PARTNERS IN CRIME (1914)

[Gloria Rampage]

One of the most rowdiest comedies imaginable, and that's a good thing. From beginning to end it's an all out tumble down, knock-a-bout, slap , kick, pratfall-a-plenty, slapstick festival of mayhem.
There's not a likable character in it, not even Henry Bergman's girl friend, who publicly flirts with Billy, caressing herself, wiggling and strutting her stuff about. Comedians don't just run or skid into shot, they fly into shot crashing into other people like bowling pins. It's all done expertly, and extremely comical of course, but very hard hitting and broad. All for laughs.

At one point Billy and Bergman get together to break in and steal money from a house, "We can buy a saloon" a title card reads. That's motivation at it's best. The police chief's watch is stolen, switches hands and it all get's confusing and silly with plenty of chasing all over the place, up and down stairs, on porches where a huge washer tub of soapy water is dumped off on the pursuers.

One thing in particular I enjoyed is how the characters do silly dance like steps, anticipate back and hop off screen. Ritchie does some wild ones.

Only have seen one other L-KO comedy, LIVE WIRES AND LOVE SPARKS (1916) on the Slapstick Encyclopedia DVD collection, that's also very funny, craves my comedy appetite to see more but what I read there's very little L-KO comedies that survive. Would really like to see more Billy Ritchie comedies. They are so full of physical and he's suck a nasty guy.

What do the comedy experts out there think about PARTNERS IN CRIME? Any information, or thoughts will be appreciated.

[Richard M Roberts]

One of the most rowdiest comedies imaginable, and that's a good thing. From beginning to end it's an all out tumble down, knock-a-bout, slap , kick, pratfall-a-plenty, slapstick festival of mayhem.
There's not a likable character in it, not even the fat guys girl, who publicly flirts with Billy, caressing herself, wiggling and strutting her stuff about. Comedians don't just run or skid into shot, they fly into shot crashing into other people like bowling pins. It's all done expertly, and extremely comical of course, but very hard hitting and broad. All for laughs.

At one point Billy and Voss get together to break in and steal money from a house, "We can buy a saloon" a title card reads. That's motivation at it's best. The police chief's watch is stolen, switches hands and it all get's confusing and silly with plenty of chasing all over the place, up and down stairs, on porches where a huge washer tub of soapy water is dumped off on the pursuers.

One thing in particular I enjoyed is how the characters do silly dance like steps, anticipate back and hop off screen. Ritchie does some wild ones.

Only have seen one other L-KO comedy, LIVE WIRES AND LOVE SPARKS (1916) on the Slapstick Encyclopedia DVD collection, that's also very funny, craves my comedy appetite to see more but what I read there's very little L-KO comedies that survive. Would really like to see more Billy Ritchie comedies. They are so full of physical and he's suck a nasty guy.

What do the comedy experts out there think about PARTNERS IN CRIME? Any information, or thoughts will be appreciated.

Henry Lehrman may have not been you're most likable person in the Universe, but the surviving L-KO's, Sunshines, and First Nationals he made are frequently wild, funny, and very, very black. We're running THE CHILD NEEDS A MOTHER (1916) this year at Slapsticon and it features Fatty Voss in drag as a rather scary infant girl from Hell.

One of the other gems is SILK HOSE AND HIGH PRESSURE (1915) which is Lehrman and Ritchie's own take on Fred Karno's MUMMING BIRDS, with Ritchie disrupting a night in the Music Hall with his own very anti-social takes. However, in among the nastiness, Lehrman as Director has some very wonderful stylistic touches of his own.

We have always ran at least one Lehrman comedy from some period in his career at every Slapsticon. One of the strangest and bizarre, but hilarious in a very dangerous way is one of his last First National shorts (and Billie Ritchies last film before his death), WET AND WARMER, in which Lehrman just sets fire to his Sanitarium set (you can actually see stagehands throwing more gasoline on the sets from off camera in one shot) and it looks like the comics are fending for themselves (the camera actually catches a fire funnel at one point). Ham and Bud are downright civilized next to Lehrman's comedies.

Ritchie may or may not have created the tramp costume before Chaplin (and some of his claims may indeed be genuine), but his characterization takes the nasty side Chaplin shows in the Keystones and Essanays and amps it up full throttle and it can indeed be very funny, especially if one does not have to care what happens to any of the characters.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

[JFK]

"Ritchie may or may not have created the tramp costume before Chaplin
(and some of his claims may indeed be genuine), but his characterization takes the nasty side
Chaplin shows in the Keystones and Essanays and amps it up full throttle and it can indeed be
very funny, especially if one does not have to care what happens to any of the characters."- RICHARD M ROBERTS

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Charlie Chaplin Billie Ritchie First Ever Tramp Suit c1910

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This is the original tramp suit that Charlie Chaplin first wore in the part of "The Little Tramp". It was lent to him by Billie Ritchie whilst they were performing in "The Mumming Birds" for the Alfred Karno Company. Chaplin was supposed to be playing the part of the gentleman cad and Ritchie the tramp, but due to this not working for Chaplin, Ritchie offered to exchange roles. The shoes were too large, so Chaplin put them on opposing feet and Charlie Chaplin's iconic creation was born. Chaplin returned the suit after the performances, but reprised the character on film in "The Kid Auto Races", where his Tramp became famous. Ritchie, who had originated the "drunk" role was galled that the directors asked him to make his characters more Chaplin-esque, and whilst Chaplin was very determined to protect the copyright of his character, he would often get involved in litigation with other film companies, was always benign towards his erstwhile mentor. Period illustrations show Ritchie wearing the suit or parts of it, but we have not been able to find any photographic evidence showing Chaplin with it on. We have, however, been contacted by Billie Ritchie's descendants, who confirm the story as true. Ritchie was to die in a filming accident involving an ostrich in 1921. Chaplin hired his widow, Winifred, to be in charge of and design his costumes (most famously, for the Great Dictator). When Winifred retired, she came back to Britain with the suit that was placed in the museum of Harry Brown, a stage doorman of many London Theaters between 1930-60. The outfit and cane were believed to have been given to Harry Brown after Billie Ritchie's family read an article pertaining to the collection of memorabilia owned by Harry Brown in their local paper. The cane was later signed by Charlie Chaplin in 1952, during his Grand Tour, at the Odeon Leicester Square where he met Brown. When Harry Brown died the suit was exhibited at the Museum of Moving Images, London, Museum of Entertainment, Truro, Cornwall and at Exeter University, Devon. Unfortunately the corn flower blue overcoat and trunk was lost in one of the moves. The items came up, remarkably, in Plymouth (at the Plymouth Auction Rooms, 18/5/2005) as three lots, namely the suit, the signed cane and a collection of walking sticks from the museum that included Charlie Chaplin, Billie Ritchie, Winston Churchill and other notables. The signed cane was sold to a collector in Texas, USA. We were able to buy the suit and the collection of canes and have re-united a Charlie Chaplin cane with the suit. The book "Chaplin: His Life and Art" (Collins, 1985 by David Robinson) which covers the Charlie Chaplin/Billie Ritchie suit saga is also included, as well as newspaper cuttings, a Bonhams catalogue 1996 where the suit was previously sold and the relevant newspaper cuttings from 2005 when we bought the suit. A chance to own a significant part of Chaplin, Ritchie and film history.
Open to sensible offers

[Gloria Rampage]

One of these days hope to see more Lehrman's comedies. Right, the nastiness of the characters is what makes it all the more funnier.

[Pathe Lehrman]

The big guy in PARTNERS IN CRIME is Henry Bergman, not Fatty Voss. Before he hooked up with Chaplin, Bergman co-starred in at least twenty-three films for L-Ko that I've been able to identify, from the first release in October 1914 through November 1915. Fatty Voss, who Bergman is frequently misidentified as, didn't start with L-Ko until early 1915, his first release I know of in May of that year.

Tom Reeder

[Gloria Rampage]

Yes. I thought it looked like Bergman, body motions are obvious. After doing a bit of research on the film cast before posting Voss's name always came up. These are are wrong as you state in your post.

It looks like Bergman is wearing a putty nose, hard to make out on the print I have.

[Pathe Lehrman]

Coincidentally, I just happened to watch this same film last week. What always impresses me about the Lehrman-directed films of this era is his use of extreme closeups. In this particular film we have Bergman and Ritchie slowly approaching each other for a fight, cutting back and forth as each moves diagonally towards the camera, eventually filling the screen with their scowling faces (I wish I were a lip-reader so that I could figure out what Ritchie's saying here, 'cause it sure looks nasty!). In SIN ON THE SABBATH we have Ritchie enjoing a hookah in a shot so close you can actually see his capped front tooth, and earlier on during the intro of family members Louise Orth, Alice Howell, and Gene Rogers. SILK HOSE AND HIGH PRESSURE has its share as well, with Orth and Ritchie getting the bulk of them. And SERGEANT HOFMEYER, which Lehrman directed eralier in 1914 for Sterling, has some adorable close ups of Paul Jacobs, mugging shamelessly for the camera. It's a much welcome change from the comedies of so many other directors where you never see any good closeups of the participants.

As for staging, Lehrman's films are visually more interesting as well, frequently dispensing with the stage-bound left-to-right/right-to-left movements for diagonal movements that shift the perspective and keep the eye riveted to the screen.

And it sure doesn't hurt that his films are so outrageously funny.

Tom Reeder

[Gloria Rampage]

Camera work is quite impressive on the two I have seen. Comedians walking towards the camera and stopping on extreme close-ups is quite effective and adds to the mischievousness nature of the comedians.
Early Keystones also use this technique, BARNEY OLDFIELDS RACE FRO A LIFE and Arbuckles THE KNOCK-OUT come to mind. Lehrman uses it a lot more it seems. You've seen many more Lehrman comedies than I have, except for his Keystone comedies.
Gotta love rowdy slapstick.