Laffing Gas (1914)

Charlie Chaplin as a dental assistant? Well you can probably guess what this slapstick comedy is like! Laffing Gas (also known as "Laughing Gas" in regions where spelling was more important) comes with Chaplin's career still in it's fairly early stages. The genius of his later comedies isn't quite there yet but this film isn't bad at all.

Of course it doesn't really have much of a story, being more a series of slapstick stunts. Some pretty violent too involving bricks and plenty of punching. It is what is it, there is no pretense at high art in a film like this. It was designed to make people laugh and forget their worries for at least a short time, and in 1914 that was just what people needed.