The Fireman (1916 Charlie Chaplin film)

The Fireman is the second film Charlie Chaplin distributed by the Mutual Film Corporation in 1916. Released on June 12, it starred Chaplin as the fireman and Edna Purviance as the daughter to Lloyd Bacon.Show more

Plot
A group of firemen, led by their foreman (Eric Campbell), practice in the fire station, but one is missing ... Charlie. He is still sleeping. The bell eventually wakes him and he slides down the pole to join the others. He reverses the pair of horses onto the fire engine and drives off, but without the others. He reverses the horses back again. Their first task is to polish the engine, but a lot of butt-kicking ensues.

During their meal break Charlie uses the engine as a giant water urn and serves an unappetizing soup to the others.

A young woman comes to the station with her aristocratic father, and the foreman sends Charlie away so he can talk with the father. Charlie and the girl flirt on one side of the station while the girl's father (Bacon) arranges with the local fire chief to have his house burn down so he can collect the insurance money. In exchange for the chief's complicity in the arson, the father will permit the fire chief to marry his daughter.

Production background
The film shows some early morning street scenes in the surrounding Los Angeles area.

The film makes use of reversing the film several times for comic effect: sliding up the fireman's pole, reversing the horses, hurrying back to station (in reverse) when he forgets the crew etc. The huge water tank in the station also comically has a second function as the coffee machine. A lot of the kicking in the film is clearly unfaked and fairly violent.

Cast
Charles Chaplin as Fireman
Edna Purviance as Girl
Lloyd Bacon as Her Father
Eric Campbell as Foreman of the Brigade
Leo White as Owner of Burning House
Albert Austin as Fireman
John Rand as Fireman
James T. Kelley as Fireman
Frank J. Coleman as Fireman

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.