Pay Day (1922)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Just perfect...

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors. It is hard to not expect a lot after not long before Chaplin had one of his earliest career highs in 'The Kid'. 'Pay Day' doesn't disappoint, and it shows Chaplin having properly found his style and fully settled. As said with many of his post-Keystone efforts, it shows a noticeable step up in quality though from his Keystone period, where he was still evolving and in the infancy of his long career. The Essanay and Mutual periods were something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. After Mutual the style had properly settled and the cinematic genius emerged. Very much apparent in his final and one of his best, funniest and most inventive overall short films 'Pay Day. The story is slight and slightly too simple but is at least discernible and is never dull, and does it while not being as too busy or manic.On the other hand, 'Pay Day' looks very well done, from Essanay onwards, and it is certainly the case here, it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work and not churning out countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. It's actually one of his technically best-looking short films. Appreciate the importance of his Keystone period and there is some good stuff he did there, but the more mature and careful quality seen here and later on is obvious.'Pay Day' is one of the funniest, most imaginative and most charming short films of Chaplin. It is hilarious with some clever, inventive, entertaining and well-timed slapstick, some imaginatively choreographed and nimbly done stunts and the charm doesn't get over-sentimental. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight. The second half is both hilarious and enchanting, with the sentimentality and such kept at bay rightfully.Chaplin directs more than competently and the cinematic genius quality is emerging. He also, as usual, gives a playful and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality and substance of the role. The support is good from the likes of the ever appealing Edna Purviance and Syd Chaplin.Overall, great, hilarious, imaginative and charming. 9/10 Bethany Cox

In a brand-new upload at YouTube, this is a must-see, especially for Chaplin fans -- and surely everyone is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDxNsaain5gStrangely, I had never seen this before, and it is very gratifying to find a Chaplin movie that is "new" to me.One reviewer said "Pay Day" was Chaplin's favorite, among his shorts, and I think he had many better, but this is often astonishingly creative fun.The story is not even slight. It's almost non-existent: Mostly a series of vignettes -- but very funny vignettes.It really doesn't end, just stops. Still, it's Chaplin, and funny, so do see it, and I hope you see it with the Lasky Famous Players Orchestra at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDxNsaain5g.There is one flaw in the music, and I've asked Scott Lasky about that, but, pish, it in no way detracts. Enjoy.

So many now-classic (and later oft-duplicated) comedy scenes and scenarios that still hold up so well nearly 90 years later!! Some reviewers have said the plot in this one wasn't so much, but *I* think plot wasn't the focus - I think it was mostly just all-out for laughs and I got plenty of them!My review title, "Just For Fun", sums up how and why Chaplin made this film as he did, in my opinion. He could totally do whatever the heck he wanted as long as he had a film to fulfill his obligation to First National. His movies had already become "HIS" movies in every sense of the word, far from any days when he had to worry about one bad performance costing him basic room & board. Plus by this time, I'm sure he was more than confident that he knew how to please his comedy fans so he just let the gags run full throttle on "enjoy"! Finally, there was one little bit of comedy I hadn't seen anyone else mention thus far. When the boys are all standing outside the speakeasy, at one point Charlie's "standing" (lol) with the help of his cane, unaware that his back is to a ground-level metal grate. But like the elevator, his timing (and luck!) was with him as he managed to twirl the cane several times to have its point land ON the grate! UN-like the elevator, though, his luck runs out and the cane lands in one of the grate holes and takes him down with it! All in all, a grate -- er, I mean, a GREAT work and a fitting end to Chaplin's short film repertoire. ;-)

Altogether amazing little short with the comic at his best as a brick layer who is late on the job and presents a flower to his monstrous boss (MACK SWAIN). Swain looks so much like Billy Gilbert that I thought that's who it was at first. Swain orders him immediately to work and the fun starts.A particularly amusing lunch hour sequence is full of sight gags requiring perfect timing. Charlie gets paid, then has to deal with an overbearing wife who sleeps with a rolling pin in her arms, ready to pounce on him when he doesn't come home from work on time. Instead, he's at the local pub having a night out with the other workers.The pub sequence leads to other amusing sight gags as he and a fellow worker struggle to get out of the rain and onto a streetcar.No wonder Chaplin considers this one his favorite silent short. Again, Edna Purviance has little to do but it hardly matters. It's Chaplin's limelight and that's all audiences wanted.All of the stunts are exhibited in perfect timing and are the mark of genius.