The Pilgrim (1923)

Let's be realistic.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Blistering performances.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Chaplin edited, wrote, produced, and directed this final film he made for First National Pictures. It was also the final film he made with Edna Purviance playing a major role. Chaplin plays an escaped convict who happens upon a town near the Mexican border. The town's residents mistake him for the new minister they're expecting. It's another mistaken identity plot with Chaplin poking some fun at religion. It was surely as taboo of a subject to address on film then as it is today, if not even more so. Chaplin finds himself in a bind when he falls for Edna Purviance in the town but is simultaneously forced to join with a former cell-mate to rob the town's church. Meanwhile, Chaplin must dodge lawmen who may recognize him as an escaped convict. Chaplin has hilarious scenes trying to uphold the sanctity of his new title while fighting the pickpocket in the minister's house with guests present. That particular scene is a visual metaphor for Chaplin's character's battle with his old and new lives. Chaplin follows the pickpocket to a gambling hall where he mischievously reacquires the church's money in disguise while the townsfolk discover who Chaplin really is. Chaplin is humanely allowed to leave town, but he is set upon by Mexican bandits and wants to return at the fadeout. It's odd Chaplin never took on religion previously, since he wasn't particularly fond of organized religion in real life. This film was later used against Chaplin by overzealous HUAC supporters resulting in his banishment from the United States, a sad and pathetic chapter in American history. **1/2 of 4 stars.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN is an escaped convict mistaken for the new pastor upon arriving in a small Mexican town and greeted by Deacon MATT SWAIN and a few members of his congregation.Although there are pratfalls for the comedian right from the start, this is a mistaken identity comedy that depends more on sight gags than frantic slapstick and has some charming moments.One of the funniest sequences has him delivering his first sermon at the church, based on the tale of David and Goliath, amusing mainly for the young boy who doesn't find the sermon boring. Some funny business with baking a cake while distracted and pouring the dough over someone's bowler hat stands out, as does the business with his former jailmate who wants to steal money from the Deacon but meets with resistance from Charlie who has fallen in love with an innocent girl (EDNA PURVIANCE) and wants to go straight. There's also the scene with the hyperactive little brat, a boy who drives Chaplin and brother SYD CHAPLIN insane with his unrelenting pranks.Chaplin was still polishing his craft at this time, but it's not one of his best comedies. Needless to say, even lesser Chaplin is worth watching and so is this one, given a brisk background score including a ballad written by Chaplin.

The Pilgrim is an outstanding example of Charlie Chaplin at work. So much of what Chaplin did was based on his physical ability to move like a dancer, and this film shows off his agility to the maximum. Charlie tumbles and jumps, turns on a dime, and makes every graceful movement funny. The plot is your basic silent movie plot, with a lot of mistaken identities and a love interest that leads to a plot climax and a happy ending for Charlie--but without the girl. (Charlie almost never got the girl at the end of his films. It was one of his enduring charms.) The difference between this and a typical silent film is the charisma of Charlie Chaplin. There is simply nothing else like it in film history.

This short comedy has some funny moments and a few observations about human nature thrown in. It is one of Chaplin's more popular shorts, due to the good slapstick sequences, even though it might not have as much substance as some of his other features.At the beginning, Charlie gets mistaken for a town's new preacher, and starting with that, he finds himself in some increasingly complicated situations. There are some good gags and some funny moments that arise as "The Pilgrim" tries to figure out what is expected of him, and tries to fit in.Edna Purviance is engaging as usual, and Syd Chaplin gets a chance to show his versatility, so both of them add something. A few of the scenes are drawn out a little too long, but in general it's a pretty good feature that most Chaplin fans will enjoy.