The Fireman

The Fireman is the second film Charlie Chaplin created for Mutual Film Corporation in 1916. Released on June 12, it starred Chaplin as the fireman and Edna Purviance as the daughter to Lloyd Bacon. Bacon played a character trying to arrange with Eric Campbell to have his house burn down so he could collect on the insurance money. However a real fire breaks out elsewhere in the town, and the firemen ignore an inhabitant of the burning building as he tries to alert them to the fire, first by activating the fire alarm, then by phoning the fire station, and then by going to the fire station in... person. Eventually, Charlie Chaplin alerts the fire chief and the fire company goes to put out the fire. Then, Bacon's character realizes that his daughter is still in his own burning building, and Chaplin climbs the outside of the building to save her. The film shows some early day street scenes in the surrounding Los Angeles area. The film makes use of reversing the film several times for comic effect: sliding up the fireman's pole, reversing the horses, hurrying back to station when he forgets the crew etc.
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