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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 850

The Bank

191533 minUnited States

Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs: 24:55
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Charlie Chaplin · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Synopsis

A bank janitor mistakes a secretary's affectionate gift to another Charles for a declaration intended for him. His own gesture meets a very different response. Humiliated, he imagines a bank robbery in which bravery might reverse his position, allowing him to become both the institution's rescuer and the man the secretary finally notices.

Cast

Charles Chaplin

Charles Inslee

Carl Stockdale

Edna Purviance

Leo White

DirectorsCharles Chaplin

Historical context

The film contrasts the janitor's imagined importance with the work and treatment assigned to him. A romantic misunderstanding becomes the starting point for a rescue fantasy whose outcome depends on the boundary between dreams and waking life.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Charles Chaplin — Strauss-Peyton Studio, 1921; published in Photoplay no. 3 (1922); National Portrait Gallery / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
Charles Inslee — free-classic-movies.com; free-classic-movies.com · Public domain
Carl Stockdale — Siegel-Cooper Publishers; Book Notes , edited by Mason C. Peters, 1901 pg. 566 · Public domain
Edna Purviance — Unknown photographer, 1923; J. Willis Sayre Collection of Theatrical Photographs, University of Washington Libraries, SAYRE 8372 / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
Leo White — Witzel; Photoplay Magazine March, 1917; pg. 24 https://archive.org/stream/photoplayvolume11112chic#page/378/mode/2up · Public domain

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