Language: Silent (114)

Dr Brian Pellie and the Secret Dispatch

This is the final 2 minutes of the 10-minute video described at http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/1114609/synopsis.html. It features a reenactment of the 1909 Tottenham chase, that began with a robbery by anarchists, set in a fictional tale of spies.

Max Takes A Picture (Max fait de la photo)

Max goes nuts when he sees big butt. Max tries to sneak snapshots of a Rubenesque beauty on the beach, but she gets payback - as Max ends up frantic with guilt. Too little content, dragged out too long.

Germinal

The original film is 2.5 hours, so this version is missing more than half the film - most notably, the intertitles. Also, the two main male leads share similar costumes, physique, mustaches, and hair styles, and are both seen with the same woman. So this version is tricky to follow, but is worth the effort: a more natural acting style, location filming, unforgettable scenes of crowd uprising, and a story that subtly surveys the intersection between emotional and social landscapes - at a time when US film was still honing its huckster skills of grabbing the attention of the audience, then ramming views and values (aka, propaganda) down its throat.

Max Professor Of Tango (Max professeur de Tango)

One, two, three - puke! A drunken tango lesson by Max is the old “Walk this way” gag taken to the extreme. Showcases both his smooth dancing style (7 years before Valentino's tango!), as well as his masterful physical comedic skill, in a clever skit that needed no intertitles.

Mabel's Busy Day

Unencumbered by story or intertitles, Mabel and Chaplin go freestyle in this nonstop brawl. Not the funniest, but the sheer energy of this intensely physical comedy threatens to transgress all laws of nature (For extra credit, watch in slow motion and count how many times Mabel and Chaplin leap up in sync).

Max And His Mother-in-law (Max et sa belle-mère)

Max has a new bride, but can't escape his mother-in-law. Twice the length, but fraction of laughs. Virtually every moment of the film shows Max in anger, yet that is not where Max's comic attraction dwells - he is lovable as a hapless twit. But it does provide historic confirmation for an axiom of comedy: your act is in trouble when you find yourself resorting to mother-in-law jokes.