The Chaplin Revue

This is Chaplin putting his own old films back into circulation forty years later. He joined three silent shorts into one feature: A Dog's Life and Shoulder Arms from 1918, and The Pilgrim, made in 1922 and released the following year. He filled the gaps himself. He composed a new orchestral score with help from his music associate Eric James, added his own narration, and wrote the lyrics for The Pilgrim's title song, Bound for Texas, sung by Matt Monro. He also opened the archive: the narrated prologue was cut from behind-the-scenes footage shot in 1918. The audience gets to watch Chaplin working forty years earlier. Assembling the compilation in 1958, he updated each film for contemporary audiences, altering speeds with crude step-printing and laying music across them indiscriminately. Those interventions are what draws criticism now. Who it is for: viewers who want to watch Chaplin's shorts in one sitting and hear him narrate them. Who it is not for: anyone after the original versions. The speed and music changes alter the rhythm of the films; restored individual releases are more faithful.