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The Fireman

The Fireman

Comedy · 1916

Firefighter Charlie Chaplin is tricked into letting a house burn by an owner who wants to collect on the insurance.

Movie details

The Fireman

1916 Comedy 26m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

Firefighter Charlie Chaplin is tricked into letting a house burn by an owner who wants to collect on the insurance.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Fireman?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

How to Murder Your Wife

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Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.

The Horse's Mouth

The Horse's Mouth

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Gulley Jimson is a boorish aging artist recently released from prison. A swindler in search of his next art project, he hunkers down in the penthouse of would-be patrons the Beeders while they go on an extended vacation; he paints a mural on their wall, pawns their valuables and, along with the sculptor Abel, inadvertently smashes a large hole in their floor. Jimson's next project is an even larger wall in an abandoned church.

Who Is Cletis Tout?

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Action · 2001

With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.

68 Kill

68 Kill

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Chip's problem is that he can't say no to beautiful women. This weakness gets him into a world of trouble when he agrees to help his girlfriend steal $68,000.

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Cotton Comes to Harlem

Action · 1970

Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O'Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.

Shane Gillis: Beautiful Dogs

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Hard to Die

Hard to Die

Action · 1990

While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Charlie Chaplin

Written by

Vincent Bryan · Maverick Terrell · Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Fireman

Edna Purviance

Edna Purviance

Girl

Lloyd Bacon

Lloyd Bacon

Her Father

Eric Campbell

Eric Campbell

Foreman of the Brigade

Leo White

Leo White

Owner of Burning House

Charlotte Mineau

Charlotte Mineau

Mother

Albert Austin

Albert Austin

Fireman

Court is in session

Put The Fireman on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Popcorn Loyalist

“It owes the canon nothing.”

The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.

The prosecution The Big-Idea Head

“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”

It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.