Saw The Circus, a Charlie Chaplin film wherein his little tramp character gets sucked into a circus. This is a little tricky to juggle as the premise of a comedy film because people like to root for the underdog, the screwup, but if he's going to be funny, surely he'll be a success in the circus, and thus not the underdog, no? So the film has to keep him ground down and spinning around, being funny in spite of the cruel ringmaster who is, of course, the despotic father of the young ingénue.
Despite the tricky premise, the film is the usual Chaplin drollery. He interacts with policemen. He does daredevil stunts. He endlessly spoils a magician's magic tricks. You will be unsurprised by anything going on on the screen.
From the imdb trivia, the story behind the camera was far more interesting. Apparently Chaplin was going through a divorce with his child bride, an IRS audit, and his mother's death all at the same time while trying to make a film. What a nightmare! I'd be curious to see a documentary about that!
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