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Chaplin's Goliath; Eric Campbell....bio
Topic Started: Dec 31 2007, 04:15 AM (964 Views)
Inspector Carr
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I recently rented from Netflix the biography of Chaplins on screen nemesis (from the mutual days) Eric Campbell....the lumbering Scottish Giant who with exaggerated eye makeup, Russian count Beards or just plain looking like Curly Howard on a Steroid driven rage was the foil of Chaplin's antics in 11 Mutual comedies....

Considering that he is all but forgotten in today's world and very little documentation really exists on him (other than a few family letters, old stage clippings, Chaplins films and outtakes and a very brief interview he gave during his short lifetime)The film makers have tried thier best to give a full portrait to the man whom many Chaplin historians believe was one of the major Cornerstones in the early developmental career of the little tramp.

bitten by the stage bug early on. Campbell was discovered by Fred Karno a comic impresario who ran "Karno's fun factory" a then respected theatrical and training ground for English Slapstick comedy. The Fun Factory was also the college of comedic knowledge for both Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin, both of whom had known and worked with Campbell while there.

Though Laurel and Chaplin both found themselves in the United States via the Karno travelling troupe, Campbell had preceded them to New York while appearing in a Broadway show. After Chaplin had signed a record deal to produce shorts at Mutual he happened (by accident) to see Campbell on Broadway in a show he was appearing in. approaching him Campbell was signed on to appear with Chaplin in his series of Mutual shorts....Over the Next Two years Campbell became the "heavy" in 11 shorts which perfected Charlies Comedic timing as well as an incredible on screen (and off via the rare Chaplin outtakes) chemistry,obviously the men were friends as well as professional collaborators.

However thing turned for the worse after Campbell's wife suddenly passed away in 1916, not only remarrying (for only 5 days) Campbell found himself moving out of his house and into the Hollywood Athletic Club next door to Chaplin, with Mutuals contract over with Mutual Chaplin set about building his Studio and kept Campbell (as well as others ) on the payroll while the studio was being built...

Chaplin was ready to embark onto the next phase of his career and recommended Campbell for a dramatic role (which Campbell was ecstatic about because he considered himself to be a dramatic actor) in an upcoming Mary Pickford film, however 3 days into shooting, while returning from a late night party, He was involved in a head on crash in Downtown Hollywood with his Automobile, apparently going 60 miles per hour in the wrong lane....Campbell was killed immediately.

And through the years though Chaplin a man who liked to work alone, Chaplin who never had an on screen partner came closest to having one with Eric Campbell (according to Chaplin Historians) In fact obviously the chemistry (at least physically) was so good that via Chaplin's outtakes are audition films of Eric Campbell look alikes auditioning. although they looked the same there obviously was a spark missing....

and according to Historians the death of Eric Campbell left a scar on Chaplin and his fims from that point on although finely tuned masterpieces became more personal and sentimental with the hysteria of the Campbell 11 left long behind.

A noble effort but personally not worth the retail price of $19.95 but worth a rental

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Films Eric Campbell appeared in:

The Floorwalker (1916)
The Fireman (1916)
The Vagabond (1916)
The Count (1916)
The Pawnshop (1916)
Behind the Screen (1916)
The Rink (1916)
Easy Street (1917)
The Cure (1917)
The Immigrant (1917)
The Adventurer (1917)
"Life is a Crapshoot however you need a pair of dice to participate"
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igsjr
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This documentary comes as a freebie on Image's restored Chaplin's Mutuals set...so if you have that, you don't have to pony up the $19.95.
"Life is in color--but black-and-white is more realistic..." -- Samuel Fuller, director

So many DVDs...so little time...
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The Batman
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igsjr
Dec 31 2007, 09:24 AM
This documentary comes as a freebie on Image's restored Chaplin's Mutuals set...so if you have that, you don't have to pony up the $19.95.

Thanks for the heads up, Igsy. I've been meaning to pick up that set, and this is another good reason to.
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panzer the great & terrible
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By all means do it, Batso -- it's one Chaplin masterpiece after another.
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The Batman
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Thanks, PP. I have the two Warner sets, and though I haven't made it all the way through them yet, they are great.

Are there any other essential sets out there for Chaplin, that cover material not in these three sets?
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Laughing Gravy
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I consider all Chaplin to be essential.
"I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley
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panzer the great & terrible
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That's true, but a lot of Chaplin's early work is only available in cruddy collections projected at the wrong speed and so forth. I would love to know if the Essenay and Keystone Chaplins have been released responsibly. There are so many cheapo collections that I'm bewildered. Perhaps Riddle Rider can help.
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Laughing Gravy
Jan 1 2008, 09:23 PM
I consider all Chaplin to be essential.

I agree, LG, but Panzer understood where I was going with my question.

What other sets are essential?

Like Mr. P said, there are tons of cheapo sets out there, with many duplicating the same titles.

What sets present his work that is not already on the two Warner sets and the Mutual set? And again, like Mr. P said, which sets present this work in the proper speed, full running time, etc?

Riddle Rider, where art thou?



Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman!
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