Plot Synopsis (continued)
The Mansion:
Arm in arm, the millionaire escorted his new-found friend
from the harbor, under the watchful eye of a policeman. They returned
to his elegant mansion, where the millionaire asked his snooty Butler
(Allan Garcia) named James: "Any news?" The millionaire was told that
his wife had sent for her baggage following their divorce or separation.
In disgust, he hurled his wife's photograph from the top of the liquor
cabinet before offering his new buddy the Tramp
a few strong toasts to their "friendship", although most of
the contents of two bottles of alcohol ended up down the front of the
Tramp's pants. The Tramp realized that the Butler detested him for attempting
to sit on the sofa. The Tramp also began to feel the effects of the alcohol
and stumbled over to a piano to play, fell forward and hit his head on
the keyboard.
As they sat in the living room, the millionaire became
depressed about his marital situation after being reminded by the Butler's
news, and again attempted suicide by reaching for a revolver in a cabinet
drawer. The Tramp grabbed his arm and prevented a second suicidal attempt
on his life. The millionaire brightened up, shouted out: "I'll live,"
hugged the Tramp, and suggested that they go out to a night club together: "James
- the Rolls Royce. We'll burn up the town!" They
dressed to go out on the town to celebrate.
Out on the Town:
The two well-dressed drunken gentlemen, with identical
formal clothes, top hats, tails and canes, entered a crowded dinner and
dance nightclub together. The Tramp slipped on the highly-polished
dance floor as they were led to a table. A cigarette lady sold them cigars
to smoke - followed by the Tramp's misbehaviors that caused a series
of unfortunate incidents. He
set fire to a lady's dress who sat down on his discarded cigar butt,
after which she was squirted with seltzer water to put the fire out.
In a hilarious spaghetti-confetti sequence, he confused
the strands of spaghetti on his plate with the strings of streamers which
came floating down from the ceiling. He found himself helplessly sucking
upward on an endless strand of noodle.
A brief floor show - a choreographed
"Apache dance" - was conducted by two dancers for the seated audience.
[Note: The highly-dramatic, non-PC "Apache dance"
was a choreographed performance that was very popular in Paris during
the 1920s Jazz Age. It was originally created by underground Parisian
street gangs, and was dubbed La Danse Apache to signify its
savage and ferocious nature - an unfortunate stereotype derived from
a tribe of Native-American Indians.]
The dance deliberately portrayed the abuse of a prostitute
by her male pimp (acted out but entirely realistic), who pursued her
as she hid her money in her garter. He slapped her face and then strangled
her. As he violently pulled at her hair and shook her head, she struggled
and fought back by grabbing his face. He took three steps forward and
three steps backward as he pounded her into the floor. Then he lifted
her up and tossed her clear across the floor. The
drunken Tramp, who thought the theatrical dance was real, attempted to
interrupt and save the female dancer when he assumed that she was being
abused by her brutish male partner. He was restrained and calmed down.
Soon after, the rhythmic beat of the dance music also possessed
the Tramp. First, he passionately and wildly whirled an unsuspecting
woman around on the dance floor - the same woman whose dress he had set
on fire earlier. And then he grabbed a waiter with a food tray held precariously
high above his head as his partner. Exhausted by the energy he had expended,
he fell stiffly backward, collapsing into the arms of the millionaire.
Early Morning - Homeward Bound:
After their long night at the dance-dinner club,
as the early dawn light illuminated the empty streets, the two fast friends
recklessly zig-zagged home in the millionaire's Rolls-Royce, driven by
the millionaire. They crossed over sidewalks, and narrowly avoided
other cars. The Tramp reprimanded his companion for his dangerous
driving: "Be careful how you're driving," but received a reproach: "Am
I driving?"
Come In, Get Out, Come In:
They arrived
back at the mansion, where the Tramp gave his opinion of the Rolls-Royce:
"I like your car." To his surprise, he was offered the luxury vehicle: "Then
keep it, it's yours." The butler refused entry to the Tramp and
pushed him out onto the front steps. The Flower Girl happened to be passing
by. At his millionaire friend's orders ("Let him in, he's my guest!"),
the butler fetched the Tramp and allowed him in the front door. The
Tramp suggested buying flowers, and was lent a wad of bills by the millionaire.
The Tramp ran after the Flower Girl who was further down
on the sidewalk and - with the real millionaire's money - bought up her
whole basket of stock for ten dollars consisting of two large bouquets.
He gave her two paper bills: "Here's
ten dollars." When she replied: "I haven't any change, sir," he refused the
change and then thrust a third bill into her hands. He escorted her, arm
in arm, down the sidewalk to the mansion entrance. where the disapproving
butler was standing. He ordered James to take the bouquets inside, and
then drove her away in the rich man's car - he literally
became the kind and wealthy person she imagined with the money and automobile
in his possession.
As they pulled up in front of her home, a cat was
seen sitting on a high windowsill. As he led her to her stairway
and kissed her hand, she thanked him for his many kindnesses and he asked: "May
I see you home again?" The blind girl responded: "Whenever you wish, sir." Once again,
she was infatuated by his attention to her, now mistakenly convinced
that he was a real millionaire. He was content to let her believe that
he was very rich. As he smelled the boutonniere, the cat from above
knocked a flowerpot on his head, but he was so love-struck that he
shrugged off any hurt.
Yearning for her, he climbed up and stood on a large, tipsy
rain barrel to get another glimpse of her after seeing her appear in
her second floor window. The blind girl's fat downstairs neighbor (Henry
Bergman) caught him peeping and startled him. The barrel toppled over
and water flooded down onto the neighbor as the Tramp scampered away
to the nearby parked Rolls and drove off.
This Time, Stay Out:
The next title card described the schizophrenic nature
of the Tramp's friendship with the millionaire:
"The sober dawn awakens
a different man."
The Tramp returned
to the millionaire's mansion in the Rolls, but the eccentric millionaire
by now had sobered up, and couldn't remember anything at all of what
had happened. He had to be drunk to recognize the Little Tramp,
and treat him in a friendly and supportive manner.
After the Tramp rang the doorbell - with the push of
his cane's tip, the millionaire instructed his butler to pretend
that no one was home: "I'm out to everybody!" The
front door was slammed on the Tramp, and he was pushed out by the
butler. The millionaire instructed his butler again: "Whoever he
is, get rid of him!" The butler forcibly tossed the Tramp out - and
he had no choice but to depart with confusion, sadness and disappointment.
Immediately destitute, the Tramp trailed a gentleman
(W.C. Robinson) down the street in the borrowed luxury Rolls for his
discarded cigar butt. He lept from the fancy vehicle to elbow an astonished
bum (John Rand) away from the discarded item. When he returned the
vehicle back to the front of the mansion, the sobered-up millionaire
was icy and cold and wanted nothing to
do with the Tramp, and curtly drove off in the car.
Daydreams:
With her grandmother, the
Blind Flower Girl mused and daydreamed about her 'millionaire'
friend, and told her grandmother about her marvelous experience: "...and then he brought me
home in his car." Her grandmother thought: "He must
be wealthy," and the Girl replied: "Yes,
but he's more than that."
That Afternoon, and The Party:
The Tramp again met
the drunken millionaire on one of the city's sidewalks outside
the nightclub entrance, who now welcomed
his "friend" again with open arms, hugs, and a hearty handshake -
and even a full-on kiss. He promised to arrange a "swell
party" in his friend's honor. The Tramp insisted on driving
to the mansion, to avoid another near-accident. During the Party,
with chaotic dancing, smoking, drinking and dining, the tipsy Tramp mistook
a bald man's (Buster Brodie) head for fancy ice cream or a cream pudding. When he was offered
real pudding, he dismissed it. And then he swallowed a whistle, a
party favor. With an attack of hiccups, he whistled with each spasm.
After he stepped outside to avoid distracting the other guests and sat on a garden bench, he
first hailed a taxi, and then was surrounded by a wild assortment
of dogs.
The Morning After:
Morning brought an
unpleasant awakening. The Tramp found himself sharing a warm double
bed with the millionaire, who woke up sober and didn't recognize
him at all. Once again, the millionaire ruthlessly ordered his
butler to throw the Tramp out of the
mansion. The millionaire was planning an ocean voyage on a Cunard Line cruise ship to Europe,
leaving at noon. Just before he was tossed out the front door,
on his way out, the Tramp neatly stole a banana from a fruit bowl in
the living room. As he strolled away unperturbed, he pulled the banana
from his back pocket and non-chalantly peeled
the purloined banana and took a bite.
Disillusioned again, the Tramp tried
to find the Blind Girl at her familiar street corner sidewalk location, but
she was not there. Looking through her home's window, he learned
that she was sick in bed - attended by a doctor (T.S. Alexander) and her
grandmother. The doctor advised: "She has a fever and
needs careful attention." The Tramp sat dejectedly on the stairs where he had earlier
been hit with a falling flowerpot, to stand watch.
Determined to Help the Girl, The Tramp Found Work:
The Tramp found
his true purpose in life and was determined to pay for a doctor and
become her benefactor. He took a job as a street cleaner -
a white-uniformed sanitary engineer (with a white hard hat),
with a shovel and a trash barrel on a wheeled cart. Shuffling along
on the street, he saw the natural remains
of a horse-drawn cart - and shoveled up the small amount of manure.
Then after walking toward a nearby intersection, he watched with amazed
fright as a long procession of mules crossed in front of him. He turned
away to avoid cleaning up after them, but then did a double-take
when he went in the opposite direction and an elephant ambled down the street, part of a circus animal
procession.
The grandmother shielded the ailing Girl from
bad news after receiving a Final Notice of $22 rent due (by the next day's morning). They faced eviction
from the dispossessing landlord who had signed the notice: M. B.
Mint. The blind girl was hopeful: "Grandma, he's coming today!"
But then she sensed her grandmother's trembling fear and asked:
"Grandma, what's wrong?" She also added: "Grandma,
I wish you'd meet him; you're never here when he calls."
At Lunch Time:
During his mid-day work break, while washing his
hands next to a fellow laborer who was preparing a cheese sandwich, the Tramp
accidentally swapped his bar of soap
for a wedge of cheese, and then incriminated himself when he asked:
"Have you seen the soap?" After eating the 'soap sandwich,'
bubbles floated from the worker's mouth as he cursed the Tramp,
who had changed out of his uniform. He was
warned by the foreman (James Donnelly) about being back on time for his job.
Playing the Gentleman:
The Tramp realized that "to play the part of a
gentleman without the millionaire was difficult, but he did his best." He
took food to the girl at her home, delighted at being able to play the
role of a wealthy breadwinner. The blind girl's Grandmother was not at
home (she was out on the street corner selling flowers) when
he called. The Tramp emptied the largesse from a paper bag - some fruit, a head
of cauliflower (that looked like a giant boutonniere), and a plucked
duck. The Tramp read to her from the newspaper about a Viennese eye specialist-surgeon
in town, Dr. Gustav von Bier, who could cure her blindness. "Wonderful,
then I'll be able to see you," she said, giving him some hesitation
and cause for alarm. The gift of sight that he wished to give her
might also cause her to realize his faked identity.
She asked him to hold the skein of
yarn she was raveling up, and he joyfully helped her, but soon
became increasingly concerned when he realized
that she had somehow caught a loose thread from beneath his vest,
and was slowly unraveling his long underwear. As he continued to
talk to her, he squirmed and writhed as the threads from his underclothes
slithered against his skin and he was slowly stripped of his undergarments.
He shifted from side to side so that the unraveling wouldn't catch
somewhere. Then, he feverishly pulled the thread out to feed it into
her hands until there was nothing left. He hid the original skein of yarn,
and then played a record on the Victrola.
He happened to discover the Final Notice about
overdue rent when he opened a book, and she insisted that he
read it outloud. She was immediately upset and began crying,
but the Tramp confidently promised her: "Now don't
worry. I'll pay it the first thing in the morning." He returned
to his street-sweeping job, but lost it for being Late once too
often. His employer fired him: "You're late for the last time! Get out!"
As
the Tramp walked away, he passed the Boxers Entrance (in a side alleyway)
to a boxing arena (where prize-fights were held), as a boxer enticingly asked:
"Do you want to make some easy money?" Desperate to help the Blind Girl,
to keep up pretenses of being rich, and to earn money to pay her overdue rent,
the Tramp decided to inquire further about the man's suggestion.
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