Synopsis
The Pilgrim (1923) is a Charlie Chaplin silent comedy you can watch online on iFILM. An escaped convict steals a parson's robes, and the first town he reaches takes him for its new minister.
Chaplin's fugitive has to lead a Sunday service for a congregation expecting a sermon — so he mimes the showdown of David and Goliath instead. Then come a fussy parishioner, her daughter (Edna Purviance), and an old partner in crime who drifts into town ready to expose him. Every scene runs on a single fear: that the act will collapse.
This was Chaplin's last short for First National and one of his sharpest silent pieces — forty-seven minutes that needle religious hypocrisy and the law with his trademark gentle cheek. The closing shot, with the Tramp straddling the US–Mexico border, became a textbook image. A fine place to start with early Chaplin. Stream The Pilgrim (1923) online on iFILM.
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