Konterr
Brilliant and touching
BallWubba
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Lee Eisenberg
Charlie Chaplin's first movie with Essanay (hence the title) casts him as a guy attempting to get a break in a movie, only to repeatedly make a mess of the production. There's plenty of funny gags, as is often the case in these relics of early cinema. The plot isn't the most complex, since Chaplin hadn't fully ironed out his style. A notable thing about the movie is that it features a young Gloria Swanson, years before her role as a certain big star amid small pictures.* It's not a great movie, but as far as I'm concerned, any Chaplin movie is a good one. You'll probably like "His New Job".*Swanson later testified on behalf of John Lennon when he was trying to gain US citizenship.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"His New Job" is a black-and-white silent movie from Charlie Chaplin made exactly 100 years ago. Anniversary time! Chaplin made several films about work at stage or actor's life and this is one of them. When he tries to get cast, he causes all kinds of chaos as you probably expected already. He also directed this 30-minute movie. In terms of the cast here, you will find many of the names who appeared regularly in Chaplin's films plus a guy named Hitchcock. No idea if he was related to Alfred. Oh yeah, legendary actress Gloria Swanson is in here as well, one of the few names you could recognize from the cast. Of course, she only plays a minor character and this was long before her rise to stardom, but still. All in all, not too great or entertaining. Not recommended.
CitizenCaine
Another historic Chaplin film does not a good film make. Chaplin debuts for Essanay Films in a film aptly titled His New Job. The job in the title refers to Chaplin trying to work for a film studio, much like his "A Film Johnnie" the year before. Chaplin tries his hand at carpentry backstage before wiggling his way into acting where he fails also. Chaplin starred in, directed, wrote, and edited the film, which also stars Ben Turpin of cross-eyed and large mustache fame. The film moves briskly, but it's really more of the same Keystone Chaplin. There is slapstick minus the excessive violence that marred earlier films, but there is barely a plot in this one. Future silent film giants Agnes Ayres and Gloria Swanson have bit roles in this film. ** of 4 stars.
Bob
Film " His New Job " was Chaplin's created on a film studio "Essanay" the first film where it has received almost full creative freedom after success Keystone's of comedies where it strongly depend from Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand. Chaplin's art becomes independent, rather distinct from other Hollywood production of those years."His New Job " - the first film in which Small the Tramp finds a human face and own destiny is a wanderer, the jobless, unfortunate person, all shifts trying to find work. And it receives it on a film studio where it should suffer mockeries of the director, the partner, to be at war with the personnel and other actors. Certainly, all this is still very far from the present satire and from the best Chaplin's tragicomedies.It still the comedy of tricks full of hilarious fights, jumps, gestures. A comedy using only miracles of a pantomime in which Chaplin already then has reached improbable heights. Chaplin's laughter meanwhile cheerful and carefree - final stages, stages of fight where Chaplin wins all and everything, brightly speak about it, but the first steps by " New times " have been already made.Faultlessly made comedy of tricks and now can deliver a lot of pleasure and laughter as till now was not in world cinema of the image, able will be compared to image of the Tramp on capacity, dimensions, vitality...
