Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

TheLittleSongbird 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. From his Essanay period after leaving Keystone, 'Shanghaied' is not one of his very best or even among the best of this particular period. 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, from 1914, The Essanay period is something of Chaplin's adolescence period where his style had been found and starting to settle. Something that can be seen in the more than worthwhile 'Shanghaied'. 'Shanghaied' is not one of his all-time funniest or most memorable, other efforts also have more pathos and a balance of that and the comedy. The story is still a little flimsy, there are times where it struggles to sustain the short length, and could have had more variety and less more of the same repetition.On the other hand, 'Shanghaied' looks pretty good, not incredible but it was obvious that Chaplin was taking more time with his work (even when deadlines were still tight) and not churning out as many countless shorts in the same year of very variable success like he did with Keystone. 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.While not one of his funniest or original, 'Shanghaied' is still very entertaining with some clever, entertaining and well-timed slapstick. It moves quickly and there is no dullness in sight, it's also very charming and sweet without being cloying.Chaplin directs more than competently, if not quite cinematic genius standard yet. He also, as usual, gives an amusing and expressive performance and at clear ease with the physicality of the role. The supporting cast acquit themselves well, notably Billy Armstrong.In conclusion, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

MissyH316 Plenty of action here as Charlie gets drawn into a nefarious insurance scam plot hatched by a boat's owner. The owner's also determined, however, to keep Charlie away from daughter Edna. Thank goodness all ends well but not after a LOT of high sea hi-jinks! Someone else commented on the dance routine Charlie does in the galley - yes, he could'a been a ballerina! But I too noticed the backwards shuffle that I'd seen before in Modern Times - I saw the later movie first, but here was its first appearance (first that I'm aware of).Lotsa fun; was hard to follow for me a few times but I chalk that up to a so-so video quality or I'd have rated it higher. Plus a couple of Charlie & Edna's kissing scenes got interrupted so I took a few points off for that, too! lol Anyway, I hope to get this on a good DVD copy, the best I can find, because this one IS a "keeper"!

MartinHafer This is a pretty enjoyable Chaplin short from 1915. While certainly not among his best, it is worth seeing and is far from a bad film. In fact, up until the rocking ship segment of the film, it was probably a good bit better than average. Charlie was offered a job helping some sleazy ship's captain from kidnapping a crew for his boat--which the owner already intended to blow up for the insurance money (this is DEFINITELY not a ship you'd want to work). In the end, he, too, is conked on the head and becomes an unwilling crewman.However, despite a good beginning, soon Chaplin chooses to incorporate a rocking boat sequence into the film while he worked as a dishwasher. I've seen rocking boat scenes in two other Chaplin films already before this (including A PERFECT DAY and one other that doesn't immediately come to mind). I really hated this because although Chaplin was known for his attention to detail, these scenes by him were always handled very sloppily. Once again, the boat rocked way too fast and way too quickly--while the ocean appeared very calm. It just looked stupid and didn't make me laugh. A rolling boat COULD have been very funny--but not one that looks like that! Well, after this lousy part of the film, the short got better and involved Charlie saving the boat and the lives of everyone. At least it ended well.

Michael DeZubiria Shanghaied is one of Chaplin's early short films that begins in a more ambiguous way than most, meaning that early on, it is pretty hard to tell what's going on, seeing how the film is obviously silent (this is 1915, after all), but as always, by the end of the film the story becomes clearer, and this one is particularly memorable. Evidently, Charlie is hired to knock out a bunch of drunks with a wooden mallet, which is not brilliant in terms of narrative, but it makes room for some of the endlessly amusing fighting scenes that are commonplace in Chaplin's films. Another thing that is traditional is for the majority of the comedy in each individual film to be derived from one main source, and here, it is a crane that causes all sorts of trouble for Charlie and the other men as they try to clean up a ship. But as funny as this part of the film is, it REALLY gets good when the dishwashing scene starts. Not only is there some hilarious mishaps involving Charlie confusing the soup pot with the dishwater, but he also slips in some very characteristic moves, dancing around the room in the comical, carefree way that only Charlie can really do. Also, while watching this scene, look for a quick shot of him doing the very same backwards sliding move that he did very extensively in the spectacular song and dance number that he performed at the end of his film Modern Times, which he made more than two decades later.I think this is the most advanced of Chaplin's earliest films that I've seen so far. It is longer than most of the ones before it and probably has more sight gags and stunts that later became famous in Chaplin's much better known full length films. We see the little tramp as a dishwasher, waiter, lots of fights, the tilting set with sliding dishes and angry sailors, the tramp thumbing his nose at authority, showing a comical eagerness to obtain a job for which he is clearly totally unqualified, sharpening his knife and fork before while the men next to him shovel food in their mouths like cavemen, meanwhile Charlie gives up his impeccable table manners because the heaving ocean is making him seasick. The story is more complex than previous films but still very simple, although it clearly foresees a lot of the style and imagery of The Immigrant, even down to the eating scenes and the on deck love interest. Stay tuned for the action packed ending, which I think is also one of the best endings that Chaplin had made in his films up to that point. Outstanding!