A propaganda film created by Charlie Chaplin at his own expense for the Liberty Load Committee to help sell U.S. Liberty Bonds during World War I. The story is a series of sketches humorously illustrating various bonds like the bond of friendship and of marriage and, most important, the Liberty Bond, to K.O. the Kaiser which Charlie does literally.
Obligaciones, Le lien, El bono, Die Anleihe, Облигацията, Облігація, 본드, 债券, Pożyczka wolności, 債券
USA
USA
The Bond is a simple two-reel propaganda film that Chaplin created at his own expense in aid of the Liberty Bond drive that took place during the First World War.
The film is made up of four episodes, all relating to different kinds of bonds: the bond of friendship, the bond of love, the bond of marriage, and the Liberty Bond.
As a Brit, Charlie had received some criticism for not going and fighting for his country when the war broke out. He was sent white feathers (which women used to hand out to young men not in uniform during the years of conflict) and abusive letters, and as time went on there would be critical pieces about him in…
Any film that makes me say the phrase "Oh no you don't, you tricky Kaiser!" out loud, can't be that bad.
The Tramp Makes Artsy Minimalism out of War Propaganda
With its slapstick, centered compositions, and minimal white props against a black backdrop, Charlie Chaplin’s “The Bond” is the artsy, stripped-down theatrical Liberty Bonds sales pitch and WWI propaganda short film I imagine Wes Anderson would’ve wished he’d made were he a black-and-white silent film director in the 1910s. At least the British Chaplin doesn’t pretend he’s “100% American” like “America’s Sweetheart” Canadian Mary Pickford did for her counterpart one-reeler for the war effort, and the Tramp hanging his cane on the crescent Moon prop got a chuckle out of me. Still, the propagandist feature he interrupted production on, “Shoulder Arms” (1918), to rush through in a week this advertisement is…
A quintessential example of the gap between "interesting" and "watchable". Charles Chaplin had been on high alert since 1915 that, as a British subject, he was expected and "obligated" to volunteer for the war, but he'd mostly been able to avoid too much criticism, at least in the U.S., by virtue of being the world's most famous and beloved movie star, and being therefore considered more valuable in Hollywood, creating charming and uplifting comedies that kept the boys on the front entertained (and a large part of his enormous salaries in '16, '17, and '18 went to the British government). This split-reel propaganda piece is the most visible contribution he made to the war effort, and you can sort of…
I think Chaplin wanted the audience to buy something, but gosh the message was too subtle to decipher!
It's just an ad for war bonds but I really loved the sets used here.
First time watch: July 2024
Source: Blu Ray
Length: Split Reel
2024 Challenge: Conquering Chaplin (an autobiographical adventure)
Conquering Chaplin Part Four : The First National Films. 1918 - 1923
Director/Cast/Premise
The Bond is the 1918 silent propaganda film written, directed and starring Charlie Chaplin. With appearances from Edna Purviance and Sydney Chaplin the film focuses on different variations of bonds with an intention to highlight the importance of war bonds.
Quick Thoughts
The film itself is unique due to its use of propaganda but otherwise not great. Still, this continues to be a crucial period in Chaplins career and fascinating information was shared in his autobiography.
"At the end of the Mutual contract I was anxious to get started…
That walking stick hung on the cresent moon gag is a classic
Episodic half-reel propaganda film from Charlie Chaplin, made for and distributed by the Liberty Loan Committee. The value of different bonds are illustrated: the bond of friendship, the bond of love, the bond of marriage, and the Kaiser-crushing Liberty Bond. The film holds some visual interest because Chaplin employs abstract, theatrical settings, with the backgrounds composed of white-on-black cutouts. Throughout the bond of love vignette, Edna Purviance is such a memorable flirty style icon as to be a certified Queen. Later, Purviance strikes a pose as the incandescent Statue of Liberty herself. Charlie Chaplin's brother Syd plays the Kaiser. Double bill with Mary Pickford's equally bizarre, interesting Liberty Bond short One Hundred Percent American.
ela gamou no chaplin botando a bengala dele na lua 🔥
Not gonna lie, that sucked.
The Bond aus dem Jahre 1918 dauert nur knapp neun Minuten und ist ein Film, in dem Chaplin für die Zeichnung von Kriegsanleihen zur Finanzierung des Krieges gegen die Achsenmächte – repräsentiert durch Chaplins Bruder Syd als „The Kaiser“ – wirbt. Auch wenn die ersten Minuten von The Bond durchaus komisch sind, so beweist dieser Film doch, daß Kriegspropaganda, egal von welcher Seite sie kommt, am Ende immer zum Holzhammer greifen muß.
