Pay Day (1922)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Better Late Then Never

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Charlie is doing thankless work for unappreciative people. His wife is on his case ever minute. He tries to get better pay. His work experiences are sad and defeating. The men he works with are in the same boat. The strength of this early feature is the ingenuity of Chaplin as he navigates every moment, trying to do what is right. He is tired at the end of the day, but his virago of a wife is relentless. I look forward to other Chaplin short features, having not been exposed to them before.

Charlie Chaplin's short film "Pay Day" is obviously a silent film, so it has to rely completely on slapstick for it's comedy. There are a few written words, but those aren't overly amusing. The sight gags are simple, but amusing and well executed, and despite a lack of plot after the beginning, this is still a decent and amusing way to spend 30 minutes.A worker (Charlie Chaplin) is excited for his pay day. But first he has to go through one more day of work, with the angry foreman. And as angry as the foreman is, he's no where near as angry as the worker's wife. She takes all of the her husband's money from work, and he has to sneak some to go out for the night. So the worker goes out on the town for a night and goes through several gags that end with his wife figuring out he took some of his money back.Charlie plays a goofy character here. He's amusing, and over the top and silly. All this short is, is Charlie going through several different scenes and making mistakes. It's hard to review this, as it really didn't have much content, but it was thoroughly amusing. One thing that was strange about it was how mean this guy's wife is. She's obviously the antagonist and the set-up for the entire second half of the film, but geez, she takes all of her husbands money each week, and she doesn't let him keep anything to eat with. He really should've divorced that woman.Some scenes that are particularly well done are a trolley scene, and the bricklaying scene. The bricklaying scene at the beginning is a very well directed cause and effect scene where the work elevator goes up and down, causing people's food to be eaten on a different floor, and lots of mischief. The trolley scene features Charlie trying to get a ride, but the overcrowded car is hard to get in to. It's a very well done scene and it's a really great scene for slapstick comedy, and seems to be inspiration for future film scenes.This Chaplin short didn't set the world on fire. It's an amusing little short with a lot of gags. It's a fun watch, but that's about it.My rating: *** out of ****. 30 mins.

Said to be Chaplin's favorite of his short films, Pay Day is a quick, yet funny story of the Tramp and his Pay Day. Showing up to the job late, complaining about his wage, and then having to deal with his scary wife is just the first half of the movie. The night spent out on the town, drinking his problems away and then trying ever so hard to catch the train home is the second half. The physical comedy in Pay day is pure Chaplin. Catching the bricks, the escapades with the elevator and the mob to ride the train are segments that are unique and very funny. Still, Pay Day is not you average Chaplin film. There are moments in the movie that are just there to make you laugh. More of a joke filled story that an actual story with a beginning, middle and an end, Pay Day is a no holds bar comedy with the object to make the audience laugh. And it does.

This is an excellent testament to Chaplin's comedic genius. By 1921, he was coming into his own as the best filmmaker of the time, but full-length features were still a thing of the future. Because he only felt the need to make a 28 minute film, which left out a solid plot, and love interest. In this case, that's a good thing, because it leaves just a bunch of solid, extremely funny, comic situation. The music in Pay Day is excellent. Some scenes to note are Chaplin catching, and piling up the bricks, trying to catch the trolley, and trying to dig his hole...