The Champion

The Champion (1915) is a silent Charlie Chaplin short you can watch online on iFILM. Down on his luck, the Little Tramp finds a lucky horseshoe and wanders into a training camp hunting for a sparring partner who "can take a beating."

Charlie slips the horseshoe into his glove and flattens every challenger. Soon the trainer is grooming him to face the world champion, while a gambler leans on him to throw the fight. Edna Purviance plays the trainer's daughter, with Ben Turpin turning up along the way. Chaplin wrote and directed this Essanay two-reeler and sharpened the boxing routine into pure slapstick geometry. Half an hour of silent-era physical comedy. Stream The Champion online on iFILM.