Work

Work (1915) is a Charlie Chaplin silent short comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Running about half an hour, this Essanay-era picture has Chaplin both directing and starring as a bumbling decorator's assistant sent out to hang wallpaper.

Just reaching the client's house is a battle, with the tool cart hauled along like a stubborn mule. Things only get worse inside: the master of the house is furious over a missed breakfast, his wife is yelling at the maid, and the gas stove looks ready to blow. Charlie offers to fix everything, the wife's secret lover is passed off as the foreman, gunshots ring out, and the whole place ends up in splinters.

Edna Purviance and Charles Insley round out the cast in this early riff on the little tramp loose in someone else's fancy household. It's pure physical comedy — paste, pratfalls and rising chaos — for anyone who loves silent classics and wants to watch Chaplin sharpening his craft. Stream Work (1915) online on iFILM.