Charlie Chaplin's colossal ego meant that he almost never performed for directors other than himself. Even as early as his debut he was chafing at being told what to do by the man officially in charge, with whom he fought both behind the camera and well as in front of it.
Wearing a top hat and sporting a Zapata moustache the new boy looks very different to his later creation but the aggression of his other early roles is already well in evidence (note the swift clip around the ear he administers to a newsboy who just happens to be watching), while the scene where he prods his adversary in the stomach with his walking stick soon reappeared in 'The Rink'.
Glendale Avenue in brilliant sunlight provides a highly attractive backdrop and the film acquires added visual interest when the action moves further afield to take in a panoramic view of downtown Los Angeles as it looked at the end of 1913 (one of the perks of films of this vintage is the folk in the background going nonchalantly about their business).
The spectacular shot of the car tumbling down a cliff was doubtless shot for an earlier production; after all this time it's presumably far too late to establish precisely what that was.
Wearing a top hat and sporting a Zapata moustache the new boy looks very different to his later creation but the aggression of his other early roles is already well in evidence (note the swift clip around the ear he administers to a newsboy who just happens to be watching), while the scene where he prods his adversary in the stomach with his walking stick soon reappeared in 'The Rink'.
Glendale Avenue in brilliant sunlight provides a highly attractive backdrop and the film acquires added visual interest when the action moves further afield to take in a panoramic view of downtown Los Angeles as it looked at the end of 1913 (one of the perks of films of this vintage is the folk in the background going nonchalantly about their business).
The spectacular shot of the car tumbling down a cliff was doubtless shot for an earlier production; after all this time it's presumably far too late to establish precisely what that was.