Chaplin edited, wrote, directed, and starred in The Bank, a film about rising above one's station in life and overcoming obstacles. Chaplin was raised in poverty, and because of that, often had himself portray characters victimized by or at odds with the upper classes. Here he plays a janitor in a bank who is frustrated with his lowly status but tries to make do anyway. He has trouble with a fellow janitor, and then he mistakes the secretary's gift for a cashier as being for himself. He sulks away before having a chance to win the secretary again during a bank robbery. Two of the robbers are future film directors: Lloyd Bacon and Wesley Ruggles. The ending seems to suggest to the lower classes that it's OK to have aspirations, but if they aren't achieved, one should be satisfied with one's lot in life. I'm not sure I buy that though. Chaplin, by now, was world famous, and his comedy was becoming more sophisticated and seamlessly integrated into his plots. The Bank tells a simple story with underpinnings of pathos as well as slapstick. **1/2 of 4 stars.
Review of The Bank
