The Floorwalker

The Floorwalker (1916) is a Charlie Chaplin comedy short you can watch online on iFILM. The Tramp strolls into a fancy department store just as the floorwalker knocks out the manager and empties the safe. The crook, as it happens, is Charlie's exact double.

The two swap places, petty thieves scramble across the sales floor, and it all builds around the famous escalator gag that Chaplin invented right here, turning a moving staircase into a comic weapon. Towering Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance share the frame. This was Chaplin's first picture for the Mutual studio, where he finally won full creative freedom. Twenty-odd minutes of fast, inventive clowning. Stream The Floorwalker online on iFILM.