Chaplin edited, wrote, directed, and produced his fifth film for the Mutual Film Corporation, and as with each of his previous films with the company, they're all a departure from the preceding film. In this film, Chaplin plays a tailor's assistant who gets fired from his job (by Eric Campbell) for his inability to properly measure a lady for a dress. He gets booted out by Campbell and happens upon a cook in a kitchen who almost immediately has to hide him from what appears to be her spouse or employer. Plenty of fun ensues as Chaplin does not care to be holed up in close quarters with a smelly or burned offering from the cook. Chaplin runs into his old boss in a glitzy mansion, as his boss is there to impersonate a count, so he can wed Miss Moneybags (played by Edna Purviance) and avoid toiling away as a tailor. His ex-boss quickly decides Chaplin can pose as his secretary, so he can continue his pursuit of Purviance as the "count". From here on in, chaos ensues. Chaplin ends up competing with his ex-boss for Purviance's hand, namely on the dance floor where Chaplin exhibits the most anatomically unfeasible dance moves one could imagine. There's plenty of fun at the dinner table also as spaghetti and watermelon are both served! Audiences loved when the common man got the better of the upper-crust, and so it's no wonder Chaplin used this idea of posing as or being mistaken for upper class society with regularity. However, in this film, the antics and plot development are much more harried than usual. *** of 4 stars.
Review of The Count
