I should maybe say it could have worked if they had kept it at 20 minutes max or come up with a better elaborated story with more depth. Not one of Chaplin's best. Not recommended.

Not much to be said about this Chaplin short. Charlie was introducing the tramp character, it was early in his career (1915), he had responsibility for everything and was working like a coolie. So it isn't surprising that "The Tramp" lacks the wit, sophistication, sentimentality, and innovative quality of some of his later productions. (The sentimentality could get pretty heavy handed.) The gags are mostly crude here. Charlie hits somebody. Somebody hits Charlie back. Charlie kicks him in the pants, and so forth. Compare this with, say, "The Idle Class" to see what a difference time, intelligence, and talent made. By the way, Chaplin's status in the 1940s as persona non grata in the USA has been attributed to his being a communist/socialist/pinko/subversive/fellow traveling spy (when in fact it probably had more to do with his fondness for young girls), but you'd never know it from this specimen. He takes advantage of just about everyone but Edna Purviance, and he abuses them for the fun of it, even his lessers on the social ladder. At this point, the tramp wasn't exactly a sympathetic figure.

This film is pretty typical of the earlier incarnation of The Little Tramp character. Charlie is a hobo and is drawn to helping a lady who is being harassed by bad hobos intent on stealing her money. At first, Charlie is somewhat inclined to do the same thing (something the earlier Tramp shorts might have had Charlie doing and something the later version never would have even thought of doing). But very quickly he realizes this is wrong and devotes much of the movie helping her. The Tramp thinks that the girl is in love with him so he sticks around even after the evil hobos have departed. However, eventually he discovers she actually has a boyfriend and so he excuses himself from her life--leaving a note to that effect. In effect, this script is an early version of Chaplin's full-length film, THE CIRCUS--where Charlie again is in love with a young lady who he helps from danger but he eventually walks away when he realizes she loves another. Nice stuff and a good introduction to this character.

`The Tramp' is significant for establishing Chaplin's working-class character in the popular consciousness, but it lacks the ingenuity and surprise of Chaplin's later films. The tramp's trademark appearance and mannerisms became universally beloved, but they are not what made Chaplin great. His genius is in his vision of how to use filmmaking techniques to confound and endear his audience. Here, the closest he comes is when he devises umpteen ways to tell a joke using a pitchfork. Many of them just aren't that funny.Rating: 5.5