This is one of a dozen short films Chaplin made for Mutual Studios. And, from the few I saw, it seems to be one of the better ones.

Charlie is aboard a boat headed for America with other fellow immigrants. The boat's rocking, however funny it was intended, it way overdone--the sea is pretty calm but the boat is rocking like an amusement park ride. Considering Chaplin's eye for details it's surprising he did this (he repeated this in a later short, A DAY'S PLEASURE)--and it was obvious in the outdoor scenes where the horizon AND the ship rocked back and forth!

Well, on board the boat he meets and falls for a sweet lady. When he arrives in America, he looks for her to no avail. Well, he's also very hungry and finds a silver dollar, so he'll have to look for her later. And, guess who's inside the restaurant? Yep, the girl. Well, the problem is, the dollar falls out of his pants and after they finish he finds he doesn't have the money to pay--and then, before the waiter discovers this, Chaplin watches ALL the waiters pummeling a man because he was a dime short on his bill!! How he and his girl extricate themselves is something you'll have to see for yourself. It's a nice little film--fun from start to finish--with lots of great touches and laughs.

FYI--For major fans of this film, you must see the British documentary series "Unknown Chaplin" as it dissects this particular movie and shows how it was shot in a very convoluted manner. Literally, a few scenes were shot and re-shot and re-shot and only later were the premise and title of the movie created! A strange way of making films, but it worked so well here.

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

From his post-Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'The Immigrant' is among the very best of his early output, one of his best from his Mutual period and one of his first classics. As said with many of his post-Keystone efforts, it shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career, from 1914, The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. Something that can be seen in 'The Immigrant'.

The story is more discernible than usual and is never dull, and does it while not being as too busy or manic.

On the other hand, 'The Immigrant' looks good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.

'The Immigrant' is one of the funniest and most touching early efforts of Chaplin. It is hilarious with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick and has substance and pathos that is very moving. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight. The second half is both hilarious and enchanting.

Chaplin directs more than competently and the cinematic genius quality is emerging. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, particularly a charming Edna Purviance and their chemistry is sweet to watch. Eric Campbell is both amusing and formidable.

In summary, terrific. 10/10 Bethany Cox

First of all, let me say I am not the greatest Charlie Chaplin admirer under the sun. Far from it, actually. The humor in some of his short films leaves me rather unattached and hasn't aged particularly well for me. So I went rather critically in this one, but I ended up liking it.

Already the first scene, in which Chaplin manipulates the viewer by showing shots of seasick people before finally switching the camera to himself and surprising everybody was quite a winner. There were a few more funny scenes, especially when they were eating, but my favorite part were certainly those section that included Chaplin and Purvance together. Their initial meeting was downright sweet with the captain or another crew member catching him for pickpocketing and thus revealing his donation. Most of the other scenes with him and his sweetheart in this 20-minute-long short film were pretty cute too and Eric Campbell was a welcome physical presence as always. Sadly this was one of his last short films as he died in a car accident not much later, being the negative icing on the sad cake that his life was for many reasons. Quite a shame as him being around for many more decades would surely have elevated Chaplin's career even more, not to mention his own.

Anyway, grab your sweetheart just like Charlie does in the end of this short film and sit together to watch it. You'll probably love it.