Behind the Screen
| Behind the Screen | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster to Behind the Screen | |
| Directed by |
Charles Chaplin Edward Brewer (technical director) |
| Produced by | Henry P. Caulfield |
| Written by |
Charles Chaplin Vincent Bryan Maverick Terrell |
| Starring |
Charles Chaplin Edna Purviance Eric Campbell |
| Cinematography |
Roland Totheroh George C. Zalibra |
| Editing by | Charles Chaplin |
| Distributed by | Mutual Film Corporation |
| Release dates | November 13, 1916 |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Country | USA |
| Language |
Silent film English intertitles |
Behind the Screen is a 1916 short silent film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, and also starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance.
Synopsis
The film takes place in a movie studio. A stagehand named David (Chaplin) has a supervisor, Goliath (Campbell). Much of the film is slapstick comedy involving Chaplin manhandling large props, but other plotlines include a strike by the stagehands, and Purviance, who is unable to become an actress, dressing as a man and becoming a stagehand.
Mention in The Celluloid Closet and Unknown Chaplin
The film is significant to the history of homosexuality in the cinema, as it contains a joke about the subject, which was relatively unusual at the time. After Chaplin learns that Purviance is really a woman, he kisses her while on the set; at this point, a male stagehand enters and, thinking that Chaplin has kissed a man, starts acting in an overtly effeminate way until Chaplin kicks him.[1]
The documentary series Unknown Chaplin revealed previously unseen footage from this movie, including an alternate take where Purviance's character is shown playing a harp, an outtake in which Edna, playing the guitar, starts laughing (the documentary supports the belief that Purviance and Chaplin were romantically involved at the time), and several takes of a scene in which Chaplin's character narrowly misses having his feet chopped off by an axe (accomplished by filming the scene backwards) -- this scene was never used in the final film.
Cast
- Charles Chaplin - David (Goliath's assistant)
- Edna Purviance - The Girl
- Eric Campbell - Goliath (a stagehand)
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.[2]
See also
Media
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References
- ↑ The Celluloid Closet, DVD documentary (1995); Kenneth S. Lynn, Chaplin: His Life and Times (2003).
- ↑ SilentComedians entry
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Behind the Screen. |
- The short film Behind the Screen is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Behind the Screen at the Internet Movie Database
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