Charlie Chaplin: Mutual Films Volume 1

Charlie Chaplin entered movies in 1914. In 1916 he became the highest paid entertainer in the world, when he signed a contract with the Mutual Film Corporation for a salary of $670,000. Mutual built Chaplin his very own studio and allowed him total freedom to make 12 two-reel films during this fruitful 12-month period. Chaplin subsequently recognised this period of film-making as the most inventive and liberating of his career.

This DVD contains six of the Mutual Films including the slapstick custard pie fights of Behind the Screen and his sensitive portrayal of a broke and hungry migrant arriving in New York in The Immigrant. In the acclaimed Easy Street, Charlie becomes a policeman in a tough neighbourhood, reminiscent of his own impoverished London upbringing.

The films have all been restored and mastered from the best available materials. This exclusive edition of the Mutual Films also features brand new scores, written and recorded by acclaimed silent film composer Carl Davis.

List of titles:

• Behind the Screen
• The Rink
• Easy Street
• The Cure
• The Immigrant
• The Adventurer

• Newsreel footage of Chaplin on a voyage back to Britain.
• Filmed interview with Carl Davis.
• Biographies of Chaplin’s leading lady Edna Purviance and Eric Campbell.
• Essay on Chaplin at the Mutual Studios by Frank Scheide.