‘The arrival in the Land of Liberty…’
Charlie Chaplin remains one of the most venerated cinematic icons of all time due to the universality and timelessness of his work. While it is his feature films that have cemented his legacy, his many short films also serve as shining examples of the man’s innate genius. The Immigrant, released in 1917, is one of the most beloved of Chaplin’s early output, and it’s remains both timely and funny even in 2025…
The Tramp (Chaplin) finds himself an immigrant aboard a steamship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Onboard, he encounters a young woman (Edna Purviance) and her sickly mother (Kitty Bradbury). As is usual for all of Chaplin’s films, The Tramp immediately falls madly in love with the girl. Upon arriving in America, the Tramp, hungry and broke, finds a coin on the ground that enables him to go and buy some food. During the course of his lavish meal, however, the Tramp ruefully realises that he has lost the coin and that the physically huge head waiter (Eric Campbell – complete with outrageous false eyebrows) will respond with pain and violence if he doesn’t pay. Adding to the confusion and the hilarity is the fact that the Tramp sees the girl from the ship in the restaurant and agrees to pay for her food too.
While some of the comedic scenes are a little long and repetitive, it should be noted that this film is well over 100 years old. The iconic ‘swaying ship’ scenes at the start of the film are still genuinely impressive by today’s standards, achieving a standard of choreography rarely seen in mainstream cinema today. Chaplin himself delivers a typically assured comedic performance, almost entirely physical, and the chemistry that he shares with Purviance (who appeared alongside Chaplin eight times in total) is both authentic and compelling.
The Immigrant explores many of the themes that pervade much of Chaplin’s most celebrated works. Hunger, poverty, the outsider, the American Dream… this would become well-trodden territory for Chaplin, but that doesn’t make the film any less potent. Indeed, in these troubled times in which we currently find ourselves, seeing an immigrant arrive on a boat and be treated with indifference and cruelty is remarkably prescient, although the happy ending provided here is usually elusive in reality. This, however, is the essence of Chaplin – to take an obviously unhappy scenario and enthuse it with comedy and pathos until it is no longer something to be anxious or afraid of.
Getting into silent cinema can be a daunting prospect, but Chaplin’s short films are as good a place to start as any. At less than 30 minutes, The Immigrant serves as an excellent introduction to Chaplin and the Tramp.
