The New Janitor (1914)

About this title: In Charlie Chaplin's 27th comedy for Keystone, and arguably his best, he plays not a homeless Tramp, but an inept janitor in a bank. The film is a forerunner of his later Essanay film The Bank. It is the first Chaplin film in which is seen a glimmer of the pathos mixed with comedy that would become his Tramp's defining characteristic. Charlie is first seen in the lobby of the building with his broom and dustpan, being shut out of an elevator ride by a nasty elevator operator. He makes the long climb upstairs and begins his duties cleaning the offices but bungles most of the jobs. Dusting in ... read more

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