THE TRAMP (1915) **1/2 There's not really all that much that separates this, so far as talent on display, from a run of the mill Laurel & Hardy. I recognize that the title character is historically significant, but the most impressive thing about it all, so far as I'm concerned, is that Edna Purviance actually managed to create a character that...it was almost sad when Charlie Chaplin had to leave her. Other than that, a bunch of better than average sight gags and such. The sole and dramatic exception is the final shot, only thirty seconds or so, but definitive Chaplin, contemplative comedy, high art, a fuller statement of the human condition than any self-help book. An incredible dance.
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