On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Bank (1915)
Rate:
6
Viewed:
8/07
8/07:
Finally, for the first time ever, I chuckled once through a Charlie Chaplin picture.
The Bank has a scene when Charlie looked at the male customer and wasn't sure if he's sick. So, he asked him
for a tongue check and got a lick for his stamp. Genius, is it?
Also, for the first time after seeing so many Chaplin shorts, The Bank tells a coherent story but is still
bogged down by the usual slapstick shenanigans. Is this a sign that things will finally start to improve by
getting out of the basement that's littered with '1' ratings?
The story reminds me of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge which was written by Ambrose Bierce. If you're not familiar
with it, it's about a guy who escapes from his captors only to be hanged at the end because the whole scene he described was
a dream.
All in all, the techniques in The Bank are better employed such as the use of montage, the expression of feelings,
and the advanced, albeit sloppy, editing work as compared to the previous crap films by Charlie Chaplin.