The Cure (1917 film)
| The Cure | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster for 1932 sound re-release by RKO Radio Pictures | |
| Directed by |
Charles Chaplin Edward Brewer (technical director) |
| Produced by | Henry P. Caulfield |
| Written by |
Charles Chaplin (scenario) Vincent Bryan (scenario) Maverick Terrell (scenario) |
| Starring |
Charles Chaplin Edna Purviance Eric Campbell |
| Cinematography |
Roland Totheroh George C. Zalibra |
| Edited by | Charles Chaplin |
| Distributed by | Mutual Film Corporation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 31 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language |
Silent film English intertitles |
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The Cure is a 1917 short comedy film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin.
Synopsis
Chaplin plays a drunkard who checks into a health spa to dry out, but brings along a big suitcase full of alcohol. Along the way he aggravates a large man suffering from gout, evades him and encounters a beautiful young woman who encourages him to stop drinking. However, when the hotel owner learns his employees are getting drunk off Charlie's liquor, he calls an employee and orders him to have the liquor thrown out the window.
The drunk employee hurls the bottles through the window, straight into the spa's health waters. The well becomes spurious with alcohol, sending the spa's inhabitants into a dancing stupor. Chaplin, encouraged by his new love to get sober, drinks from the spurious spa, gets drunk and offends her. She leaves him in anger and walks away. Charlie walks back to the door unsteadily, when he bumps into the large man, tripping him off his wheel chair and landing him into the alcoholic well.
The next morning there are plenty of hangovers, but Chaplin turns sober, walks out and finds the lady. Realizing what had happened, she forgives him. They walk ahead, just then he accidentally steps into the liquor-laden well.
One introduction which has since been added to the film explains that in 1917 drunkenness was a serious problem in the working class, so to keep it funny Chaplin changed from his "Little Tramp" character to an upper-class fop. Gout was at the time believed to be a disease of the wealthy, which is why Eric Campbell's character has it.
Sound version
In 1932, Amedee Van Beuren of Van Beuren Studios, purchased Chaplin's Mutual comedies for $10,000 each, added music by Gene Rodemich and Winston Sharples and sound effects, and re-released them through RKO Radio Pictures. Chaplin had no legal recourse to stop the RKO release.[1]
Preservation status
On September 4, 2013 a missing part of the end of the film was found and will be released on a future DVD. A restored version of The Cure was presented at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival on January 11, 2014.
Cast
- Charlie Chaplin as The Inebriate
- Edna Purviance as The Girl
- Eric Campbell as The Man with the Gout
- Henry Bergman as Masseur
- John Rand as Sanitarium Attendant
- James T. Kelley as Sanitarium Attendant
- Albert Austin as Sanitarium Attendant
- Frank J. Coleman as Head of Sanitarium
See also
References
External links
- The short film The Cure is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- The Cure at the Internet Movie Database
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