A continuous exchange of meetings between husbands and wives of different couples in which a policeman intrudes in daring chase until both couples are found.A continuous exchange of meetings between husbands and wives of different couples in which a policeman intrudes in daring chase until both couples are found.A continuous exchange of meetings between husbands and wives of different couples in which a policeman intrudes in daring chase until both couples are found.
Joe Bordeaux
- Stalled Driver
- (uncredited)
Helen Carruthers
- Lover in Park
- (uncredited)
Glen Cavender
- A Passing Turk
- (uncredited)
Gene Marsh
- Girl in Park
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Charles Chaplin(uncredited)
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film is among the 34 short films included in the "Chaplin at Keystone" DVD collection.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Featured review
Chaplin's first autobiography?
A Fair Exchange is a strangely prophetic film about the troubles with women that Chaplin would encounter later in life. Having seen a few documentaries about Chaplin's life off screen, I always get the feeling that I can sense just under the surface (and even in his earliest films), his love not only of attention but of the amorous affections of women. A Fair Exchange concerns two married couples, one happy and one not so happy, in which the men ultimately meet and make passes at each other's wives, and soon find themselves being introduced to their would-be mistresses by their own wives.
As is probably to be expected, it is Chaplin who is clearly in a miserable marriage with what appears to be an angry, over-bearing wife, and it doesn't take long before he starts taking steps to try to meet someone else. One thing that I noticed about this film it that it seems to be much less modest than films of the time were, or at least how I thought they were.
At one point, the pretty wife of the other man bends way over right in front of Charlie, giving him a clear view of her backside, and Charlie makes no effort to be cautious as he gazes enraptured at the sight before him, despite the fact that his wife is sitting right next to him. Later, he scolds his cane for 'accidentally' lifting up the girl's skirt as she is standing next to him. I'll just go ahead and admit that until now, I thought such things would have been unacceptable in the movies. Looks like it's about time for me to go back and re-read the parameters of the infamous Code.
At any rate, the film also features a pretty clear picture of what might be considered Chaplin's conflicting views of women. Given what we know about his personal life, he had a particularly strong desire for women, but he seemed to reel back and forth from extremes of good and bad, with very quick love and happy marriages soon turning into divorce and bitter legal disputes.
In the movie, it could be argued that he was just inexperienced in the ways of romance. Charlie doesn't seem to know how to act around women, at one point tipping his hat and smiling, and at the next, using her as an armrest. Whatever the case, it seems that in the years that followed, his behavior in real life may have been a little too similar to his behavior in the movie. As a film in comparison to the other short films that he was making at the time, what I really like about A Fair Exchange is that it has a fully developed plot that is relatively easy to follow. A lot of the Keystone comedies tried to tell more of a story than they could sustain, and ultimately became very hard to follow. The plot here is entertaining and easy to follow, and while the comedy and slapstick is not much different from the other short films, it is more memorable here because it comes with an entertaining story.
As is probably to be expected, it is Chaplin who is clearly in a miserable marriage with what appears to be an angry, over-bearing wife, and it doesn't take long before he starts taking steps to try to meet someone else. One thing that I noticed about this film it that it seems to be much less modest than films of the time were, or at least how I thought they were.
At one point, the pretty wife of the other man bends way over right in front of Charlie, giving him a clear view of her backside, and Charlie makes no effort to be cautious as he gazes enraptured at the sight before him, despite the fact that his wife is sitting right next to him. Later, he scolds his cane for 'accidentally' lifting up the girl's skirt as she is standing next to him. I'll just go ahead and admit that until now, I thought such things would have been unacceptable in the movies. Looks like it's about time for me to go back and re-read the parameters of the infamous Code.
At any rate, the film also features a pretty clear picture of what might be considered Chaplin's conflicting views of women. Given what we know about his personal life, he had a particularly strong desire for women, but he seemed to reel back and forth from extremes of good and bad, with very quick love and happy marriages soon turning into divorce and bitter legal disputes.
In the movie, it could be argued that he was just inexperienced in the ways of romance. Charlie doesn't seem to know how to act around women, at one point tipping his hat and smiling, and at the next, using her as an armrest. Whatever the case, it seems that in the years that followed, his behavior in real life may have been a little too similar to his behavior in the movie. As a film in comparison to the other short films that he was making at the time, what I really like about A Fair Exchange is that it has a fully developed plot that is relatively easy to follow. A lot of the Keystone comedies tried to tell more of a story than they could sustain, and ultimately became very hard to follow. The plot here is entertaining and easy to follow, and while the comedy and slapstick is not much different from the other short films, it is more memorable here because it comes with an entertaining story.
helpful•33
- Anonymous_Maxine
- May 10, 2007
Details
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- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Знайомство
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime16 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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