Sunnyside

"Sunnyside" (1919) along with two other midsize Chaplin efforts from in
between "Shoulder Arms" and "The Kid," aired on TCM Sunday night. I
came here hoping there would be some discussion of this film, and was
suprised to find nothing. Now I see why - some of us were too busy
taking Constance Kuriyama apart for her views on Harold Lloyd.

Rather than ask "why," I'd like to share that I've never seen
"Sunnyside" before, only the stills of the dream sequence with the
nymphs. This was never circulated in the PD 8mm/16mm, though after
Chaplin's death you could order a Viacom print of it in Super 8 Sound.
Back in 1978 or whenever that was, I was 17 and could barely raise $15
for a bad print of "Ballet Mecanique" (which I did buy), let alone pay
$89.95 for "Sunnyside" (which I didn't). It seemed like a lot of money
for a two-reeler. But I was still interested in seeing the film.

And what a film it is! I think it's one of Chaplin's best shorts. It's
interesting how he frames the second dream so that we do not know it is
a dream; it's a lot less obvious than the way Bunuel frames the various
dreams in "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie," which, like
"Sunnyside," is a comedy. When Edna picks the city slicker over The
Little Tramp, you start to think, "where is Chaplin going with this?
This is pretty dark for The Little Tramp" and then he throws himself in
front of an automobile. What a shock that must've come to fans back in
1919! The conclusion is so short and concise that the audience would
hardly have had the time to overcome the shock of seeing T.L.T. nearly
killed before their eyes.

Sunnyside is a story about the sub-concious set in an echt-rural D.W.
Griffith setting complete with the tyrannical puritan father, useless
rube and the idealized virginal girl; perhaps Chaplin intended this
setting as a tip of the hat to his new partner at UA. One viewer who
did not forget "Sunnyside" was animator Tex Avery, who replicated many
of its ideas, characters and settings in the framing sequence of his
1936 Warner Brothers cartoon "Page Miss Glory."

What do you think of it? I haven't seen either of the other two shorts
TCM has lately shown, and I'm saving those to watch with my daughter
tonight and Thursday night. These remain special to me, as I've long
ago seen all of the Keystones (save "Her Friend the Bandit" of course),
Essanays, Mutuals and most of the Chaplin features. Many of them I
first viewed in 8mm prints.

spadeneal

"spadeneal" (udtv@yahoo.com) writes:
> "Sunnyside" (1919) along with two other midsize Chaplin efforts from in
> between "Shoulder Arms" and "The Kid," aired on TCM Sunday night. I
> came here hoping there would be some discussion of this film, and was
> suprised to find nothing. Now I see why - some of us were too busy
> taking Constance Kuriyama apart for her views on Harold Lloyd.

Unfortunetely, getting diverted onto personal attacks is a longstanding
vice of this newsgroup. But we do discuss Chaplin's films occasionally.
Don't despair.

> Rather than ask "why,"

A wise decision.

>I'd like to share that I've never seen
> "Sunnyside" before, only the stills of the dream sequence with the
> nymphs. This was never circulated in the PD 8mm/16mm, though after
> Chaplin's death you could order a Viacom print of it in Super 8 Sound.
> Back in 1978 or whenever that was, I was 17 and could barely raise $15
> for a bad print of "Ballet Mecanique" (which I did buy), let alone pay
> $89.95 for "Sunnyside" (which I didn't). It seemed like a lot of money
> for a two-reeler. But I was still interested in seeing the film.
>
> And what a film it is! I think it's one of Chaplin's best shorts. It's
> interesting how he frames the second dream so that we do not know it is
> a dream; it's a lot less obvious than the way Bunuel frames the various
> dreams in "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie," which, like
> "Sunnyside," is a comedy. When Edna picks the city slicker over The
> Little Tramp, you start to think, "where is Chaplin going with this?
> This is pretty dark for The Little Tramp" and then he throws himself in
> front of an automobile. What a shock that must've come to fans back in
> 1919! The conclusion is so short and concise that the audience would
> hardly have had the time to overcome the shock of seeing T.L.T. nearly
> killed before their eyes.
>
> Sunnyside is a story about the sub-concious set in an echt-rural D.W.
> Griffith setting complete with the tyrannical puritan father, useless
> rube and the idealized virginal girl; perhaps Chaplin intended this
> setting as a tip of the hat to his new partner at UA. One viewer who
> did not forget "Sunnyside" was animator Tex Avery, who replicated many
> of its ideas, characters and settings in the framing sequence of his
> 1936 Warner Brothers cartoon "Page Miss Glory."
>
> What do you think of it? I haven't seen either of the other two shorts
> TCM has lately shown, and I'm saving those to watch with my daughter
> tonight and Thursday night. These remain special to me, as I've long
> ago seen all of the Keystones (save "Her Friend the Bandit" of course),
> Essanays, Mutuals and most of the Chaplin features. Many of them I
> first viewed in 8mm prints.
>
> spadeneal

You just made _Sunnyside_ more interesting to me. It's generally
regarded as one of the weaker First National shorts, but French
critics saw it as lyrical and satirical, and praised it highly.

I tend to think that the abrupt happy ending was a concession
to the psying audience, and that the Tramp's (Is he really the
Tramp here? He seems local.) despair is a projection of
Chaplin's own negative state of mind at the time he was working
on the film.

I've alway found the film more interesting than good (I once
referred to it as "a pastoral Idyll from Hell."), but I haven't
screened it with my video projector yet, and now seems like a
good time to do it. Size makes a huge difference in how one
responds to films.

Your reference to the Avery cartoon intrigues. Is it
available on video?

Connie K.