A Dog's Life
- Charles Chaplin: Charlie
- Edna Purviance: a singer
- Syd Chaplin: hotdog stand owner
- Henry Bergman: unemployed thicker / lady in the dance hall
- Albert Austin: employee of an employment agency / thief
- Charles Reisner: Employment Office official
- Tom Wilson: policeman
- Bud Jamison: thief
A dog's life is an American comedy silent film directed by and starring Charles Chaplin from 1918.
Action
Charlie is doing very, very bad. He has no job and no home and lives from hand to mouth. His only friend and constant companion is rescued by him dog Scraps, a devoted and loyal mongrel. Both are a miserable quarters for the night behind a rickety wooden fence. To counter the worst hunger, Charlie tries to wangle a sausage for himself and the dog at a hot dog stand owner. However, a patrolman keeps a watchful eye on the two and prevented Charlie's theft.
Even with his job search, the Tramp has no luck. Just as he arrives at the employment office, the switch is closed in his face. Since the encounter brings a music-hall singer, who smiles at him during a performance, a brief moment of happiness. And suddenly, things turn for the better: Scraps digs a stolen by gangsters and then buried wallet. But the robbers are not so ready to relinquish their prey. In a fight with Charlie he beats the bad guys with a mallet ko And so Charlie has not only end Scraps friend at his side, but for the first time, a little money and a pretty girl.
Background
The film premiered on 14 April 1918. Charlies brother Sidney was in a dog's life for the first time together with him in front of the camera.
Reviews
"As in The Immigrant Chaplin takes here the reality is actual social abuses targeted. The fate of the unemployed can be seen in the comedy without any trivialization. Aggressive highlight is the scene bitter fights in the scraps with a few dogs over a bone. Just before you had seen Charlie's futile battle at the unemployment office. The association is clear. "
" Chaplin 's first film as part of its million contract with First National summarizes the typical situations and characteristics, which he had developed in the Mutual films, at a large enclosed work together and points in the presentation of the dog scraps as second popular figure already on his first length film, The Kid ( 1921), ahead. A notable exception in his work is the fact that Chaplin is a domestic happy ending permitted. "