The Floorwalker

The Floorwalker
Theatrical poster to The Floorwalker
Directed by	Charles Chaplin Edward Brewer (technical director)
Produced by	Henry P. Caulfield
Written by	Charles Chaplin (scenario) Vincent Bryan (scenario) Maverick Terrell (scenario)
Starring	Charles Chaplin Eric Campbell Edna Purviance
Cinematography	William C. Foster Roland Totheroh
Editing by	Charles Chaplin
Distributed by	Mutual Film Corporation
Release date(s)	May 15, 1916
Running time	2 Reels (24 minutes in restored, speed-corrected version)
Country	USA
Language	Silent film English intertitles

The Floorwalker was Charlie Chaplin's first Mutual Film Corporation film, made in 1916. It stars Chaplin, in his traditional Tramp persona, as a customer who creates chaos in a department store and becomes inadvertently entangled in the nefarious scheme of the store manager, played by Eric Campbell, and the store's floorwalker, played by Lloyd Bacon, to embezzle money from the establishment.

It was noted for the first 'running staircase' used in films which is used for a series of slapstick that climaxes with a frantic chase down an upward escalator and finding they are remaining in the same position on the steps no matter how fast they move. Edna Purviance plays a minor role as a secretary to store manager, Eric Campbell.

Roughly seven minutes from the start of the film, Chaplin and the store's floorwalker, Lloyd Bacon, stumble into opposite doors of an office and are intrigued by their likeness to each other. They mirror each other's movements to deft comic effect in a highly influential "mirror scene".

This scene has been duplicated many times, most famously in the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup. Later renditions can be found in the Bugs Bunny cartoon Hare Tonic, the Mickey Mouse cartoon Lonesome Ghosts, and in the TV series Family Guy and The X-Files. A scene in The Pink Panther, with David Niven and Robert Wagner wearing identical gorilla costumes, mimics the mirror scene. Harpo Marx did a reprise of this scene, dressed in his usual costume, with Lucille Ball also donning the fright wig and trench coat, in an episode of I Love Lucy. Additionally, an early episode of The Patty Duke Show contains a mirror scene in which the characters Patty and Cathy Lane (both played by Patty Duke) act out a version similar to the one found in the film Duck Soup.

Cast

• Charles Chaplin - Tramp
• Eric Campbell - Store manager
• Edna Purviance - Manager's secretary
• Lloyd Bacon - Assistant manager
• Albert Austin - Shop assistant
• Charlotte Mineau - Beautiful store detective

External links

• The Floorwalker at the Internet Movie Database