Camera negatives, releases, and versions of Charlie Chaplin’s Shoulder Arms (1918)

ABSTRACT

The essay presents the latest research results on Charles Chaplin’s wartime comedy Shoulder Arms (1918). It provides background information on the production of the film, describes the different camera negatives produced in 1918, and traces their uses for different releases. There were four different negatives (A, B, C, and D) and six official releases (First National domestic first release 1918–1923, international first release beginning in 1918, Pathé domestic re-release 1925–1930, Pathé international re-release 1925–1930, U.S. Army release beginning in 1944, and Revue domestic and international releases beginning in 1959). Five historical film prints/versions have been located in archives and collections so far. A table summarizes the research results and presents frame enlargements of recently discovered film prints. The images allow the attribution of individual prints/elements to one of the four original negatives. Thus, the article lays a foundation for the international research project Mapping Archival Holdings of Charlie Chaplin’s Shoulder Arms (MASh), which was launched in spring 2021.

KEYWORDS:

• Charles Chaplin
• Shoulder Arms
• film history
• camera negative
• cinema release
• version

Acknowledgements

Numerous colleagues have contributed to the creation of this article and helped prepare project MASh. My thanks go to Serge Bromberg, Tino Buchs, Cecilia Cenciarelli, Thomas Christensen, Roland Cosandey, Stefan Drößler, Peter Fasnacht, Caroline Fournier, Barbara Flückiger, João Antonio Franz, Wolfgang Fuhrmann, Anita Gertiser, Kate Guyonvarch, Dan Kamin, David Landolf, Hooman Mehran, Brigitte Paulowitz, T. R., David Robinson, Ulrich Rüdel, David Totheroh, Susie Trenka, Margrit Tröhler, Matthias Uhlmann, Daniel Wiegand, and Niklaus Wostry.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Robinson (2001), 254–257, 801f.; see also Murphy (2010), 421–429.

2. Bordat (2019), 80f.; Brownlow (2010), 37, 90; Goodwins and Kamin (2017), 85; Kamin (2011), 177–179; Robinson (2001), 236; Mehran (2007).

3. Charlie Chaplin Archive, Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, http://www.charliechaplinarchive.org.

4. Synopsis of Agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Picture: Shoulder Arms, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions, December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; List of Charles Chaplin Pictures, [1952], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022547, CH15561; see also Advertisement, Le film (Paris), 23 March 1919, n.p.

5. Wolff., ‘Verbot eines deutschfeindlichen Films in der Türkei’, Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, 5 December 1925, 1f.; Circular letter from Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, 16 April 1927, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2701; Letter from Polizeiinspektorat, Basel, to Polizei-Abteilung, Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, Bern, 7 October 1931, Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Basel, Straf und Polizei F 14.8b; Gerber (2017), 384–389, 417–419; Gerber (2021); Meier-Kern (1993), 126–128; Uhlmann (2019), 84. I would like to thank Matthias Uhlmann for providing the sources relating to Basel.

6. Letter from Arthur Schwartz to Alfred Reeves, 16 October 1935, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018837, CH17887; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Schweizerische Arbeiterbildungszentrale, 16 July 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018864, CH17914; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Arthur Schwartz, 27 October 1939, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018629, CH17741; Letter from Frederick Osborn to Alfred Reeves, 21 September 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019036, CH18057; Letter from Lois Runser to Arthur Kelly, 25 August 1949, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00017984, CH17345; Gerber (2021).

7. For Shoulder Arms releases for the modern home cinema market, see Mehran (2006).

8. Synopsis of Agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, 22 November 1943, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019027, CH18048; Letter from Mark Geirrine to Alfred Reeves, 14 December 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019021, CH18042; Inventory as of 1 April 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after 1 April 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573; Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, 13 October 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797; Main Title Shoulder Arms, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315436, CH00525.

9. Charles Chaplin with tree costume on the set, [1918], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00031058, SA0025.

In the 1920s, Chaplin shot with up to four cameras simultaneously (Mountain set: Chaplin shooting on location, [1923–1925], ECCI00024772, GR015; Back view of 4 cameras shooting crowd at circus entrance, [1925–1927], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00026075, CIR019).

10. Brownlow (2010), 59, 75, 90, 92, 179, 182f., 187, 192; Kamin (2011), 177–179; Goodwins and Kamin (2017), 85; Robinson (2001), 240, 254, 310f.

The 1983 documentary series Unknown Chaplin by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill highlights Chaplin’s creative process and improvisations and presents alternative footage, mostly from earlier Chaplin movies. With regard to Shoulder Arms, the series does not show alternate takes of known scenes. However, it presents opening scenes (home life, physical examination) that were never released as part of the war comedy, which seems to have been planned as a longer movie originally.

11. For the attribution of the known prints to the negatives, see note 23 below.

12. The length of the A negative was 921 meters (3023 feet).

13. First National Release and Pathé Re-issue, [1918/1925], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315451, CH025; Synopsis of Agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Picture: Shoulder Arms, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions, December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; Affidavit of Alfred Reeves, 15 June 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006073, CH036; List of Charles Chaplin Pictures, [1952], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022547, CH15561; see also Cutting continuity on Shoulder Arms, 26 August 1938, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315434, CH02548.

14. Picture: Shoulder Arms, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions, December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Arthur Schwartz, 27 October 1939, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018629, CH17741; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Loyd Wright, 6 March 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006137, CH040; Letter from Lois Runser to Arthur Kelly, 25 August 1949, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00017984, CH17345; Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573.

15. The length of the C negative was 787 meters (2581 feet). This negative contained only flash titles, which partly explains the shorter length.

16. Synopsis of Agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, 16 November 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019030, CH180; Inventory as of 1 April 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after 1 April 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, 13 October 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797.

17. Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, 15 October 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019031, CH180; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, 16 November 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019030, CH180; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, 22 November 1943, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019027, CH18048; Letter from Mark Geirrine to Alfred Reeves, 14 December 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019021, CH18042; Inventory as of 1 April 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after 1 April 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Main Title Shoulder Arms, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315436, CH00525.

18. Inventory as of 1 April 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after 1 April 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; see also Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573.

19. Robinson (2001), 564f.; see also Goodwins and Kamin (2017), 85; Kamin (2011), 177–179; Post by David Shepard, 3 October 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin, https://groups.google.com/g/alt.movies.chaplin/c/TWi1YyVD-7U/m/88I2wKcr_IgJ; Post by Jeffrey Vance, 2 February 2003, on alt.movies.silent, https://groups.google.com/g/alt.movies.chaplin/c/kZp5wUIJlV0/m/gG84_ls_lTgJ.

20. Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, 13 October 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797.

21. Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573.

22. It is theoretically possible that the revised negative also contains a few parts of the A negative. However, I have not noticed any such shots so far.

23. Since the attribution to the original negatives is based on only a handful of known prints, it is provisional in nature until project MASh is completed.

The print from the Danish Film Institute descends from A negative (First National domestic first release 1918–1923): Print has official main title (Chaplin signing his name); print has English-language intertitles with First National logo; print has Kodak 1918 edge marks; images (angles and takes) are (as far as is known) identical to the print from Dan Kamin (see arguments there).

The print from Dan Kamin descends from A negative (Pathé domestic re-release 1925–1930): Print does not have official main title; print has English-language intertitles without logo; print has a Pathé end title; action is identical to 1938 cutting continuity (Cutting continuity on Shoulder Arms, 26 August 1938, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315434, CH02548); images (angles and takes) are identical to postcard (Charlie Chaplin Card, [1918], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00030902, SA0013); images with superior camera angles/perspectives (mostly center); superior takes/performances; images (angles and takes) are (as far as is known) identical to the print from the Danish Film Institute; takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in the print from Cinémathèque suisse.

The print from Cinémathèque suisse descends from B negative (used for the international first release beginning in 1918), with some minor parts from A negative: Print has French- and German-language intertitles with Etna-Film logo; print has Kodak 1920 edge marks; Geneva-based Woldemar Schultz, the western Swiss distribution partner of Etna-Film Co. A.-G. in Lucerne for the official Swiss Pathé re-release of Shoulder Arms starting in July 1927, were verifiably in possession of a print of the film in previous years (Letter from Deutsches Generalkonsulat, Zurich, to Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, 23 April 1927, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2701; see also Letter from Deutsches Konsulat, Geneva, to Deutsche Gesandtschaft, Bern, 18 June 1928, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2702; Letter from Etna-Film Co. A.-G., Lucerne, to Deutscher Hilfsverein, Lucerne, 23 June 1928, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2702); action is identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with inferior camera angles (mostly left); superior takes; takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in the prints from the Danish Film Institute and Dan Kamin; exceptions for some minor parts (not tinted): Images (angles and takes) are identical to prints from the Danish Film Institute and Dan Kamin; no images (angles and takes) are identical to Revue version.

The prints from Lichtspiel/Kinemathek Bern (35 mm and 16 mm) descend from C negative (used for Pathé international re-release 1925–1930): Images (angles and takes) from the 35 mm and 16 mm Lichtspiel prints are identical; both prints descend from the same source (probably the dupe negative of an earlier distribution print); prints have French- and German-language intertitles without logo; 35 mm print has an end title with distribution company credit: Sauty Genève; 35 mm print has Kodak 1929/1930 edge marks; Uty-Films S.A. in Geneva (Charles-Émile Sauty) distributed the print under the title Im Osten was Neues beginning in 1931 (shortly after the end of the official Pathé re-release) (Letter from Polizeiinspektorat, Basel, to Polizei-Abteilung, Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, Bern, 16 September 1931, Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Basel, Straf und Polizei F 14.8b; Letter from Walter Gould to Alfred Reeves, 3 April 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006045, CH031; Meier-Kern 1993, 128); one intertitle bears the wording ‘IM OSTEN WAS NEUES!’; action is not identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with superior camera angles (mostly center); takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in Revue version; a few images (angles and takes) are identical to Revue version (for example, some of the shots before the soldiers go over the top).

The Revue version (Revue domestic and international release beginning in 1959) descends from the revised negative containing mostly D negative and some minor parts of C negative: Action is not identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with inferior camera angles (mostly left); takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in prints from Lichtspiel, a few images (angles and takes) are identical to prints from Lichtspiel; no images (angles and takes) are identical to print from Cinémathèque suisse.

All prints are described in detail on https://lichtspiel.ch/MASh.

24. Brownlow (2010), 91f., 138, 189.

25. Kamin (2011), 177; Post by David Shepard, 3 October 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin, https://groups.google.com/g/alt.movies.chaplin/c/TWi1YyVD-7U/m/88I2wKcr_IgJ; Post by Jeffrey Vance, 2 February 2003, on alt.movies.silent, https://groups.google.com/g/alt.movies.chaplin/c/kZp5wUIJlV0/m/gG84_ls_lTgJ; Mehran (2007).

26. The Chaplin Revue, [1974?], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020272, CH205.

27. Letter from Richard Goldwater to Rachel Ford, 28 October 1957, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029337, CH234; Raymond Rohauer vs Robert Fischer, 21 July 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018603, CH177; ‘Defense of Chaplin Film Piracy’, Variety, 25 October 1961, 5; United States of America vs Raymond Rohauer, 2 July 1962, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018600, CH177; Bordat (2019), 82f., 99–107; Brownlow (2010), 17, 177f.; Mehran (2006), 198.

28. Letter from Rachel Ford to Richard Goldwater, 1 October 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005369, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, 6 November 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005407, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, 7 November 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005406, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, 10 November 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005372, CH038. Numerous documents in the Charlie Chaplin Archive pertaining to this issue remain unavailable to the public to this day.

29. Sworn declaration, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005367, CH038.

30. The Pilgrim, A Dog’s Life, The Kid, Shoulder Arms scenes and speeds, 10 October 1958, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00031018, CH235; The Chaplin Revue action continuity script, September 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00004598, CH035; The Chaplin Revue Music Cuesheet, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020430, CH207; The Chaplin Revue music breakdown, 1972 [?], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315399, CH005; Mehran (2006), 198–201.

31. See also Kamin (1984), 98; Mehran (2007).

32. Letter from Rachel Ford to Charles Chaplin, 26 January 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020492, CH207.

33. Letter from H. G. Barker to Rachel Ford, 16 October 1957, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029212, CH230; Letter from H. G. Barker to Rachel Ford, 31 May 1963, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029202, CH230.

34. One representative example of the claims about allegedly significant version differences and of the exaggerated glorification of the First National version is the following online statement by renowned American film preservationist David Shepard: ‘Personally (please don’t shoot), having been familiar with [Shoulder Arms] only from [the Pathé and Revue] versions, I never understood its exalted reputation. Two summers ago in Denmark, I saw a true original 1918 English-titled print of this picture, easily identified by the First National main and end titles […]. A few parts were chopped up […] but it was generally in very good shape and the picture quality was stunning. Well, I fell on the floor! It was a completely different picture! Incredibly funny, full of fresh (to me) little bits, and absolutely worthy of the superlatives heaped on this movie during its early years. I knew at that moment that I had never seen Shoulder Arms before.’ (Post by David Shepard, 3 October 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin, https://groups.google.com/g/alt.movies.chaplin/c/TWi1YyVD-7U/m/88I2wKcr_IgJ). See also Goodwins and Kamin (2017), 85, 311f.

35. As mentioned above, Chaplin had no direct access to the A negative between 1918 and 1932, which would have been a requirement for rearranging the film for the 1925 Pathé re-release. I have not yet been able to verify the hypothesis that the domestic Pathé version is identical to the First National version through direct visual comparison of the two versions, as I have only had access to a few frame enlargements of the Danish First National print to date.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adrian Gerber

Adrian Gerber is a Zurich-based film historian and archivist. He is the author of Zwischen Propaganda und Unterhaltung: Das Kino in der Schweiz zur Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs [Between Propaganda and Entertainment: Cinema in Switzerland during the First World War] (2017), Katholische Filmarbeit in der Schweiz 1908–1972 [Catholic Film Activities in Switzerland 1908–1972] (2010), and articles on cinema advertising and historical movie posters.