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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 822

The Rink

191624 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

Synopsis

A waiter who creates disorder at work becomes remarkably agile when he reaches the roller rink. Helping a young woman avoid an unwanted admirer earns him an invitation to a skating party. The restaurant's quarrels follow him there, and his skill at staying upright becomes inseparable from his ability to send everyone else falling.

Cast

Charles Chaplin

Edna Purviance

Eric Campbell

Henry Bergman

Albert Austin

DirectorsCharles Chaplin

Behind the scenes

Chaplin's skating draws on experience from stage comedy with Fred Karno's troupe. The film gives that physical skill extended space, turning smooth movement and precisely timed falls into the basis of its escalating social confusion.

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)
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)
Eric Campbell — Unknown photographer, by 1917; The Moving Picture World (1918), p. 53; Internet Archive / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-US-expired)
Henry Bergman — Mutual Film Corp.; detail from http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/whi/fullRecord.asp?id=98107 · Public domain
Albert Austin — Nestor Film Studio (1915) Hal Roach Film Studio (1923) United Artists (1920); A Private Collection · Public domain

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