The Rink (film)

24 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguagesSilent film
English intertitles

The Rink, a silent film from 1916, was Charlie Chaplin's eighth film for Mutual Films. The film co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Henry Bergman, and Albert Austin, and is best known for showcasing Chaplin's roller skating skills. Chaplin's obvious skill on roller skates surprised many of his fans, but Charlie was an experienced performer. As a touring vaudevillian with Fred Karno's pantomime troupe, Chaplin appeared in a roller-skating skit in which he displayed a talent for comedic falls—and the ability to cause other skaters to topple.

Plot

Charlie is an inept and sometimes clumsy waiter at a restaurant. He is serving one of his customers, the hot-tempered Mr. Stout. Charlie determines his bill by examining what he has spilled on his suit. While he is not a great server, Charlie is an excellent skater at the nearby roller rink. He meets a girl there and saves her from the unwanted attentions of the same Mr. Stout he earlier encountered at the restaurant. The grateful girl invites Charlie to a skating party. Charlie accepts and attends the party in top hat and tails. He again encounters the volatile Mr. Stout and runs afoul of Mrs. Stout. While skating, Charlie accidentally falls on her and pulls down her skirt. The skating party quickly descends into a riot. The police are called to restore order, but Charlie escapes by deftly rolling away with his cane hooked to the back of a moving automobile.

Cast

• Charlie Chaplin - A Waiter. Posing as Sir Cecil Seltzer, C.O.D.
• Edna Purviance - The Girl
• James T. Kelley - Her Father
• Eric Campbell - Mr. Stout, Edna's Admirer
• Henry Bergman - Mrs. Stout and Angry Diner
• Lloyd Bacon - Guest
• Albert Austin - The Cook and Skater
• Frank J. Coleman - Restaurant Manager
• John Rand - Waiter
• Charlotte Mineau - Friend of Edna
• Leota Bryan - Friend of Edna
• Fred Goodwins - Man in the jacket

Reception

A reviewer from Variety positively wrote, "There is plenty of fun provided by [Chaplin] on the rollers and he displayed a surprising cleverness on them. A number of funny falls occurred as was looked for, with Charlie outshining and outwitting any of the others on the floor."

Sound version

In 1932, Amedee Van Beuren of Van Beuren Studios, purchased Chaplin's Mutual comedies for $10,000 each, added music by Gene Rodemich and Winston Sharples and sound effects, and re-released them through RKO Radio Pictures. Chaplin had no legal recourse to stop the RKO release.^[1]

See also

• Charlie Chaplin filmography

References

External links

• The short film The Rink is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
• The Rink at IMDb
• The Rink at Doctor Macro's High Quality Movie Scans