Is it just me....

Heroin use. Wife beating. Knocking out an opponent by gassing him into submission. Sounds like a comedy to me!

I must have missed the rape.

Silent films, and early sound films, were a lot less censored than the later sound films. In some ways, they're less censored than today's films. Can you imagine any of these things going over today?


... Justin

Just to reinforce what the previous poster have pointed out: Many silent films were way more critical, mature, realistic, sexys and poignant than the films shot after the "Code" began to be strictly enforced in 1934.

So it's not strange to see in such an old film the use of a substance like the heroine, of course shown in a comical way. It would be much more strange to see that in a film from the 40's or 50's, even the 60's.

It is true , amazing that they were not censored by those times.. though, none of the situations you mention are too explicit...

well, maybe the wife beating is.... haha but the gassing thing is fun

I think it was cocaine that was being shot up since it made Charlie more energetic. Heroin would have made him drowsy.