Getting Acquainted (1914)

Excellent adaptation.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

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. He did do better than 'Getting Acquainted', still made fairly early on in his career where he was still finding his feet and not fully formed what he became famous for, though previous efforts showed signs of his style starting to settle. Can understand why the Keystone period suffered from not being as best remembered or highly remembered than his later efforts, but they are mainly decent and important in their own right. 'Getting Acquainted' is a long way from a career high, but has a lot of nice things about it and is to me one of the middling efforts in the 1914 Keystone batch and a decent, if not one of the better ones, acting collaboration with Mabel Normand. Sure, 'Getting Acquainted' is not as hilarious, charming or touching as his later work and some other shorts in the same period. The story is flimsy and the production values not as audacious. Occasionally, things feel a little scrappy and confused.'Getting Acquainted' is not bad at all, having said that. Far from it.While not audacious, the film hardly looks ugly, is more than competently directed and is appealingly played. Chaplin looks comfortable for so early on and shows his stage expertise while opening it up that it doesn't become stagy or repetitive shtick. Mabel Normand is quite charming.Although the humour, charm and emotion was done even better and became more refined later, 'Getting Acquainted' is humorous, sweet and easy to like, though the emotion is not quite there. It moves quickly and doesn't feel too long or short. Overall, pretty decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The last of the Charlie & Mabel pictures. After suffering the indignity of playing second fiddle to Marie Dressler in 'Tillie's', the pair get together in this movie, which is slightly reminiscent of The Fatal Mallet. Unfortunately, as there are no mallets in this film, the story is somewhat weaker, although there is a Terrible Turk who enjoys sticking his dagger in Charlie's backside. The Terrible Turk is a throwback to Charlie's vaudeville days.Mabel is married to her umpteenth screen husband in the picture – this time it's Mack Swain. However, Mack is being very foolish when he helps a stranded car driver, and leaves gorgeous Mabel unguarded in the park (silly man). Who should happen along but lecherous Charlie, who's left his own, less than pretty, spouse sitting on a park bench. Having failed to secure the affections of Cecile Arnold (she's the Turk's flame) he wastes no time in lifting Mabel's dress and generally interfering about her person. After manoeuvring the Keystone Girl into a position where he can kiss her, Mabel tells the lecher to get lost, and gives him a slap in the face. The vulnerable maiden then shouts for help from Mack, who returns, but merely introduces Charlie to Mabel! Unsurprisingly, Mabel is flabbergasted, and is left alone with Charlie when Mack goes off again. Expecting to be rummaged once more, Mabel shouts 'Police, Police' and a cop arrives on the scene. This is the cue for the inevitable series of Keystone chases, in the middle of which Mabel is introduced to the over-amorous Charlie by his wife. Of course, Mabel has already had experience of Charlie The Lustful.We can imagine that Charlie and Mabel would have been able to conjure up something better than this film for their final collaboration. The two had been getting along fine since Mabel At The Wheel, and Mabel seems to have devoted much time to cultivating the Englisher as an ally (she negotiated all his pay rises with Sennett). It seemed clear that Charlie was going places, and could be Mabel's route out of the madhouse that was Keystone. Furthermore, it seems certain that when Charlie was made a director at Essanay for $1,200 a week (he told Mabel it was $1,000) the starlet expected a call from The Tramp asking her to be his co-star. The call never came. However, Mabel never gave up, and for some time afterwards used to shout across restaurants at him 'Charlie, I'll be your leading lady yet!' Mabel being Mabel, she had miscalculated as usual, and failed to realize Charlie was not looking for an established, big-money star, but a cheap-jack newcomer who he could mold into his kind of leading lady. In addition Charlie was a rather nasty piece of work, who would certainly have planned to get his own back for Mabel's rejection of his amorous advances. We may like to think that Mabel and Charlie making their own films together would constitute a dream team, but their personalities were such that only disaster could have ensued. Charlie was no Mack Sennett, and Mabel was no Edna Purviance.It has often been stated that Mabel contributed to Charlie's tramp character, but it is difficult to quantify this contribution. However, note that Mabel, in this film and others, pushes her hat aside and ruffles her hair when flustered, Stan Laurel style. Stan Laurel was a serial mimic, and after lacklustre performances as Charlie Chaplin's tramp, and a bland Keaton-like character, he ended up at Hal Roach studios. It was here, as a scenario writer, that there happened along a certain Mabel Normand, the naive character who was none too careful about which actions she let people see around the lot. It is clear that the classic Stan Laurel dumb face is also the face Mabel demonstrates early on in The Extra Girl. Armed with these assets, washed-up Stan was able to extend his career as the fool in the Laurel and Hardy pictures. Fortunately (for Laurel) Mabel was cold and in the ground by the time the L & H movies appeared.

Chaplin stars with Mabel Normand for the last time in this film, another of his park comedies. They're each in a park with their respective spouses played by the behemoths Phyllis Allen and Mack Swain. The spouses appeared to be mismatched in terms of size, a sight gag often used in silent comedies. Chaplin flirts with Mabel Normand as usual by using his cane; he also flirts with another young lady and soon he's being run off by Mack Swain and the other young lady's beau. A policeman happens upon the scene only to be flirtatious himself, but soon he's after Charlie too. Chaplin ducks into a bush as the men run back and forth repeatedly trying to find him. Chaplin and Swain each flirt with each other's wife near the end, and then they're both paired back up with their wives. The film has several moments of camera lingering perhaps knowing Chaplin was leaving Keystone after his next film. The film is entertaining but nothing special except the usual Keystone slapstick is noticeably absent, which is probably due to the fact Chaplin edited, wrote, and directed this film. ** of 4 stars.

I've seen quite a few Chaplin shorts from early in his career and I've noticed that his early stuff (done for Keystone Studios) is pretty dreadful stuff. Unlike his wonderful full-length films from the 20s and 30s, the films from 1914-1915 are incredibly poorly made--having no script but only vague instructions from the director. In most cases, the films had almost no plot and degenerated to people punching and kicking each other.In this film, Charlie and his friend meet at the park. They both begin making passes at the others' wives and from there it all degenerates to a lot of slapping, getting bonked on the head and silly slapstick. Not exactly deep stuff! By the end, it appears that both guys are pretty open minded about the other guy making the moves on their women! A very odd and simple film.