The Bank (1915 film)

1915 film by Charlie Chaplin

The Bank

Theatrical poster to The Bank

Directed by| Charlie Chaplin
Written by| Charlie Chaplin
Produced by| Jess Robbins
Starring|

* Charlie Chaplin
* Charles Inslee
* Carl Stockdale
* Edna Purviance
* Leo White

Cinematography| Harry Ensign
Edited by| Charlie Chaplin
Music by| Robert Israel (Kino video release)
Distributed by|

* Essanay Studios
* General Film Company

Release date

* August 9, 1915 (1915-08-09)

Running time

| 33 minutes
Country| United States
Languages|

* Silent film
* English (original intertitles)

The Bank is a silent slapstick comedy.[1] It was Charlie Chaplin's tenth film for Essanay Films.

Released in 1915, it is a departure from the Tramp character, as Charlie Chaplin in this instance, plays a janitor in a bank. Edna Purviance plays the secretary on whom Charlie's character has a crush and dreams that she has fallen in love with him. Filmed at the Majestic Studio in Los Angeles. There is not much to be any evidence that this film was received any differently from the bulk of Chaplin's early work, but today this film is often considered one of his best efforts during his Essanay period.[2]

## Synopsis

[edit]

The Bank

Charlie, feeling very important, enters the bank where he works. He descends to the vault and works its combination with great panache and opens the door. Charlie hangs his coat inside the vault and brings out his mop and bucket, signifying he is the bank's janitor. He causes typical havoc with his mop and then with his broom. Charlie sweeps one room and the other janitor sweeps the adjacent room. Instead of cleaning, they just sweep the rubbish from room to room, so it becomes the other's task.

Screenshot from the film

Charlie discovers a package containing a tie with a note attached to it, written by the bank's typist. It is addressed "To Charles with love from Edna." Charlie jumps to the wrong conclusion that Edna is in love with him, not realizing the package is intended for another Charles—the cashier. Charlie gets a bunch of flowers and places them lovingly on Edna's desk with a note "love from Charlie". When Edna is told by Charles the cashier that they are not from him but from Charlie the janitor, she coldly tosses them into the wastebasket. Charlie finds them there and is heartbroken. Charlie then has a dream in which he heroically thwarts a bank robbery, rescuing Edna in the process. He turns to kiss the now-adoring Edna—but then he wakes up. Charlie is kissing his mop—while Edna is kissing her cashier boyfriend.

## Reception

[edit]

In an August 1915 review for Variety, journalist Sime Silverman called it "the most legitimate comedy film Chaplin has played in many a long day, perhaps since he's been in pictures".[3]

## Cast

[edit]

* Charlie Chaplin—Charlie, a Janitor
* Edna Purviance—Edna, a Secretary
* Carl Stockdale—Charles, a Cashier
* Charles Inslee—President of the bank
* Leo White—Clerk
* Billy Armstrong—Another Janitor
* Fred Goodwins—Bald Cashier/Bank Robber with Derby
* John Rand—Bank Robber and salesman
* Lloyd Bacon—Bank Robber
* Frank Coleman—Bank Robber
* Paddy McGuire—Cashier in White Coat
* Wesley Ruggles—Bank Customer
* Carrie Clark Ward—Bank Customer
* Lawrence A. Bowes—Bond Salesman

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Mitchell, Glenn (1997). The Chaplin Encyclopedia. London: Batsford. pp. 20–22\. ISBN 978-0-7134-7938-6.
2. ^ "Charlie Chaplin : The Bank". www.charliechaplin.com. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
3. ^ Silverman, Sime (August 1915). "Chaplin in 'The Bank'". Variety. p. 21.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Bank (1915 film).

* The Bank at IMDb

* v
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Charlie Chaplin

* Filmography
* The Tramp
* Chaplin family

Films directed|

| Keystone Studios|

* Twenty Minutes of Love (1914)
* Caught in the Rain (1914)
* A Busy Day (1914)
* Her Friend the Bandit (1914)
* Mabel's Married Life (1914)
* Laughing Gas (1914)
* The Property Man (1914)
* The Face on the Bar Room Floor (1914)
* Recreation (1914)
* The Masquerader (1914)
* His New Profession (1914)
* The Rounders (1914)
* The New Janitor (1914)
* Those Love Pangs (1914)
* Dough and Dynamite (1914)
* Gentlemen of Nerve (1914)
* His Musical Career (1914)
* His Trysting Place (1914)
* Getting Acquainted (1914)
* His Prehistoric Past (1914)

|

Essanay Studios|

* His New Job (1915)
* A Night Out (1915)
* The Champion (1915)
* In the Park (1915)
* A Jitney Elopement (1915)
* The Tramp (1915)
* By the Sea (1915)
* Work (1915)
* A Woman (1915)
* The Bank (1915)
* Shanghaied (1915)
* A Night in the Show (1915)
* A Burlesque on Carmen (1915)
* Police (1916)
* Triple Trouble (1918)

Mutual Film Corp|

* The Floorwalker (1916)
* The Fireman (1916)
* The Vagabond (1916)
* One A.M. (1916)
* The Count (1916)
* The Pawnshop (1916)
* Behind the Screen (1916)
* The Rink (1916)
* Easy Street (1917)
* The Cure (1917)
* The Immigrant (1917)
* The Adventurer (1917)

First National|

* A Dog's Life (1918)
* The Bond (1918)
* Shoulder Arms (1918)
* Sunnyside (1919)
* A Day's Pleasure (1919)
* The Kid (1921)
* The Idle Class (1921)
* Pay Day (1922)
* The Pilgrim (1923)

United Artists|

* A Woman of Paris (1923)
* The Gold Rush (1925)
* The Circus (1928)
* City Lights (1931)
* Modern Times (1936)
* The Great Dictator (1940)
* Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
* Limelight (1952)

Later productions|

* A King in New York (1957)
* A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

See also|

* The Chaplin Revue (1959)

Songs|

* "Smile" (1936 music, 1954 lyrics)
* "Eternally (Terry's Theme)" (1952 music, 1953 lyrics)
* "This Is My Song" (1967)

Books about|

* My Autobiography
* Chaplin: His Life and Art
* Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-Ups
* Chaplin: A Life
* Sunnyside

Films about|

* Chaplinesque, My Life and Hard Times
* Unknown Chaplin
* Chaplin
* Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin
* The King of Comedy Visits Shanghai

Musicals about|

* Little Tramp
* Chaplin (1993)
* Chaplin (2006)

Other|

* United Artists
* 3623 Chaplin
* Charlie Chaplin Studios
* Manoir de Ban
* Montecito Inn
* Chaplin & Co
* Charlie Chaplin comics
* Charlie Chaplin's Comic Capers
* London statue

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