Syd Chaplin vamps on his brother's tramp creation in this minor Keystone comedy. He plays a (presumably) hen-pecked husband spending a lazy summer's day on a park bench aside his sleeping wife. Syd, whose costume includes some massive padding in the buttocks, dreams of a tall frosty one and heads off to a bar where he distracts barkeep Mack Swain and pays for his beer with a stolen bill. Then it's back to the park, where he flirts with a sweet young thing through a torn newspaper, gets into a fight with Chester Conklin, and makes merry with his wife's posterior. It's all supremely silly, and probably nothing you'll want to watch more than once.
5 Reviews
Sidney Chaplin is the show here, and not just due to his last name
sno-smari-m21 September 2009
Warning: Spoilers
When Charles Chaplin Jr set out to interview people who had known his father in Hollywood, in preparation for his book MY FATHER CHARLIE CHAPLIN, a natural subject was the aging Mack Sennett, who some forty-five years earlier had been the first to hire the comedian in the movies. Sennett had long since retired from the movies at this point, but his status as a legend was unquestioned. Sennett was quick to point out the elder Charlie Chaplin as a genius, and rightfully so, of course. However, when asked about Charlie's elder half-brother Sidney, he was less enthusiastic: "Sidney was all right, but as a comedian he didn't reach your father to the toes." If true, this would explain why Charlie is being praised to this day, while Sidney is just about never granted a mention out of context with his younger brother. However, it is really not that simple. Sennett was well-known for distorting events of the past; one explanation to his less than flattering sentiments on Sidney's talent could be that the talent of Charlie Chaplin had stunned him so immensely that he, decades later, was unable to estimate Sidney without comparison. It is even possible that he had never been able to really separate them in the first place; could it be that Sidney never got his chance due to people's, including Sennett's, expectations of him to be another CHARLIE Chaplin?
When Sidney entered the movies a year after the medium had made his brother famous, he was indeed hired on the grounds of his brother's increasing popularity. Considering this, I believe Sidney's films must be viewed with the knowledge that what we witness is a comedian whose work was doomed to be compared to that of his brother, and this probably made it a hard task for him to adapt his own style and mannerisms. It seems quite telling to me that Sennett, apparently, never considered that he had also questioned Charlie Chaplin's abilities in the past, as the comedian at first didn't seem to fit Keystone's way of making people laugh. It can't have been easier for Sidney, who was also trained at the English stage where pacing was much more dominant, and in addition had to live up to such high expectations. It is true, what Walter Kerr claimed; Charlie Chaplin possessed a "god-given gift." But while there may not exist any proof to this having also been the case with Sidney, it is quite striking that the elder brother reportedly did not go along with Charlie on his second tour in America, which ultimately led to the latter's movie contract, because he was considered "irreplacable" on the stage in England.
Contrary to what Mack Sennett wants us to believe, Sidney did quite well, and it can be assumed that he could have established himself as a praised comedian had he cared more about fame than he reportedly did. This short subject, CAUGHT IN A PARK, is as good as any I can think of from this era. The story is silly, simple and, in fact, rather unoriginal, seen dozens and dozens of times before in the Keystone-universe; Sidney (billed as "Gussle," his trademark character of 1915) is spending the afternoon in the park along with his sleeping, rather dragon-like wife. Bored, he soon finds himself flirting with a pretty girl. You know the rest from there; the girl has a boy, who caught the two flirting, and the fight is on when "Gussle's" wife awakens.
Sounds familiar, eh? Well, I told you. However, this makes it no less impressive that Sidney, in the midst of what may best be described as "standard procedure," manages to remain remarkably cleverly-spirited, I'd almost say sophisticated. Surely Sidney's character is as simpleminded as that of everybody else, but using what he has got, he displays an often striking degree of pacing in his acting; to put it this way, in the hundreds of A Day In The Park-films that Keystone produced, very few of the actors truly stand out to modern viewers. It might be Edgar Kennedy, Ford Sterling or Mack Swain; talented though these men were, when you see them trapped in a park-fight, you can predict the eventual outcome from there. Once in a while a gag pops up which makes your spent time worthwhile, but there's rarely anything memorable about these films in the end. With Sidney Chaplin in CAUGHT IN A PARK, I found this to be different. There is "something" about him which makes me curious about him, and eager to see him turn up again in the few parts where he's not present in the film. It's not just that his costume and certain mannerisms (such as twirling his cane) are clearly inspired by his brother's Tramp character. From the very first moment, when Sidney shares with us his hunger for beer while glancing at his sleeping wife, his facial gestures are expressive but at the same time thriftily used, not at all reminiscent of the characteristic over-acting so often seen at Keystone. Every so often he throws in gags which consist of more creativity than jumping around and smashing one another in the face, such as when he sticks bubble-gum to his stick, leaning it over Mack Swain's shoulder while he looks the other way to get his paid bill back. And even when Sidney does involve himself in the mayhem, he doesn't appear nearly as hysterical and, really, cartoonish as the rest of the cast. It is obvious that he takes advantage of his years of training from Fred Karno, and it is quite fascinating how he succeeds so well despite the limited frames that a Keystone-farce provides.
CAUGHT IN A PARK contains little you've not seen before in one way or another, but stands out for the performance of an all too neglected comic performer. Charlie Chaplin was a genius, but Sidney made good in his own right as well.
When Sidney entered the movies a year after the medium had made his brother famous, he was indeed hired on the grounds of his brother's increasing popularity. Considering this, I believe Sidney's films must be viewed with the knowledge that what we witness is a comedian whose work was doomed to be compared to that of his brother, and this probably made it a hard task for him to adapt his own style and mannerisms. It seems quite telling to me that Sennett, apparently, never considered that he had also questioned Charlie Chaplin's abilities in the past, as the comedian at first didn't seem to fit Keystone's way of making people laugh. It can't have been easier for Sidney, who was also trained at the English stage where pacing was much more dominant, and in addition had to live up to such high expectations. It is true, what Walter Kerr claimed; Charlie Chaplin possessed a "god-given gift." But while there may not exist any proof to this having also been the case with Sidney, it is quite striking that the elder brother reportedly did not go along with Charlie on his second tour in America, which ultimately led to the latter's movie contract, because he was considered "irreplacable" on the stage in England.
Contrary to what Mack Sennett wants us to believe, Sidney did quite well, and it can be assumed that he could have established himself as a praised comedian had he cared more about fame than he reportedly did. This short subject, CAUGHT IN A PARK, is as good as any I can think of from this era. The story is silly, simple and, in fact, rather unoriginal, seen dozens and dozens of times before in the Keystone-universe; Sidney (billed as "Gussle," his trademark character of 1915) is spending the afternoon in the park along with his sleeping, rather dragon-like wife. Bored, he soon finds himself flirting with a pretty girl. You know the rest from there; the girl has a boy, who caught the two flirting, and the fight is on when "Gussle's" wife awakens.
Sounds familiar, eh? Well, I told you. However, this makes it no less impressive that Sidney, in the midst of what may best be described as "standard procedure," manages to remain remarkably cleverly-spirited, I'd almost say sophisticated. Surely Sidney's character is as simpleminded as that of everybody else, but using what he has got, he displays an often striking degree of pacing in his acting; to put it this way, in the hundreds of A Day In The Park-films that Keystone produced, very few of the actors truly stand out to modern viewers. It might be Edgar Kennedy, Ford Sterling or Mack Swain; talented though these men were, when you see them trapped in a park-fight, you can predict the eventual outcome from there. Once in a while a gag pops up which makes your spent time worthwhile, but there's rarely anything memorable about these films in the end. With Sidney Chaplin in CAUGHT IN A PARK, I found this to be different. There is "something" about him which makes me curious about him, and eager to see him turn up again in the few parts where he's not present in the film. It's not just that his costume and certain mannerisms (such as twirling his cane) are clearly inspired by his brother's Tramp character. From the very first moment, when Sidney shares with us his hunger for beer while glancing at his sleeping wife, his facial gestures are expressive but at the same time thriftily used, not at all reminiscent of the characteristic over-acting so often seen at Keystone. Every so often he throws in gags which consist of more creativity than jumping around and smashing one another in the face, such as when he sticks bubble-gum to his stick, leaning it over Mack Swain's shoulder while he looks the other way to get his paid bill back. And even when Sidney does involve himself in the mayhem, he doesn't appear nearly as hysterical and, really, cartoonish as the rest of the cast. It is obvious that he takes advantage of his years of training from Fred Karno, and it is quite fascinating how he succeeds so well despite the limited frames that a Keystone-farce provides.
CAUGHT IN A PARK contains little you've not seen before in one way or another, but stands out for the performance of an all too neglected comic performer. Charlie Chaplin was a genius, but Sidney made good in his own right as well.
Same park, same crew, different Chaplin
wmorrow5920 December 2015
Here's a typical Keystone "park" comedy, a spontaneous romp that looks like it was filmed in a few hours. In the lead role there's a cocky little guy named Chaplin with a mustache and funny clothes, swinging his cane as he rounds a corner. In support, we find a pretty girl accompanied by a belligerent escort, a gorgon-like wife, and a cartoon-y bartender at a nearby saloon. Our characters flirt on park benches, money is stolen, beer is quaffed, fights break out, and, finally, a cop gets involved. It's all very familiar to silent comedy buffs, but in one respect there's something atypical in the mix: THIS Chaplin isn't Charlie, it's his older brother Syd.
In boyhood days Syd had been the first of the two to become a performer. Once he was established, he got Charlie a stage job with the Karno comedy troupe. Charlie, in turn, repaid the favor by getting Syd his first movie job with Mack Sennett's Keystone studio. Syd was hired towards the end of 1914, just as Charlie was on his way out the door, so to speak. After Charlie went off to greater fame and fortune at Essanay, Syd continued making short comedies for Keystone very much like the ones Charlie had been cranking out, with the same co-stars and crew.
Caught in a Park is a typical entry for Syd, who is decked out in the costume he would wear in most of his Keystone shorts: homburg hat, hair center-parted, and an upturned mustache like Kaiser Wilhelm. Oh, and he also wears over-sized buttocks under his pants. You can't help but notice them. This character would become known as Reginald Gussle, although the name isn't used in this short. Here, Syd is described only as a "sporty husband." He's stuck with a large homely wife (Phyllis Allen) who snoozes on a bench, while Syd fidgets and dreams of a nice cold mug of beer. Seeing as how the Missus is asleep, hubby borrows some of her money and slips away to the nearest pub. On the way he encounters another mismatched couple: pretty blonde Cecile Arnold, saddled with sour Slim Summerville. Almost immediately, the guys are fighting. When Syd aims his enormous butt in Slim's face and waggles it, Slim, of course, kicks it. (Funny moment: instead of responding in kind, Syd primly counts to ten, then delivers a defiant "Nyaaaah!") A cease-fire is declared, and Syd proceeds to the saloon. After consuming his beer, he deftly manages to 1) retrieve his dollar from the cash register, and 2) convince bartender Mack Swain that Slim was the guilty party. Syd returns to the park and resumes his dalliance with the blonde. (Nice moment: Syd and Cecile exchange flirty looks through a hole torn in a newspaper, in a routine reminiscent of Max Linder.) Needless to say, hostilities break out between the guys once again, and soon our four principle players are duking it out with vigor.
That's the general outline, such as it is. For me, this particular romp in the park doesn't hold up especially well. It looks as if the performers were not terribly inspired, and after a while simply relied on punching, kicking, and flailing to keep things moving. We wait in vain for those memorable moments, the funny little bits that stand out, which we usually get from Roscoe, Mabel, Ford Sterling, or Syd's kid brother. But I wouldn't judge Syd too harshly on account of Caught in a Park; he comes off better, elsewhere. For that matter, I seriously doubt that the participants in these lightweight, free-wheeling comedies imagined anyone would still be viewing them and weighing their merits, one hundred years on!
In boyhood days Syd had been the first of the two to become a performer. Once he was established, he got Charlie a stage job with the Karno comedy troupe. Charlie, in turn, repaid the favor by getting Syd his first movie job with Mack Sennett's Keystone studio. Syd was hired towards the end of 1914, just as Charlie was on his way out the door, so to speak. After Charlie went off to greater fame and fortune at Essanay, Syd continued making short comedies for Keystone very much like the ones Charlie had been cranking out, with the same co-stars and crew.
Caught in a Park is a typical entry for Syd, who is decked out in the costume he would wear in most of his Keystone shorts: homburg hat, hair center-parted, and an upturned mustache like Kaiser Wilhelm. Oh, and he also wears over-sized buttocks under his pants. You can't help but notice them. This character would become known as Reginald Gussle, although the name isn't used in this short. Here, Syd is described only as a "sporty husband." He's stuck with a large homely wife (Phyllis Allen) who snoozes on a bench, while Syd fidgets and dreams of a nice cold mug of beer. Seeing as how the Missus is asleep, hubby borrows some of her money and slips away to the nearest pub. On the way he encounters another mismatched couple: pretty blonde Cecile Arnold, saddled with sour Slim Summerville. Almost immediately, the guys are fighting. When Syd aims his enormous butt in Slim's face and waggles it, Slim, of course, kicks it. (Funny moment: instead of responding in kind, Syd primly counts to ten, then delivers a defiant "Nyaaaah!") A cease-fire is declared, and Syd proceeds to the saloon. After consuming his beer, he deftly manages to 1) retrieve his dollar from the cash register, and 2) convince bartender Mack Swain that Slim was the guilty party. Syd returns to the park and resumes his dalliance with the blonde. (Nice moment: Syd and Cecile exchange flirty looks through a hole torn in a newspaper, in a routine reminiscent of Max Linder.) Needless to say, hostilities break out between the guys once again, and soon our four principle players are duking it out with vigor.
That's the general outline, such as it is. For me, this particular romp in the park doesn't hold up especially well. It looks as if the performers were not terribly inspired, and after a while simply relied on punching, kicking, and flailing to keep things moving. We wait in vain for those memorable moments, the funny little bits that stand out, which we usually get from Roscoe, Mabel, Ford Sterling, or Syd's kid brother. But I wouldn't judge Syd too harshly on account of Caught in a Park; he comes off better, elsewhere. For that matter, I seriously doubt that the participants in these lightweight, free-wheeling comedies imagined anyone would still be viewing them and weighing their merits, one hundred years on!
Caught in the Park was quite a funny Syd Chaplin short
tavm9 February 2019
I just watched this Syd Chaplin-Charlie's elder brother-short on the "American Slapstick 2" DVD set. This seems one of those Keystone shorts that consists of park benches, two couples, a man of one of them flirting with the lady of another, some fighting, and some alcohol-drinking-and-paying-and-then-getting-the-dollar-back-by-sneaky-means. I haven't seen many of those but I know this was the kind of premise done in Mack Sennett shorts of the period. What might make this one a little different are the gags done on account of Syd's massive posterior! There's quite a bit on that area which seemed exaggerated for comic effect. Anyway, I found this quite funny all the way through so on that note, I recommend Caught in the Park.
While not especially ground-breaking, it's amiable enough
planktonrules18 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This Keystone short stars Syd Chaplin, Charlie's half-brother. While Syd doesn't exactly copy Charlie's style, this film is still rather reminiscent of some of Charlie's earliest films from 1914-1915. The idea of a bored husband looking for action but married to an unattractive lady is an incredibly common theme back then and this one is no better or worse than the next one.
It begins with Syd and his wife sitting on a park bench. As the wife starts to sleep, he thinks about how great it would be to go get a beer, so he snitches some money from her purse and heads to a local bar. All this seems innocent enough, but on the way back, he makes many passes at another man's lady and frankly none of this was especially interesting, though you do get to see Mack Swain in a cute scene at the bar. When the wife discovers this, there's the usual kicking and bonking and the movie ends.
While not great, the film is reasonably well handled and Syd was just fine. The only odd thing is that his Gussle character had the biggest butt I think I've ever seen in a comedy short! Other appearances of this character that I've seen weren't nearly this well endowed in the buttocks department!
It begins with Syd and his wife sitting on a park bench. As the wife starts to sleep, he thinks about how great it would be to go get a beer, so he snitches some money from her purse and heads to a local bar. All this seems innocent enough, but on the way back, he makes many passes at another man's lady and frankly none of this was especially interesting, though you do get to see Mack Swain in a cute scene at the bar. When the wife discovers this, there's the usual kicking and bonking and the movie ends.
While not great, the film is reasonably well handled and Syd was just fine. The only odd thing is that his Gussle character had the biggest butt I think I've ever seen in a comedy short! Other appearances of this character that I've seen weren't nearly this well endowed in the buttocks department!
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