Shoulder Arms

Unprecedented in film annals!
Shoulder Arms (1918)
Timing: 0:36 (36 min)

no scores
6.9/10
200
7.3/10
8000
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Release date
Country
Genre
Budget
$0
Box office
$0
Website
Director
Actors
Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Syd Chaplin, Loyal Underwood, Henry Bergman, Tom Wilson, Albert Austin, Jack Wilson, W.J. Allen, L.A. Blaisdell
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Roland Totheroh
Composer
Artist
Charles D. Hall
Audition

Short description

An American doughboy, stationed in France during the Great War, goes on a daring mission behind enemy lines and becomes a hero.

What's left behind the scenes

  • The German soldiers in the film wear Prussian 'Pickelhaube' helmets, model of 1842, although in 1916 the German army began transitioning to the M16 steel helmet, model of 1916.
  • "Shoulder Arms" is Chaplin's second silent film made for First National Pictures.
  • The film was shot during World War I.
  • The helmets of the American soldiers in the film are styled after the Tramp's bowler hat. At the time, the US Army was equipped with M1917 helmets – model of 1917. They were almost completely identical to the British MkI helmet.
  • The German patrol in the film is armed with a Lewis light machine gun, adopted by the US Army in 1917.
  • Production of the film began on May 27, 1918, and ended on September 16, 1918.
  • Charlie Chaplin's older brother, Sydney Chaplin, played the roles of the Kaiser and the American sergeant.
  • Chaplin planned to film in five parts. The beginning was to depict "home life", the middle — "war", and the end — a "banquet" at which all the monarchs of Europe honored the Tramp for capturing the Kaiser. The "home life" section was filmed, and filming of the "banquet" began, but it was not included in the film.

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