Shoulder Arms

Charlie Chaplin goes to war, and ends up capturing the Kaiser and most of the German army … but it turns out to be just a dream. This is the shortest of Chaplin’s feature films, and the most popular up to that point. It is also the last Chaplin feature I had never seen. I don’t think it’s his strongest. In fact, I’d say it’s my least favorite silent feature. The dream structure feels like a cheat, and there’s not so much of his brilliant antics as I’m used to. That said, he’s always worth watching.