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Discovered film prints

Project: MAPPING ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS OF CHAPLIN’S SHOULDER ARMS (MASh)

Our aim was to locate and describe all existing film prints of Charlie Chaplin’s SHOULDER ARMS (U.S. 1918) in the world within 18 months.

Inspired by sensational discoveries of several historical film prints of Charlie Chaplin’s wartime comedy SHOULDER ARMS (U.S. 1918) in Switzerland, the Swiss film archive and FIAF member Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern launched the project MAPPING ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS OF CHAPLIN’S SHOULDER ARMS (MASh) in spring 2021. The collaborative project aimed to locate, identify, and describe all historical prints of SHOULDER ARMS preserved in archives and collections worldwide. There are several versions of the film due to four different camera negatives produced in 1918 (A, B, C, and D negatives). The project focused on prints made before the 1959 CHAPLIN REVUE release of the film. Archives and collectors were encouraged to report their prints/elements by October 2022 (additional contributions are still possible).

Project MASh conducted basic and background research, ensured uniform reporting by the holding institutions, collected and checked the reported information, and continually published the results on this webpage.

After a project duration of 18 months, hundreds of emails, contact with dozens of film archives and private collectors from Cuba to Serbia to Japan (with most feedback coming from North America and Europe), a plethora of film inspections, and a few digitizations by the holding istitutions, we present here, for the first time, detailed information on 50+ historical prints of SHOULDER ARMS. In collaboration with the holding institutions, we unearthed great nitrate prints of multiple releases and versions of the film. Previously, most of these prints were only known to a very small circle of archivists or collectors. And it was not known that these prints are based on four different camera negatives produced over a hundred years ago by one of the major movie stars of the twentieth century.
Project MASh was likely able to locate and identify most of the surviving prints related to the pre-1959 theatrical releases. However, it is of course possible that more prints are waiting to be discovered.
The collected information on archival holdings of Charlie Chaplin’s SHOULDER ARMS will enable and facilitate future research on a wide array of national and international topics, as well as restoration projects. Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern does not intend to undertake a restoration project for this title.

Camera Negatives, Releases, and Versions of Charlie Chaplin’s SHOULDER ARMS (1918)

First published online in April 2021; printed in Early Popular Visual Culture, 19/1, in December 2021; updated in October 2022

SHOULDER ARMS is a remarkable movie, in which Charlie Chaplin grapples with the First World War. The slapstick comedy about a clumsy American infantryman is bursting with witty ideas, yet despite the cheerful mood, the film grimly brings to life the horrors of trench warfare while also giving an idea of what the Great War may have meant for the civilian population. The roughly 40-minute film was Chaplin’s second long production for First National. Premiered on October 20, 1918, before peace was concluded, SHOULDER ARMS would become one of the greatest successes of Chaplin’s career.1

From 1918 onwards, Chaplin shot his silent films with two (or more) cameras and produced several camera negatives per film. This approach allowed the world star to have hundreds of positive prints made for international distribution within a short time, without any loss of quality due to intermediate negatives. In addition, it provided a backup in case of loss of a negative. This has been known in the research community for some time.2

However, we can only trace the production and distribution processes in detail for the first time here thanks to recent research efforts and discoveries: namely, the digitizing, archival indexing, and online publication of Chaplin’s private and business archives – comprising tens of thousands of documents – in 2019,3 as well as the unearthing of additional source materials (including diplomatic documents from Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and Swiss censorship files) and several different prints and versions of Chaplin’s wartime comedy. Encouraged by the spectacular finds of these historical prints, I will describe the different camera negatives of SHOULDER ARMS and trace their uses for various releases and versions of the film. Since this is going to be pretty complicated, an illustrated table at the end summarizes the most important findings. These basic research results, first published in April 2021, laid the foundation for project MASh.

Releases and distributors

Chaplin’s business records show that SHOULDER ARMS was domestically distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Associated First National Pictures for five years beginning in December 1918. The international first-run rights were secured by William Vogel Productions in New York (from First National), also for a period of five years per country, and they were ceded to sub-concessionaires (for example, in France to Pathé). When they expired in the countries that were most essential to the film industry, Pathé Exchange acquired SHOULDER ARMS for a domestic and international re-issue from 1925 to 1930, according to contractual documents. However, the Pathé Exchange release seems to have been postponed and instead lasted from early 1927 to early 1932.4

Because SHOULDER ARMS portrays German military personnel and the German Kaiser as nasty war criminals and complete morons, the film was shown only in shortened versions or banned altogether in several countries. Local censors often acted under pressure from German diplomats.5

After Pathé’s exploitation rights expired in 1932, screenings of SHOULDER ARMS constituted copyright infringement virtually everywhere. Chaplin’s lawyers did everything they could to prevent screenings and to get hold of illegal 16 mm and 35 mm distribution prints. Chaplin refused requests for distribution and screening rights to SHOULDER ARMS and other films on business grounds, even from non-commercial applicants. Only once does he seem to have made an exception: In the middle of World War II, he allowed the U.S. Army to use SHOULDER ARMS for troop entertainment.6

It was not until 1959 that SHOULDER ARMS was regularly screened again, after Chaplin re-released the film along with A DOG’S LIFE and THE PILGRIM as part of THE CHAPLIN REVUE. This 1959 version set to music is considered the official version of the wartime comedy to this day.7

Camera negatives and montage logic

Inventory lists, correspondence, and other documents in Chaplin’s business files suggest that he produced four camera negatives in 1918 for SHOULDER ARMS (and likewise for many other silent films).8 The so-called A, B, C, and D negatives were created by shooting with two cameras. Accordingly, photos from the film shoot show two cameras positioned directly next to each other.9 In addition, several takes were recorded per shot. The alternate takes vary perceptibly because Chaplin improvised a lot while shooting his silent films, often repeating a scene many times with the cameras rolling.10

As Chaplin was quite a perfectionist, there was plenty of exposed and developed footage to assemble the four original negatives of SHOULDER ARMS. The prints that still exist today, which go back to different negatives, show that Chaplin followed a certain logic when editing the four negatives. Except for a few individual shots, Chaplin applied his montage logic quite systematically: For the A negative, he mostly used footage of the best take/performance from the centrally positioned a-camera; for the B negative, footage of the same take/performance from the b-camera, shifted slightly to the left; for the C negative, footage of the second-best take/performance from the a-camera; and for the D negative, footage of the second-best take/performance from the b-camera.11

Although the camera angles and the framing would differ significantly, and the various takes captured different performances, the four negatives were very similar overall, as their editing was virtually identical, again with the exception of a few minor variations.12 The most significant editing differences between the surviving prints are not due to the negatives but to subsequent local censorship and image loss owing to mechanical damage and deterioration over time.

The A negative13 was used for the first release by First National (1918–1923) and the re-release by Pathé (1927–1932) to create distribution prints for the domestic market (U.S. and Canada). The A negative came into the possession of First National in 1918, was transferred directly from First National to Pathé in Bound Brook, NJ, in 1925 or 1927, and returned to Chaplin in 1932. Incidentally, this rules out a reworking of the film by Chaplin for the Pathé re-release (as has sometimes been suspected, see below). For the Pathé re-release, the film was merely given a slightly modified main title (with Chaplin’s signature) and redesigned intertitles (with identical wording).14

The B negative went to Vogel Productions in 1918 (possibly via First National) for the international first release. This negative remained with Vogel, and Chaplin was unable to recover it due to an unfortunate wording in the contract, which gave Vogel the right to exploit SHOULDER ARMS in every foreign country for a lease of five years. In other words, as long as this had not yet happened, let’s say, in Finland too, Vogel was not obliged to return the negative.15

With the B negative unavailable, Pathé also received the backup C negative16 (in addition to the A negative)  in 1925 or 1927 for its worldwide re-release. Pathé needed this negative to produce distribution prints in Paris for the international market. The C negative returned to Hollywood in 1932 as well and sank into the depths of Chaplin’s studio archive on North La Brea Avenue.17

In the early 1940s, the A negative was already in poor condition due to intensive use and chemical deterioration. Therefore, in 1943, the 16 mm prints for the U.S. Army were probably made from the C negative, which had surprisingly resurfaced after a lengthy search in the archive.18

Mysterious revision

Also during the war, Chaplin’s longtime cinematographer Rollie Totheroh worked on the negatives of SHOULDER ARMS and other films, which were then labeled “A negative revised” in the inventories.19 Chaplin wanted high-quality, technically flawless new negatives of all his First National films for future re-releases. In a 1959 affidavit, Totheroh explained his revision process:

“The negative ‘A’ of a photoplay is the negative made up of the photographic takes of each scene that have been selected for use in making the release prints of the photoplay. The negative ‘B’ and ‘C’ of the same photoplay are made up of other photographic takes of the same scenes and are preserved for protection; that is, for use in case anything happens to the negative ‘A’. I proceeded to inspect the negative ‘A’ of each of the [First National] photoplays and found several scenes in nearly all of them that were in bad condition from shrinkage and deterioration of the film. I also inspected the ‘B’ and ‘C’ negatives that were in better condition […]. I cut out the deteriorated scene from the ‘A’ negative and substituted for it the corresponding scene from the ‘B’ or ‘C’ negative […].”20

Here, Chaplin’s former employee describes in retrospect how he worked on the A, B, and C negatives. Because the actual B negative of SHOULDER ARMS was used for the international first release and, as mentioned, never returned into Chaplin’s custody, Totheroth may in fact have been referring to the A negative and the backup C and D negatives.21

There is another problem with the Totheroh affidavit: At least with respect to SHOULDER ARMS, it is also simply not true. To all appearances, Totheroh did not replace parts of the A negative with parts of the C and D negatives. Rather, he declared the existing D negative, which must have been mostly in great condition and into which he inserted just a few snippets of the C negative,22 to be the new revised negative. This is evident from the prints of SHOULDER ARMS discovered to date in archives and private collections. Based on visual cross-comparisons and dozens of individual clues (for example, the edge marks of film stock, distribution company credits, and the distribution history of prints), I was able to assign the historical prints to the A, B, or C negatives with a high degree of probability.23 It was most likely Chaplin’s copyright considerations that gave rise to the misleading affidavit.24

Eventually, a duplicate copy of the negative revised by Totheroh was used in 1959 for the official release of SHOULDER ARMS as part of THE CHAPLIN REVUE, with some scenes slowed down by stretch printing (since the general projection speed of films after the introduction of talkies was much higher than in the silent era). An introduction and musical accompaniment were also added to the film. All official later releases, such as those for the home cinema market, are essentially based on the Totheroh/REVUE version.25 The revised negative itself, however, had already become unusable by the mid-1950s due to advanced decomposition.26

Conclusion

Some Chaplin scholars and aficionados have claimed that both the Pathé version from 1927 (which circulates in these communities on bootlegged 16 mm prints and DVDs) and the REVUE version were reedited by Chaplin due to second thoughts he might have had about the movie and that they thus differ considerably from the original 1918 first release version.27 These speculations about an artistically outstanding first release version belong to the realm of legend. Based on my research, it seems safe to assume that, firstly, the editing was identical for all negatives (apart from minimal deviations). Second, the circulating domestic Pathé version is identical (except for altered titles) to the original First National first release version (of which a 35 mm print is kept by the Danish Film Institute, though it is hardly accessible).28 Third, Totheroh’s revision of the negative in the 1940s was aimed at producing a negative as technically immaculate as possible, which left no room for artistically motivated changes. And fourth, SHOULDER ARMS was not significantly altered for the REVUE version (aside from stretch printing, scoring, and a few omissions, which were added again later).

It is obvious, however, that most of the shots in the REVUE version (which came primarily from the D negative) are not the “first choice”, otherwise they would have been used for the A and B negatives in 1918. For example, in the scene when the American soldiers at the front receive packages from home, Charlie joyfully dances around the soldier bringing the packages (only to learn that there is nothing for him) in the A and B versions. The C and D versions, by contrast, include a take without the charming dance. In a subsequent scene that is one of the emotional highlights of the film, dejected Charlie reads another soldier’s mail by peeking over his shoulder. Arguably, Chaplin’s performance here is noticeably better and more nuanced in the A and B negatives. And most importantly, the camera angles, and thus the framing of some shots, are clearly subprime in the B and REVUE versions: In both, the trench scene where shell explosions make the helmet on Charlie’s head bounce is shot sideways, disrupting the frontal and central perspective composition. Similarly, the shot of the panicked French woman is less powerful because it is not filmed frontally in the two versions. And in the same shot, the menacing German officer who initiates the woman’s rape is not visible at all due to the unfortunate camera position. Furthermore, in the REVUE version, several individual shots are less tightly framed, thus also keeping the little American soldier at an emotional distance (as with the close-up of Charlie in the tree costume or the cheering at the end).

It is remarkable: Some of the prints of SHOULDER ARMS surviving in archives and collections are, on the one hand, marked by the scars of drastic censorship that physically inscribed themselves in the prints in the form of cuts. On the other hand, these prints endow us with film-historically valuable and fascinating visual variants, with first-choice camera angles and takes.

If film footage somehow “immortalizes” the pictured people, as is often claimed, then their facial features, gestures, and movements captured on film often also seem inanimate and dull in their eternal immutability – dead as it were. Charlie Chaplin, by contrast, appears to us in multiple slight variations: It’s as if the four versions of SHOULDER ARMS offer us an intimate glimpse of him rehearsing. The repetitive yet changing shots come alive, bringing the film star, who died in 1977, to life, as it were.

Table: Camera Negatives and Releases

A negative B negative C negative D negative

used for:

First National domestic first release 1918–1923

Pathé domestic re-release 1927–1932

used for:

international first release beginning in 1918

used for:

Pathé international re-release 1927–1932

U.S. Army release beginning in 1944 (or D negative?)

used for:

negative revised by Rollie Totheroh in the mid-1940s (also containing some minor parts of C negative)

revised negative used for:

REVUE domestic and inter­national release beginning in 1959

later releases

consists predominantly of:

a-camera footage (center)

best takes/performances

consists predominantly of:

b-camera footage (left)

best takes/performances

consists predominantly of:

a-camera footage (center)

second-best takes/performances

consists predominantly of:

b-camera footage (left)

second-best takes/performances

1 A Kamin Shoulder Arms1 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms1 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms1 D Revue Shoulder Arms
2 A Kamin Shoulder Arms2 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms2 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms2 D Revue Shoulder Arms
3 A Kamin Shoulder Arms3 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms3 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms3 D Revue Shoulder Arms
4 A Kamin Shoulder Arms4 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms4 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms4 D Revue Shoulder Arms
5 A Kamin Shoulder Arms5 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms5 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms5 D Revue Shoulder Arms
6 A Kamin Shoulder Arms6 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms6 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms6 D Revue Shoulder Arms
7 A Kamin Shoulder Arms7 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms7 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms7 D Revue Shoulder Arms
8 A Kamin Shoulder Arms8 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms8 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms8 D Revue Shoulder Arms
9 A Kamin Shoulder Arms9 B Cinémathèque suisse Shoulder Arms9 C Lichtspiel 35mm Shoulder Arms9 D Revue Shoulder Arms

known prints (First National):

Danish Film Institute

known prints (Pathé domestic):

Dan Kamin (frame enlargements above)

known prints:

Cinémathèque suisse (frame enlargements above)

known prints (Pathé international):

Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern 35 mm (frame enlargements above)

Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern 16 mm

known prints (REVUE):

various (frame enlargements above)

Shoulder Arms © Roy Export S.A.S.

References

1 David Robinson, Chaplin: His Life and Art, London: Penguin, 2001, 254–257, 801f.; see also Libby Murphy, “Charlot français: Charlie Chaplin, The First World War, and the Construction of a National Hero”, in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, 14/4 (2010), 421–429.

2 Francis Bordat, “Les ‘deux’ versions de THE GOLD RUSH (LA RUÉE VERS L’OR)”, in 1895, 89/3 (2019), 80f.; Kevin Brownlow, The Search for Charlie Chaplin, London/Yorkshire/Amsterdam/Shizuoka: UKA Press, 2010, 37, 90; Fred Goodwins and Dan Kamin, Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, 85; Dan Kamin, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Lanham: Scarecrow, 2011, 177–179; David Robinson, Chaplin: His Life and Art, London: Penguin, 2001, 236; Hooman Mehran, “SHOULDER ARMS x 3: Three Wars, Three Editors, Three Versions”, presentation at the 2nd Kyoto Chaplin Conference, March 24, 2007.

3 Charlie Chaplin Archive, Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna, http://www.charliechaplinarchive.org.

4 Draft of agreement between First National Exhibitors Circuit and Charles Chaplin, March 1918, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00313894, CH139; Draft of agreement between Pathé Exchange and and Regent Film Company, September 1, 1925, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00313970, CH146; Synopsis of agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; “Eltinge Theatre”, in The Bismarck Tribune, February 23, 1927, 4; “Three Men”, in The New York Times, February 28, 1927, n.p.; Advertisement, in The Bioscope (London), September 15, 1927, n.p.; Advertisement, in Le Petite Journal (Paris), September 27, 1927, 4; Picture: SHOULDER ARMS, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions [List], December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; Affidavit of Alfred Reeves, June 15, 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006073, CH036; Letter from Lois Runser to Arthur Kelly, August 25, 1949, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00017984, CH17345; List of Charles Chaplin Pictures, [1952], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022547, CH15561; see also Advertisement, in Le film (Paris), 6/158 (March 23, 1919), n.p.; “Charlie Chaplin dans L’Arme à l’épaule”, in La Cinématographie Française, 2/13 (March 29, 1919), n.p., 1; “Pathé-Programme N° 20”, in La Cinématographie Française, 2/15 (April 12, 1919), 13–24.

5 Wolff., “Verbot eines deutschfeindlichen Films in der Türkei”, in Neue Zürcher Nachrichten, December 5, 1925, 1f.; Circular letter from Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, April 16, 1927, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2701; Letter from Polizeiinspektorat, Basel, to Polizei-Abteilung, Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, Bern, October 7, 1931, Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Basel, Straf und Polizei F 14.8b; Adrian Gerber, Zwischen Propaganda und Unterhaltung: Das Kino in der Schweiz zur Zeit des Ersten Weltkriegs, Marburg: Schüren, 2017, 384–389, 417–419; Adrian Gerber, “Charlie Chaplin, der Krieg und das Schweizer Schul- und Volkskino: Eine Recherche zu Produktion, Verleih und Aufführung in der Frühzeit des Kinos”, Bern: Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern, online publication, 2021; Paul Meier-Kern, Verbrecherschule oder Kulturfaktor?: Kino und Film in Basel 1896–1916, Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1993, 126–128; Matthias Uhlmann, Die Filmzensur im Kanton Zürich: Geschichte, Praxis, Entscheide, Zurich: Legissima, 2019, 84; see also Kai Nowak, Projektionen der Moral: Filmskandale in der Weimarer Republik, Göttingen 2015, 231–234; Thomas J. Saunders, “German Diplomacy and the War Film in the 1920s”, in Karel Dibbets and Bert Hogenkamp (eds.), Film and the First World War, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press 1995, 213–222. I would like to thank Matthias Uhlmann for providing the sources relating to Basel.

6 Letter from Alfred Reeves to Loyd Wright, March 14, 1935, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018879, CH179; Letter from Arthur Schwartz to Alfred Reeves, October 16, 1935, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018837, CH17887; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Schweizerische Arbeiterbildungszentrale, July 16, 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018864, CH17914; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Arthur Schwartz, October 27, 1939, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018629, CH17741; Letter from Frederick Osborn to Alfred Reeves, September 21, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019036, CH18057; Letter from Lois Runser to Arthur Kelly, August 25, 1949, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00017984, CH17345; Adrian Gerber, “Charlie Chaplin, der Krieg und das Schweizer Schul- und Volkskino: Eine Recherche zu Produktion, Verleih und Aufführung in der Frühzeit des Kinos”, Bern: Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern, online publication, 2021.

7 For SHOULDER ARMS releases for the modern home cinema market, see Hooman Mehran, “New DVD Releases of Chaplin Films”, in Frank Scheide and Hooman Mehran (eds.), Chaplin’s LIMELIGHT and the Music Hall Tradition, Jefferson: McFarland, 2006, 198–205.

8 Synopsis of agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, November 22, 1943, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019027, CH18048; Letter from Mark Geirrine to Alfred Reeves, December 14, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019021, CH18042; Inventory as of April 1, 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after April 1, 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573; Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, October 13, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797; Main Title SHOULDER ARMS, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315436, CH00525.

9 Charles Chaplin with tree costume on the set [Photos], [1918], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00031058, SA0025.

In the 1920s, Chaplin shot with up to four cameras simultaneously (Mountain set: Chaplin shooting on location [photos], [1923–1925], ECCI00024772, GR015; Back view of 4 cameras shooting crowd at circus entrance [photo], [1925–1927], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00026075, CIR019).

10 Kevin Brownlow, The Search for Charlie Chaplin, London/Yorkshire/Amsterdam/Shizuoka: UKA Press, 2010, 59, 75, 90, 92, 179, 182f., 187, 192; Dan Kamin, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Lanham: Scarecrow, 2011, 177–179; Fred Goodwins and Dan Kamin, Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, 85; David Robinson, Chaplin: His Life and Art, London: Penguin, 2001, 240, 254, 310f.

The 1983 documentary series UNKNOWN CHAPLIN by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill highlights Chaplin’s creative process and improvisations and presents alternative footage, mostly from earlier Chaplin movies. With regard to SHOULDER ARMS, the series does not show alternate takes of known scenes. However, it presents opening scenes (home life, physical examination) that were never released as part of the war comedy, which seems to have been planned as a longer movie originally.

11 Of course, there are some deviations from this editing logic. Technical problems with a take, poor image quality, or other reasons may have forced Chaplin to resort to third- and fourth-best takes during editing. For example, in the tracking shot showing Charlie’s arrival in the trenches, it was apparently not possible to work with two cameras simultaneously. Consequently, there are four different takes; in two of them, Charlie enters the frame from the left at the end of the trench, in the other two he walks along the trench to its end. Furthermore, the close-up of the mousetrap consists of different takes in all four negatives. And the letter scene is not the same take in the C and D negatives.

For the attribution of the known prints to the negatives, see note 23 below.

12 For example, after the intertitle “Put those feet in”, only the C negative has a medium shot of the drill sergeant and Charlie, as well as an intriguing close-up of Charlie’s marching feet.

13 The length of the A negative was 921 meters (3023 feet).

14 First National Release and Pathé Re-issue [film strips], [1918/1925], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315451, CH025; Synopsis of agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Picture: SHOULDER ARMS, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions [List], December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; Affidavit of Alfred Reeves, June 15, 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006073, CH036; List of Charles Chaplin Pictures, [1952], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022547, CH15561; see also Eugene Conte, Music Cue Shoulder arms, [1927], George Eastman Museum, Rochester, 1995.2324.0001; Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS, August 26, 1938, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315434, CH02548; Jürg Stenzl, Charlie Chaplin: Die Musik zu seinen Stummfilmen, München: Edition text + kritik 2020. 93–107.

15 Picture: SHOULDER ARMS, dates furnished by William Vogel Productions [List], December 1931, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315441, CH00530; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Arthur Schwartz, October 27, 1939, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018629, CH17741; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Loyd Wright, March 6, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006137, CH040; Letter from Lois Runser to Arthur Kelly, August 25, 1949, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00017984, CH17345; Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573; see also Jürg Stenzl, Charlie Chaplin: Die Musik zu seinen Stummfilmen, München: Edition text + kritik 2020. 55–58.

16 The length of the C negative was 787 meters (2581 feet). This negative contained only flash titles, which partly explains the shorter length.

17 Synopsis of agreement between Pathé Exchange and Charles Chaplin Film Corporation, [1925], incl. attachment [1932], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022548, CH15562; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, November 16, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019030, CH180; Inventory as of April 1, 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after April 1, 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, October 13, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797.

18 In mid-November 1943, Chaplin’s studio head Alfred Reeves commissioned Pathé Laboratories in Hollywood to examine and prepare the discovered C negative to make a duplicating lavender print for the U.S. Army. The situation here, however, is not clear-cut. In mid-December, a letter from Pathé mentions “revised C & D version negatives”, from which two lavender positives were struck. One of the lavenders went to the Army. Thus, on the one hand, it is possible that instead of the C negative, the D negative was used for the Army. On the other hand, there is the question of what exactly the revision of the C and D negatives was all about. Was it just a technical preparation of the negatives (for example, of the intertitles and of the reels), or was actual editing work done on the movie? I don’t think the latter was the case, because such extensive work would have had to be done by – or in close consultation with – Chaplin’s staff. There is no evidence in the business records of any such exchange or of any temporary return of the negatives from Pathé to Chaplin’s studio (Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, October 15, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019031, CH180; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, November 16, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019030, CH180; Letter from Alfred Reeves to Paul Lazarus, November 22, 1943, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019027, CH18048; Letter from Mark Geirrine to Alfred Reeves, December 14, 1943, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00019021, CH18042; Inventory as of April 1, 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after April 1, 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; Main Title SHOULDER ARMS, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315436, CH00525).

19 Inventory as of April 1, 1946 from list submitted by R. Totheroh, after April 1, 1946, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029291, CH23397; see also Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573.

In my opinion, it is unlikely that the technical revision of the C and D negatives for the Army release at the end of 1943 was the same revision that Totheroh subsequently undertook for SHOULDER ARMS and other Chaplin movies, and from which the “definitive negatives” of Chaplin’s First National films emerged. David Robinson, in contrast, believes that Totheroh first set about “revising and restoring a perfect new negative [of SHOULDER ARMS for the Army], using plentiful negative out-takes that had been stored”. When Chaplin saw this version in January 1944, he ordered Totheroh to produce new negatives for the other First Nationals during 1944. These new versions were then used for later re-issues (David Robinson, Chaplin: His Life and Art, London: Penguin, 2001, 564f.; see also Fred Goodwins and Dan Kamin, Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, 85; Dan Kamin, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Lanham: Scarecrow, 2011, 177–179; Post by David Shepard, October 3, 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin; Post by Jeffrey Vance, February 2, 2003, on alt.movies.silent).

20 Affidavit of Roland Totheroh, October 13, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00015139, CH10797.

21 Negatives on Charles Chaplin Pictures, January 1951, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00022559, CH15573.

22 It is theoretically possible that the revised negative also contains a few parts of the A negative. However, I have not noticed any such shots so far.

23 Since the attribution to the original negatives is based on only a handful of known prints, it is provisional in nature until project MASh is completed.

The print from the Danish Film Institute descends from A negative (First National domestic first release 1918–1923): Print has official main title (Chaplin signing his name); print has English-language intertitles with First National logo; print has Kodak 1918 edge marks; images (angles and takes) are (as far as is known) identical to the print from Dan Kamin (see arguments there).

The print from Dan Kamin descends from A negative (Pathé domestic re-release 1927–1932): Print does not have official main title; print has English-language intertitles without logo; print has a Pathé end title; action is identical to 1938 cutting continuity (Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS, August 26, 1938, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315434, CH02548); images (angles and takes) are identical to postcard (Charlie Chaplin Card, [1918], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00030902, SA0013); images with superior camera angles/perspectives (mostly center); superior takes/performances; images (angles and takes) are (as far as is known) identical to the print from the Danish Film Institute; takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in the print from Cinémathèque suisse.

The print from Cinémathèque suisse descends from B negative (used for the international first release beginning in 1918), with some minor parts from A negative: Print has French- and German-language intertitles with Etna-Film logo; print has Kodak 1920 edge marks; Geneva-based Woldemar Schultz, the western Swiss distribution partner of Etna-Film Co. A.-G. in Lucerne for the official Swiss Pathé re-release of SHOULDER ARMS starting in July 1927, was verifiably in possession of a print of the film in previous years (Letter from Deutsches Generalkonsulat, Zurich, to Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, April 23, 1927, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2701; see also Letter from Deutsches Konsulat, Geneva, to Deutsche Gesandtschaft, Bern, June 18, 1928, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2702; Letter from Etna-Film Co. A.-G., Lucerne, to Deutscher Hilfsverein, Lucerne, June 23, 1928, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2702); action is identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with inferior camera angles (mostly left); superior takes; takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in the prints from the Danish Film Institute and Dan Kamin; exceptions for some minor parts (not tinted): Images (angles and takes) are identical to prints from the Danish Film Institute and Dan Kamin; no images (angles and takes) are identical to REVUE version.

The prints from Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern (35 mm and 16 mm) descend from C negative (used for Pathé international re-release 1927–1932): Images (angles and takes) from the 35 mm and 16 mm Lichtspiel prints are identical; both prints descend from the same source (probably the dupe negative of an earlier distribution print); prints have French- and German-language intertitles without logo; 35 mm print has an end title with distribution company credit: Sauty Genève; 35 mm print has Kodak 1929/1930 edge marks; Uty-Films S.A. in Geneva (Charles-Émile Sauty) distributed the print under the title IM OSTEN WAS NEUES beginning in 1931 (shortly before the end of the official Pathé re-release) (Letter from Polizeiinspektorat, Basel, to Polizei-Abteilung, Eidgenössisches Justiz- und Polizeidepartement, Bern, September 16, 1931, Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Basel, Straf und Polizei F 14.8b; Letter from Walter Gould to Alfred Reeves, April 3, 1936, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00006045, CH031; Paul Meier-Kern, Verbrecherschule oder Kulturfaktor?: Kino und Film in Basel 1896–1916, Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1993, 128); one intertitle bears the wording “IM OSTEN WAS NEUES!”; action is not identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with superior camera angles (mostly center); takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in REVUE version; a few images (angles and takes) are identical to REVUE version (for example, some of the shots before the soldiers go over the top).

The REVUE version (REVUE domestic and international release beginning in 1959) descends from the revised negative containing mostly D negative and some minor parts of C negative: Action is not identical to cutting continuity from 1938; images with inferior camera angles (mostly left); takes (not angles) are mostly the same as in prints from Lichtspiel, a few images (angles and takes) are identical to prints from Lichtspiel; no images (angles and takes) are identical to print from Cinémathèque suisse.

My attribution also corresponds with Kevin Brownlow’s notion of “Chaplin’s total concentration on performance to the exclusion of all else”, such as camera setup (Kevin Brownlow, The Search for Charlie Chaplin, London/Yorkshire/Amsterdam/Shizuoka: UKA Press, 2010, 91f., 138, 189). For Chaplin it was only natural in 1918 to use the B negative with superior performances for the foreign release and the C negative with superior camera angles as a backup copy.

24 Although Chaplin must have known about Totheroh’s revision of SHOULDER ARMS and the other First Nationals toward the end of World War II, he does not seem to have been very involved in the revision process and apparently forgot about it later on (Dan Kamin, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin: Artistry in Motion, Lanham: Scarecrow, 2011, 177; Post by David Shepard, October 3, 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin; Post by Jeffrey Vance, February 2, 2003, on alt.movies.silent; Hooman Mehran, “SHOULDER ARMS x 3: Three Wars, Three Editors, Three Versions”, presentation at the 2nd Kyoto Chaplin Conference, March 24, 2007). When Chaplin fully realized in 1959 that the original negatives were no longer available, it was a shock to him, which led to a serious conflict with Totheroh. Rachel Ford, Chaplin’s business manager, noted in a later memo: “When Mr. Chaplin was working on THE CHAPLIN REVUE he noticed that the print he was using of A DOG’S LIFE was not made entirely from neg A – Terrific uproar.” The same applied to SHOULDER ARMS. Chaplin’s indignation and disappointment were probably not primarily due to artistic reasons but rather to copyright issues. The memo continues: “explanation was forthcoming from Totheroh who furnished affidavit (helpful repirating) as we could be accused of not having true negative” (THE CHAPLIN REVUE, [1974?], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020272, CH205).

In the years before and after the release of THE CHAPLIN REVUE, Chaplin was confronted with the fact that A DOG’S LIFE, THE GOLD RUSH, SHOULDER ARMS, and other films of his were distributed by feisty film freebooter Raymond Rohauer, among others, without Chaplin’s consent. The rogue distributors claimed to have different negative versions than the ones copyrighted by Chaplin. In court, Chaplin does not seem to have prevailed in all cases. (Letter from Richard Goldwater to Rachel Ford, October 28, 1957, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029337, CH234; Raymond Rohauer vs Robert Fischer, July 21, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018603, CH177; “Defense of Chaplin Film Piracy”, in Variety, October 25, 1961, 5; United States of America vs Raymond Rohauer, July 2, 1962, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00018600, CH177; Francis Bordat, “Les ‘deux’ versions de THE GOLD RUSH (LA RUÉE VERS L’OR)”, in 1895, 89/3 (2019), 82f., 99–107; Kevin Brownlow, The Search for Charlie Chaplin, London/Yorkshire/Amsterdam/Shizuoka: UKA Press, 2010, 17, 177f.; Hooman Mehran, “New DVD Releases of Chaplin Films”, in Frank Scheide and Hooman Mehran (eds.), Chaplin’s LIMELIGHT and the Music Hall Tradition, Jefferson: McFarland 2006, 198).

Totheroh’s affidavit originated in this context, where he was apparently given instructions on how to express himself (Letter from Rachel Ford to Richard Goldwater, October 1, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005369, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, November 6, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005407, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, November 7, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005406, CH038; Letter from Richard Goldwater to Roland Totheroh, November 10, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005372, CH038). The intention was to give the impression that all circulating versions of SHOULDER ARMS were essentially based on the A negative and thus largely identical. That is why the affidavit also conceals the existence of the international first release version (the true B negative). Other pronouncements by Chaplin’s people also emphasize that only “some small parts of negative ‘A’ […] were replaced” (Sworn declaration, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00005367, CH038). Numerous documents in the Charlie Chaplin Archive pertaining to this issue remain unavailable to the public to this day.

25 THE PILGRIM, A DOG’S LIFE, THE KID, SHOULDER ARMS scenes and speeds, October 10, 1958, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00031018, CH235; THE CHAPLIN REVUE action continuity script, September 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00004598, CH035; THE CHAPLIN REVUE Music Cuesheet, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020430, CH207; THE CHAPLIN REVUE music breakdown, 1972 [?], Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00315399, CH005; Hooman Mehran, “New DVD Releases of Chaplin Films”, in Frank Scheide and Hooman Mehran (eds.), Chaplin’s LIMELIGHT and the Music Hall Tradition, Jefferson: McFarland 2006, 198–201; see also Jürg Stenzl, Charlie Chaplin: Die Musik zu seinen Stummfilmen, München: Edition text + kritik 2020. 107–111.

For the theatrical release of THE CHAPLIN REVUE in 1959, some shots and parts of shots were cut out of SHOULDER ARMS. The “three on a match” superstition just before the soldiers go over the top, the complete “Poor France” sequence, some shots of the tree chase and the subsequent drainpipe sequence, as well as parts of the Kaiser visiting the front, including Charlie trying to speak German, are missing, among other things (see also Dan Kamin, Charlie Chaplin’s One-Man Show, Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1984, 98; Hooman Mehran, “SHOULDER ARMS x 3: Three Wars, Three Editors, Three Versions”, presentation at the 2nd Kyoto Chaplin Conference, March 24, 2007). The distributor United Artists (as well as Rachel Ford) had strongly advised Chaplin to make cuts because it would increase the number of screenings possible per movie theatre and day (Letter from Rachel Ford to Charles Chaplin, January 26, 1959, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00020492, CH207). Later releases, often also called REVUE versions, included the omitted parts again. This is true of David Shepard’s restorations (no stretch printing) and other DVD editions.

26 Letter from H. G. Barker to Rachel Ford, October 16, 1957, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029212, CH230; Letter from H. G. Barker to Rachel Ford, May 31, 1963, incl. attachment, Charlie Chaplin Archive, ECCI00029202, CH230.

27 One representative example of the claims about allegedly significant version differences and of the exaggerated glorification of the First National version is the following online statement by renowned American film preservationist David Shepard: “Personally (please don’t shoot), having been familiar with [SHOULDER ARMS] only from [the Pathé and REVUE] versions, I never understood its exalted reputation. Two summers ago in Denmark, I saw a true original 1918 English-titled print of this picture, easily identified by the First National main and end titles […]. A few parts were chopped up […] but it was generally in very good shape and the picture quality was stunning. Well, I fell on the floor! It was a completely different picture! Incredibly funny, full of fresh (to me) little bits, and absolutely worthy of the superlatives heaped on this movie during its early years. I knew at that moment that I had never seen SHOULDER ARMS before.” (Post by David Shepard, October 3, 1998, on alt.movies.chaplin). See also Fred Goodwins and Dan Kamin, Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, 85, 311f.

28 As mentioned above, Chaplin had no direct access to the A negative between 1918 and 1932, which would have been a requirement for rearranging the film for the 1927 Pathé re-release. I have not yet been able to verify the hypothesis that the domestic Pathé version is identical to the First National version through direct visual comparison of the two versions, as I have only had access to a few frame enlargements of the Danish First National print to date.

The final report will be released in 2023.

A Negative

The following discovered prints/elements are based on the A negative used for the First National domestic first release of 1918–1923 and the Pathé domestic re-release of 1927–1932.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Danish Film Institute
Inventory number(s) of the print/element1335_DUP1
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish
Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)
(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)
A negative
Element status (generation)dupe negative of distribution print
Length (in meters)725 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm
Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock) (see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)safety film (the dupe negative has copied Kodak edge marks (triangle = 1918) for images and titles originating from the nitrate distribution print.)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityphysical quality is good; visual okay
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels
Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles) (see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)?
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: FIRST NATIONAL EXHIBITORS CIRCUIT; on end title: Universal; on distributor intro before main title: FIRST NATIONAL EXHIBITORS CIRCUIT
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)As the print includes the original main title (Chaplin signing his name), English language intertitles with the First National logo, and edge marks pointing to 1918, the dupe negative descends directly from a distribution print used for the initial domestic release of SHOULDER ARMS by First National (1918–1923).
The predecessor institution of the Danish Film Institute struck this dupe negative on January 18, 1956, at Johan Ankerstjerne Laboratory from a 35 mm print from GEH/James Card. Today, the Danish Film Institute also holds a safety print, copied from the dupe neg. The positive is 822 meters long, and the Universal end title is replaced by a Danske Filmmuseum end title. Another positive copy went to the Munich Film Museum around 1980 and has been preserved there. The whereabouts of the original nitrate print are unknown.
Former owners and source of acquisitiondupe struck from a 35 mm print from GEH/James Card
Contact person of the holding institutionThomas Christensen
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Filmmuseum München
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)This print is a copy of the element in Danish Film Institute.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)George Eastman Museum (Rochester)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element1974.0007.0229
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution/home market print
Length (in meters)approximately 324 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

This print is 16mm reversal stock. Edge code print-through is Kodak 56 S*afety Film (square, plus) = 1932, 1952. Otherwise no other edge markings visible.
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitySlight scratching present on both sides with some slight perf and edge damage and warpage. There are more splices present on this print compared to print 1 in the collection, and at least one instance of a partially burned frame. Otherwise, the image quality is very good.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

An indepth shot-by-shot review was not possible. That being said, this print does not have a close iris ending. Instead, the last scene, with Chaplin on his bunk in the tent being awoken by two other soldiers, abruptly ends and there is a printed-in cut to a “The End” title card, clearly not original as it has “Universal” at the bottom.
Distribution company markings on elementOn head title and intertitles: First National. On tail “The End” card: Universal
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)This print has a First National title card followed by title card featuring a drawing of Chaplin in soldier outfit and a hand signing his name.
Former owners and source of acquisitionUnknown. Earliest records show a 16mm print at the museum at least in 1963 based on theatre programming records. The first report of titles compiled by the museum for FIAF in 1959 shows a 16mm print for the title in the collections. However, with both of these reports, we cannot be absolutely certain at this time there may not have been another print at some point in those years that either of these records may be referring to since the information on those two records are fairly limited.
Contact person of the holding institutionSophia Lorent, Curatorial Assistant, Moving Image Department
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca Nazionale – Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Rome)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element16443
Film title on elementCARLITOS ARMAS AL HOMBRO
Language(s) of intertitlesSpanish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)second generation print
Length (in meters)778 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Nitrate base, Edge marks: 6C safety Ferrania 11 (opening titles – post 1950’s); Eastman Nitrate film Kodak o (1936); Eastman Nitrate film Kodak o△ (1923); Eastman Nitrate film Kodak □ (1937); Eastman Nitrate film Kodak □△ (1927); AGFA (end 1920’s – beginning 1930’s)
Color characteristicsb&w, some intertitles are tinted
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityBroken perfs, tears, scratches on emulsion side, little deformation of the reel
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Missing shots: 27; 34; 38; 43; 44; 69; 72; 75; 80; 85; 86; 87; 88; 97; 101; 118; 119; 121; 122; 128; 129; 130; 141; 154; 155; 156; 157; 170; 215; 216; 217; 218; 243; 244; 250; 251; 252; 259; 264; 269; 273; 274; 280; 282; 288; 293; 304. Some shots are truncated or different from the script: 45. Missing “Charlie enters; Does two turn-arounds.”; 140. Iris out at the end of the short; 163bis. Close-up Syd watching at the enemy; 216ter. Animated cartoon: bombing of the trenches (2,57 meters length); 272. Missing: “Charlie starts to kick Syd and they both exi, followed by Edna”. The intertitles are translated as the following (the bis indicate intertitles that do not appear in the original script and that follow the shot numbered): 1. “Carlitos armas al hombro (Shoulder Arms) Producción First National 1918 Cineteca Pablo J. Louche”; 2. “Un batallón americano che ira a las líneas franceses” ; 4. “Meta adentro esos pies” ; 10. “En las trincheras” ; 23. “El enemigo” ; 41. “El cambio de guardia” ; 102. “Por la mañana” ; 106. “Dentro de un cuarto de hora asaltaremos in trincheras” ; 124. “¿Cómo hizo Vd. para capturar el trece?” ; 126. “Los rodié” ; 137. “Piden voluntarios” ; 139. “Quizá non regresa Vd. más.” ; 191. “¿Habla Vd. francés?” ; 193. “Soy soldato americano” ; 211bis. “Caballero. Póngase tieso, sencillamente.” ; 216bis. “Un trueno”; 220. “Arrestado por ayudar a sus amigos” ; 254. “¿Donde está el oficial de servicio?” ; 266bis. “Ocúpate de la guerra y déjate de pamplinas” ; 292. “Avisando a sus compañeros” ; 299. “Trayendo a casa la presa”
Distribution company markings on elementThe print was held priorly by the Cinemateca Pablo J. Louche in Argentina. There is no mention of a distribution company.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print is originally from Argentina. At the beginning and the end of each reel are spliced intertitles indicating the part number, however they seem to be coming from other films according to their features and the fact that various production or distribution companies are mentionned in the intertitles. The intertitle 211bis is slightly different from the others (pre-standards perforations, orange tinted and with Pathé Vincennes edgemarks).
Former owners and source of acquisitionThe print is part of the MICS collection (Museo Internazionale del Cinema e dello Spettacolo) entered in Cineteca in 2008. Before it was held by Jose Pantieri, italian private collector and funder of the MICS, and before that by an argentinian collector (research is in progress).
Contact person of the holding institutionMaria Assunta Pimpinelli
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Library of Congress (Washington)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element14818-1-1 through 14818-1-3
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

Pathe Exchange re-issue from A negative
Element status (generation)nitrate release print
Length (in meters)807.72 meters (2650 ft)
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Pathe Exchange nitrate stock, no date code, but most likely from 1927
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityHeavily used nitrate print, many splices, reel ends in different places. Although scratched, image quality of nitrate is beautiful. Safety preservation made in 1988 is very good. Nitrate print has no chemical decomposition, but much physical wear and edge damage.
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 reels. Some shots cut short, a few short pieces missing altogether, see below

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

1. Pathe Exchange Main title, runs short; 51. Very short; 59. Very short; 60. Missing; 61. Missing; 62. Very short; 86. Reel One ends here; 87. Missing; 88. Missing; 89. Missing; 90. Reel Two starts here, shot is short; 100. Phonograph horn gag is missing, lost due to damage; 101. Missing; 102. Missing; 103. Missing; 104. Missing; 105. Missing; 127. Ends with Iris Out, not Fade Out; 129. Irises in; not mentioned in continuity; 140. Irises out, not mentioned in continuity; 168. Reel Two ends here; 183. Shot ends after initial hit on pipe with axe; 184. Beginning of shot missing, starts with Charlie looking out window, gag with blinds; 211. Very different from continuity: Charlie does not trick the Germans. He grabs the machine gun and spins it to face them. Then THEY trick him into looking away and spin the gun back. Then he grabs the gun and spins it back on them; 246. Immediately after this shot, there is a C.U. of Edna, probably shot 250; 247. Missing; 249. Kaiser turns and looks at Edna is missing; 250. See above, shot is not at this place; 251. Missing; 252. Missing; 253. Missing; 260. Missing; 265. Missing; 267. Missing; 281. Missing; 282. Missing; 283. Missing; 289. Missing; 290. “Kaiser, Crown Price and Hindenburg enter” missing; 301. Missing; 302. Missing; 303. Missing; The End.
Distribution company markings on elementPathe Exchange
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Distrtibution 1927. A new 35mm preservation negative and access print were created by the LOC Film Lab in 1988 and that negaitve was scanned by the LOC Lab at in JPEG 2000 in 2011.
Former owners and source of acquisitionOriginal owner: George T. Post, San Francisco film distributor. Acquired for LOC in 1971 by American Film Institute
Contact person of the holding institutionRob Stone, moving image curator (rsto@loc.gov); Geo. Willeman (gwil@loc.gov) prepared this report.
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?If requested, none at present.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque16 (Paris)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementPrint N° 607
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN IN “SHOULDER ARMS”
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative (Pathé domestic)
Element status (generation)positive print
Length (in meters)336.8 m
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

KODAK● S●AFETY POSITIVE (1956, Rochester)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent (double perforations)
Overall state of preservation and image qualityPrint in very good condition, good image quality.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Title begins with “Charlie Chaplin in Shoulder Arms”, not the original Pathé main title. The intertitle “Awkward Squad” is replaced by a new one, no bold lettring. No iris opening on the first shot. Some parts are missing: Charlie enters tent, lies down on bunk (9), “Over there” (10), Charlie exits (144), Charlie enters, sees ennemies approaching and poses as dead tree (145), Charlie in tree – watching (146), Kaiser and Crown Prince start toward chateau (247), two germans soldiers enter (248), the Kaiser and Prince enter followed by Hindenburg (249), Kaiser tells Edna to open door (260), Kaiser dismisses Charlie and Edna (265), Crown Prince sits on hot poker wich has been left on chair by Charlie (267), Crown Prince reaches for a wine bottle as Kaiser and Hindenburg take it away from him and speak (281), “Pay attention to the war” (282), Kaiser, Crown Prince and Hindenburg look over a map (283), Kaiser, Crown Prince and Hindenburg exit (289).
Distribution company markings on elementPathépicture (endtitle).
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print is based on the domestic Pathé version, which was distributed in the U.S. from 1927 to 1932 by Pathé. Most of the missing parts are the one about the Kaiser and Crown Prince.
Former owners and source of acquisitionunknown
Contact person of the holding institutionBenoît Carpentier (curator)
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Library and Archives Canada
Inventory number(s) of the print/element445203, 8209-0036
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)336 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film Kodak? (edge marks: square? = 1937, 1957, 1977)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in good condition; probably good image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: Pathépicture
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Print seems to be identical to the Cinémathèque16 print (The Awkward Squad intertitle is replaced by a new one, no bold lettering).
Former owners and source of acquisitionPrint is part of the Cecil J. Miller collection and was received in 1980 (according to accession number).
Contact person of the holding institutionLynn Lafontaine
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Christopher Bird Collection (GB)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementShoulder Arms – main title missing, begins with ‘The Awkward Squad’
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)dupe
Length (in meters)approximately 370 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate, reversal dupe with no visible stock marks
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsdouble perf silent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityAn adequate dupe. Complete but some truncation on the opening due to damage
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 reels: approx 1200 ft total

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

No main title. Starts with ‘The Awkward Squad’. The end action is complete, but there is no end title. Some minor parts are missing: The Awkward Squad (intertitle is replaced by a new one, no bold lettering); Charlie enters tent and lies down; Over there (only intertitle is missing); Charlie lies down in bunk after changing guard (jump cut); insert of watch on wrist; Kaiser and Crown Prince exit from machine (after that, a few shots are missing); Kaiser tells Edna to open the door; Kaiser dismisses Charlie and Edna; Crown Prince reaches for wine bottle; Pay attention to war (intertitle and the following shot are missing); Kaiser exits chateau; Kaiser’s car drives in. One shot is out of sequence: Edna at door.
Distribution company markings on element‘Pathépicture’ title and trade mark on end
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)I have made a rough ‘filmed off the screen’ version which I use for reference.
Former owners and source of acquisitionFilm shop in Norwich, England. It came I believe from a film school in Ilford, England. Acquired by me in 1998.
Contact person of the holding institutionChristopher Bird, film editor and director, and private collector
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?rough transfer available for viewing

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Harvard Film Archive (Cambridge)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element22066
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not first generation)
Length (in meters)336 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Acetate – AGFA Geveart 24
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityhigh contrast, some scratching
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

no splices, appears complete
Distribution company markings on elementPathe Picture logo
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionMark Johnson
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Harvard Film Archive (Cambridge)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element38327
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not first generation)
Length (in meters)336 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Kodak positive – safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitydecent condition, warped, high contrast, wear at heads and tails
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

appears complete
Distribution company markings on elementPathe Picture logo in the end credits
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionMark Johnson
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)George Eastman Museum (Rochester)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element2006.0022.0072
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution/home market print
Length (in meters)approximately 336 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Eastman safety film (square, plus) = 1952 or 1972 edge code. No print-through edge codes present.
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsVariable Area bilateral (mono) soundtrack and Variable Density (mono) soundtrack (from approx. 250 meters to tail).
Overall state of preservation and image qualitySome slight scratching on both sides as well as slight edge roughness and oil throughout. Image is very “dupey” and washed out. Clearly multiple generations from the original. Appears to be very slightly cropped as well.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

An in-depth shot review was not possible.
Distribution company markings on elementNo company credits were present on intertitles. Film ends with “Pathepicture” credit.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)This print has a title card without company credits. It includes a drawing of Chaplin’s head and says “Charlie Chaplin in Shoulder Arms”. Intertitles are plain. The switch in soundtracks on this print is printed-in.
Former owners and source of acquisitionCollector Philip Serling; gifted to the museum in 2006.
Contact person of the holding institutionSophia Lorent, Curatorial Assistant, Moving Image Department
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Dan Kamin (US)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN IN „SHOULDER ARMS“
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)copy of distribution print
Length (in meters)337 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in very good condition; low image quality, image is slightly cropped
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some minor parts are missing: The Awkward Squad (intertitle is replaced by a new one, with bold lettering); Charlie enters tent and lies down; Over there (only intertitle is missing); Charlie lies down in bunk after changing guard (jump cut); Charlie takes cheese from mousetrap; insert of watch on wrist; Kaiser and Crown Prince exit from machine (after that, a few shots are missing); Kaiser tells Edna to open the door; Kaiser dismisses Charlie and Edna; Crown Prince reaches for wine bottle; Pay attention to war (intertitle and the following shot are missing); Kaiser exits chateau; Kaiser’s car drives in. One shot is out of sequence: Edna at door.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: Pathépicture
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print doesn’t include the original Pathé main title (with Chaplin’s signature). However, it includes a Pathé end title. It is based on the domestic Pathé version (A negative with new main title and probably intertitles), which was distributed in the U.S. from 1927 to 1932 by Pathé. The present print descends from the same source as the print that was used to produce the Reelclassicdvd.com DVD (which does include the original Pathé main title and some of the missing parts: The Awkward Squad; Charlie enters tent and lies down; Over there; Charlie lies down in bunk; Charlie takes cheese from mousetrap; insert of watch on wrist).
Former owners and source of acquisitioncollector Dan Kamin (since late 1960s)
Contact person of the holding institutionDan Kamin
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Harvard Film Archive (Cambridge)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element2664
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not first generation)
Length (in meters)372 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Kodak positive – safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitydecent condition, high contrast, somewhat dupey, light wear throughout print
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Print has approximately 10 splices in it.
Distribution company markings on elementPathe Picture logo in the end credits
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionMark Johnson
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Library and Archives Canada
Inventory number(s) of the print/element445816, CFI-0381/C
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN IN „SHOULDER ARMS“
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)342 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Agfa-Gevaert
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in good condition; probably good image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

? (see additional notes below)
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: Pathépicture
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Print seems to be identical to the Dan Kamin print (The Awkward Squad intertitle is replaced by a new one, bold lettering).
Former owners and source of acquisitionPrint was transferred from Canadian Film Institute to National Archives of Canada in 1975. Former owners are not known.
Contact person of the holding institutionLynn Lafontaine
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (Madison)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementDC 929
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative (Pathé domestic)
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)339 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film Eastman Kodak, 1927
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityoverall very good condition, base scratches, a few tears repaired with tape splices, cement splices
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Titles begin with: Charlie Chaplin in “Shoulder Arms” and cast list, Chaplin signature not included. Some parts are missing: (9) Charlie enters tent, lies down on bunk; (10) “Over there.” intertitle; (113-115) officer looks at watch, insert of watch; (247) Kaiser and Crown Prince start toward chateau; (251-253) chateau scenes; (255) Hindenburg sends soldier for officer; (260) Kaiser tells Edna to open door; (265) Kaiser dismisses Charlie and Edna; (267) Crown Prince sits on hot poker; (281-283) Kaiser and Crown Prince in chateau, “Pay attention to the war” intertitle; (289) Kaiser, Crown Prince, and Hindenburg exit chateau; (301) Kaiser’s car drives in amid cheers; (302) Charlie salutes Sgt. and takes medal from Kaiser’s chest. One shot is out of sequence: (250) Edna at door.
Distribution company markings on elementend title: Pathépicture
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print doesn’t include the original Pathé main title (with Chaplin’s signature). It seems to be based on the Pathé domestic version (A negative with new main title and probably intertitles), which was distributed in the U.S. from 1927 to 1932. Some minor parts are missing, the sequence featuring the Kaiser and Crown Prince at the chateau is the most notably reworked.
Former owners and source of acquisitionprevious owner: David H. Shepard, purchased by WCFTR in 1979
Contact person of the holding institutionAmanda Smith
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinema Museum London
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementCHARLES CHAPLIN IN „SHOULDER ARMS“
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)This is a very poor quality dupe, at a guess at least fifth generation, maybe more.
Length (in meters)280 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

“Ilford Safety Film”, no date code, maybe late 1950s/early 1960s
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityThe images are poor and barely watchable. The source film(s) have been misaligned. The film stock itself is in good condition.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

One reel, with start and end titles.
Distribution company markings on elementNone on the head, “A Williams & Ivey Film” on the tail. Replacement “The End” card. No cast and crew credits.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Main title over a painting of a soldier. English intertitles possibly rewritten. Distributed in the UK, maybe late 1950s/early 1960s.
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionPhil Clark
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Library and Archives Canada
Inventory number(s) of the print/element445816, CFI-V3-8
Film title on elementCHARLES CHAPLIN IN „SHOULDER ARMS“
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)274 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film Kodak
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in good condition; probably low image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on elementno
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionPrint was transferred from Canadian Film Institute to National Archives of Canada in 1975. Former owners are not known.
Contact person of the holding institutionLynn Lafontaine
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

B Negative

The following discovered prints/elements are based on the B negative used for the international first release beginning in 1918.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque suisse
Inventory number(s) of the print/element1998-1163
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT / CHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and German

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative; some minor parts (not tinted) from A negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (probably not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)829 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

images: nitrate Kodak (edge marks: square and square = 1920), some minor parts (not tinted) on safety film (marked: Property of Pathé-Exchange Inc. not to be sold); intertitles: nitrate Gevaert; end title: nitrate Gevaert
Color characteristicsimages: b&w, blue and two different yellow tintings, some minor parts (not tinted) on b&w safety film; intertitles: b&w; end title: b&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint was in bad condition before restoration (broken perforations, scratches); good image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some minor parts are missing: The Enemy (only intertitle, start and end of scene are missing, including officer kicks man in rear); A quiet lunch (start of scene is missing); night shot of men on guard; The captured trench part (complete, from A negative). A call for volunteers (start of scene is missing); Within the enemy’s line (intertitle is missing/confused); Charlie disguised as tree (first of two close-ups missing); More heroic work (officer slapping Syd is missing); man with axe enters (end of scene missing, end of reel); the floor starts to give way; Don’t lie (only intertitle is missing); We will discuss your case later (only intertitle is missing); Prompt action (only intertitle is missing); Bringing home the bacon (intertitle is missing/confused); two soldiers bounce Charlie up and down (only part of scene is missing). One shot and two intertitle are out of sequence: little officer orders man to be on alert; A quiet lunch (only intertitle); More heroic work / Une mission périlleuse (only intertitle). One intertitle is not in script: Malheureusement ce n’était qu’un rêve. Some cuts are probably due to local censorship.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles and end title: Etna-Film Cie S.A. Lucerne
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print doesn’t include the original main title (Chaplin signing his name). Some minor parts are missing, probably due to local censorship. There are some splices in the print (Charlie takes a medal from Kaiser’s chest, Charlie kicks Kaiser in rear) that probably originate from removing parts and later reinserting them. The element is a Swiss distribution print from the 1920s, which was distributed by Etna-Film Co. A.-G. in Lucerne in cooperation with Woldemar Schultz in Geneva (see project MASh, Historical Background). The print was restored (analogue restoration) by the Cinémathèque suisse and Národní filmový archiv (Prague) in 2018 and subsequently digitized (for internal use).
Former owners and source of acquisitioncollector Edwin Hofmann, Basel (before 1998); received (1998)
Contact person of the holding institutionCaroline Fournier
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)CNC – Direction du Patrimoine Cinématographique (Paris)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element150560794
Film title on element?
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)689 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate film
Color characteristicsimages: b&w; some parts b&w, light pink tinting?
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint in very bad state of preservation; rather bad image quality (scratches, dupey)
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels?

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some parts are missing
Distribution company markings on element?
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisition?
Contact person of the holding institutionVincent Lallier
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Swedish Film Institute
Inventory number(s) of the print/element369 202, 24943AAN
Film title on element
Language(s) of intertitles

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (first-generation print?)
Length (in meters)approximately 7 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate Kodak (1919)
Color characteristicsb&w, yellow tinting
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityThe film is brittle with many broken and missing perforation with ocassional tears into the image. The image has emulsion and base scratches. Otherwise the image quality is good.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 reel, incomplete

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Fragment. Only a portion of shot 40. It includes Charlie’s vision of Broadway and ends as the shot of the bar-room is starting to fade in.
Distribution company markings on elementno
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitiondonated by an individual
Contact person of the holding institutionMagnus Rosborn, Sam Lane
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Bruce Lawton (US)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN SOLDAT / SOLDIER.
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and English

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)28 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

probably diacetate, no edge code
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in good condition (some broken perforations); medium image quality (scratches)
Number of units (reels) and completeness6 of 6 parts on 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

The main title (CHARLIE CHAPLIN SOLDAT / SOLDIER.) is followed by a spliced French-language main title for another Chaplin film (UNE VIE DE CHIEN) with Chaplin’s signature. The Awkward Squad title and the first few seconds are missing. No detailed analysis was made for the rest of the film.
Distribution company markings on elementUNITED PROJECTOR & FILM CORP’N (on different stock spliced before the main title)
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)This French- and English-language original 28 mm print was most likely a Pathé KOK distribution print.
Former owners and source of acquisitionThe print was originally part of the extensive collection of Bruce Lawton’s late great-grandfather, Don Malkames, A.S.C. It should therefore be referenced as the “Lawton-Malkames print”.
Contact person of the holding institutionBruce Lawton
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinema Museum London
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on element-, opening titles are missing
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and English

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)This is a reduction print intended for sale to the public, produced from a 35mm original.
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)28 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety (no edge markings)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityThe images are clean and clear although the film itself is incomplete and has numerous age-related tears and edge nicks. The film could be scanned after some repairs are made.
Number of units (reels) and completeness6 of 6 parts

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Six reels. A full reel is approximately 7 mins at 18fps. The first half of reel 1 is missing; part of reel 5 is missing and the other reels have short pieces missing.
Distribution company markings on elementThe intertitles are labelled “A First National Attraction” and the titles are in French and English. Reel title cards read “Charlie Chaplin SOLDAT / SOLDIER” and the reel number in French and English.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Labels on (rusty) cans read “Pathescope Ltd 64 Regent Street London”. Estimate early 1920s. This French- and English-language original 28 mm print was most likely a Pathé KOK distribution print.
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionPhil Clark
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Lobster Films (Paris)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element?
Film title on element-, opening titles are missing
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and English

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)28 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

diacetate (no edge markings?)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image quality?
Number of units (reels) and completeness5 of 6 parts

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

The first reel / part is missing.
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)This French- and English-language original 28 mm print was most likely a Pathé KOK distribution print.
Former owners and source of acquisition?
Contact person of the holding institutionLobster Films – Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange collection
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes (2K scan available at Lobster Films)

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Gilbert Stinner (FR)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN SOLDAT / SOLDIER.
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and English

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

B negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)319 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

?
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is probably in good condition; very low image quality; jump cuts
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some minor parts are missing: The Awkward Squad (only intertitle missing); All exit toward pub tents; Charlie enters dug-out; News from home (intertitle missing); Charlie arises from bed (end of scene is missing); men running in all directions; Sgt. enters; Over the top in fifteen minutes (intertitle missing); Syd exits; Syd enters; men with frightened look; Charlie’s chest sinks in (end of scene missing); Charlie disguised as tree (second of two close-ups missing); culvert; Syd on spy duty (start of scene is missing); Kaiser and Crown Prince start toward chateau; two German soldiers enter; Kaiser and Prince enter; Kaiser turns and looks toward Edna; Edna at door; Kaiser turns; Edna watching; Don’t lie (only intertitle is missing); We will discuss your case later (only intertitle is missing); Bringing home the bacon (intertitle missing). One intertitle is not in the script: Malheureusement ce n’était qu’un rêve.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: FIRST NATIONAL EXHIBITORS CIRCUIT; on main title: FIRST NATIONAL EXHIBITORS CIRCUIT
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Stinner’s 16 mm print (based on the B negative) is a reduction print from a 28 mm print (three copied sprocket holes per image; division into six parts, as documented in the title at time code 31:46; no physical cuts in the 16 mm print). The direct source of this print is the Lawton-Malkames print, as evidenced by several physical (non-copied) defects in the Lawton-Malkames print, which are copied into Stinners’s print.
Former owners and source of acquisitionAcquired by collector Gilbert Stinner at Boulevard du Ciné, Paris, in 2020. Bd-cine has no further information about print.
Contact person of the holding institutionGilbert Stinner
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

C Negative

The following discovered prints/elements are based on the C negative mainly used for the Pathé international re-release of 1927–1932.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Lobster Films (Paris)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element9331
Film title on elementLE REVE DE CHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)Without a doubt a first-generation print, with french titles spliced in the print. Perfect image condition, no splice.
Length (in meters)794m
Gauge (format)35 mm full frame

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

images: nitrate Gevaert; intertitles: nitrate Gevaert – no edge code
Color characteristicsimages and titles: b&w; one very short scene tinted sepia
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint in gorgeous condition, very good image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 reels – complete print of this original abridged version

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some parts are missing: The enemy and German trench (all enemy trench scenes are missing, including little officer receiving Limburger on his face); floating candle and night shot (end of reel); prisoners and Charlie (to the end of scene/fade out); Poor France (only intertitle is missing); Within the enemy’s line (only intertitle is missing); drainpipe (only end of scene is missing, end of reel); Edna enters and takes the Germans’ guns; The Kaiser visits the front (only intertitle is missing); Crown Prince sits on hot poker; Crown Prince reaches for wine bottle; Pay attention to war (intertitle is missing); The capture (only start of scene is missing, including Kaiser boarding car); Kaiser’s car drives in amid cheers of Allied soldiers; Charlie takes a medal from Kaiser’s chest; Charlie kicks Kaiser in rear, Peace on earth (only intertitle is missing). Most cuts are due to heavy local censorship/self-censorship (see additional notes below). Additional parts: medium shot of drill sergeant and Charlie, close-up of Charlie‘s feet during drill; extreme close-up of frog on foot.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: ERKA-PRODISCO
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print doesn’t include the original main title. The C negative was used for the Pathé international re-release (1927–1932). Pathé Exchange sold the rights for France, Belgium and Switzerland to Les Films Célébres (until at least December 1927). Les Films Célébres, in consultation with the German embassy in Paris, shortened the film by “all scenes that could be considered hurtful to the honor of the former German army and its commanders” in 1927 for release in France, Belgium and Switzerland (Letter from German Embassy, Paris, to Les Films Célèbres, Paris, September 1, 1927, Politisches Archiv, Auswärtiges Amt, Berlin, Bern 2702). The French rights were also exercised by Erka-Prodisco (since at least February 1930). Posters from both distributors have survived in collections as well as advertisements in the trade press (Le Courrier des cinémas (Lille), December 9, 1927, 9; Le Courrier des cinémas (Lille), February 21, 1930, 12). Research by Adrian Gerber.
Former owners and source of acquisitionChristian Campbell, who bought a collection of 100 cans from the 70’s, and this print was among them. In Sancerre, France.
Contact person of the holding institutionLobster Films – Serge Bromberg collection
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes (2K scan available at Lobster Films)

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern
Inventory number(s) of the print/element429516, 429518
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT / CHARLOT ALS SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and German

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)844 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

images: nitrate Kodak (edge marks: minus and circle = 1929, semicircle and circle = 1930); original main title: nitrate Gevaert; intertitles: nitrate Gevaert; end title: nitrate Gevaert
Color characteristicsimages: b&w, orange tinting; original main title: b&w; intertitles: b&w; end title: b&w
Sound characteristicssilent; distributor intro before main title with soundtrack on film
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in very good condition (a few broken perforations and dirty splices, shrinkage); very good image quality (contrast, sharpness, light scratches)
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels, plus 1 small reel with outtakes

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some parts are missing: The enemy and German trench (all enemy trench scenes are missing, including little officer receiving Limburger on his face); Poor France (only intertitle is missing); prisoners and Charlie (to the end of scene/fade out); drainpipe (only end of scene is missing); Edna enters and takes the Germans’ guns; Crown Prince sits on hot poker; Crown Prince reaches for wine bottle; The capture (only start of scene is missing, including Kaiser boarding car); Kaiser’s car drives in amid cheers of Allied soldiers; Charlie takes a medal from Kaiser’s chest; Charlie kicks Kaiser in rear; Peace on earth (only intertitle is missing). Some scenes and intertitles are out of sequence: Bedtime (only intertitle); The captured trench and Thirteen not so unlucky (one separate small outtake-reel); Poor France; Two of a kind (only intertitle); German soldier crawls in shell hole; Pay attention to war (only intertitle); Word to the Allies (only intertitle). Most cuts are due to heavy local censorship/self-censorship at different times (see additional notes below). Additional parts: medium shot of drill sergeant and Charlie, close-up of Charlie‘s feet during drill; extreme close-up of frog on foot.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: Films SAUTY GENEVE; on distributor intro before main title: R. C. A. PHOTOPHONE NEW YORK; R. K. O. / VAN BEUREN PRODUCTION; EQUITABLE FILMS Paris; MONOPOLE PATHÉ FILMS GENEVE (probably added later and fake)
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print includes the original main title (Chaplin signing his name). The element is probably a duped Swiss distribution print from 1931 that was distributed by Uty-Films S.A. in Geneva (Charles-Émile Sauty) under the title IM OSTEN WAS NEUES (one intertitle bears this wording) (see sources at Staatsarchiv des Kantons Basel-Stadt; Paul Meier-Kern, Verbrecherschule oder Kulturfaktor?: Kino und Film in Basel 1896–1916, Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn 1993, 128). The pre-title distribution credits (on nitrate Kodak (edge marks: plus and square = 1935) b&w and nitrate Kodak Eastman b&w stock), probably added later and fake, indicate a later distribution in Switzerland, ca. 1938. The print descends from the same source (probably the dupe negative of an earlier distribution print) as the 16 mm Lichtspiel print. Most of the cuts in the Lichtspiel prints are identical with the cuts in the Lobster Films print executed by Les Films Célébres and the German embassy in Paris in 1927 (see additional notes for Lobster Films print). Some of the cuts in the 35 mm Lichtspiel print are copied, some are spliced. Uniquely, there is one iris out/in and one iris out painted on the print to hide cuts and some parts are on an outtake-reel. The print was cleaned and digitized (for internal use) by Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern in 2020.
Former owners and source of acquisitioncollector Hans Gfeller, Zurich (before ca. 1960); collector XX (ca. 1960–2020); collector A. G. (2020); received as a donation (2020)
Contact person of the holding institutionBrigitte Paulowitz
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes, except former owners
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementF 147/1–147/3 (65083 9 H9 K11)
Film title on elementCHARLOT IM KRIEG / CHARLOT À LA GUERRE
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and German

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)327–333 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in very good condition; low image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Some parts are missing: The enemy and German trench (all enemy trench scenes are missing, including little officer receiving Limburger on his face); Poor France (only intertitle is missing); prisoners and Charlie (to the end of scene/fade out); drainpipe (only end of scene is missing); Edna enters and takes the Germans’ guns; Crown Prince sits on hot poker; Crown Prince reaches for wine bottle; Pay attention to war (intertitle is missing); The capture (only start of scene is missing, including Kaiser boarding car); Kaiser’s car drives in amid cheers of Allied soldiers; Charlie takes a medal from Kaiser’s chest; Charlie kicks Kaiser in rear, Peace on earth (only intertitle is missing). Most cuts are due to heavy local censorship/self-censorship (see additional notes below). Additional parts: medium shot of drill sergeant and Charlie, close-up of Charlie‘s feet during drill; extreme close-up of frog on foot.
Distribution company markings on elementon intertitles: no; on end title: no; on distributor intro before main title: SCHMALFILM-ZENTRALE BERN; SCHWEIZER SCHUL- UND VOLKSKINO
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print doesn’t include the original main title (Chaplin signing his name). The element descends from the same source as the 35 mm Lichtspiel print, which was probably distributed by Uty-Films S.A. in Geneva beginning in 1931. The Swiss 16 mm distributor Schweizer Schul- und Volkskino SSVK in Bern probably obtained a 16 mm reduction print from Uty-Films before 1935, added new intertitles (improvement of faulty German), made several copies, and used them until the late 1990s (see Gerber 2021). Today, there are three largely identical 16 mm prints on safety film. One print was digitized (for internal use) by Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern in 2020. Most of the cuts are identical with the cuts in the Lobster Films print executed by Les Films Célébres and the German embassy in Paris in 1927 (see additional notes for Lobster Films print).
Former owners and source of acquisitionSchweizer Schul- und Volkskino SSVK / Film Institut, Bern (before ca. 1998); collector YY (ca. 1998); collector P. F. (since 1998); received as a deposit (ca. 2000)
Contact person of the holding institutionBrigitte Paulowitz
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementNX0015
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)dupe negative
Length (in meters)846.5 / 775.0 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate, Gevaert Belgium; photographed from 2 generations ago: Eastman Kodak ▲ (1918)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitydecent state of preservation overall; decent quality of image
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Multiple missing scenes, notably all those happening in the German trench. Some scenes are cut short. A couple of sequences were re-edited (reordered scenes of “a quiet lunch”, the “13 not so unlucky” title misplaced earlier in the film, among other examples). A few extra instances not mentioned in the cutting continuity: 22 – Charlie also scratches his back against rookie’s beard, 103 – Charlie doesn’t slap his chest, but blows into his hands from the cold. Extra title at the end – “Hélas ce n’était qu’un rêve” before he is woken up in his tent.
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)photographed in the beginning of the R1: “DOUANE FRANCE” – we suppose it could be a duplication of a print that was imported for distribution in France. This dupe nagative was used for a restoration in 1978, which resulted in the following two elements, both owned by Cinémathèque Royal: I F841/1 (print, acetate Agfa Gevaert, good overall state of preservation, adequate image quality, 2 of 2 reels ) and CMN 0656 (dupe positive, acetate Agfa Gevaert, good overall state of preservation, adequate image quality, 3 of 3 reels).
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private owner in 1963.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?Rough photographs of the element against a lightbox available.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca Nazionale – Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Rome)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)second generation print
Length (in meters)848.17 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Triacetate print, AGFA Gevaert 8711 dated from 1970 (according to Marc Sutherland list of edge codes in Brown H., Physical Characteristics of Early Films as Aids to Identification, new expanded version, p. 273). The original edge marks are not visible.
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitySome mechanical damages, overall good state of conservation. Fair photographic quality.
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

After comparison with the continuity by R. Totheroh, some shots appear to be missing. In particular sequences in which the German authorities are mocked. The missing shots are : 1; 2; 9; 10; 19; 23; 24; 25; 26; 31; 37; 38; 67; 74; 75; 76; 79; 80; 87; 88; 102; 121; 122; 123; 124; 125; 126; 127; 131; 157; 180; 181; 182; 183; 212; 213; 214; 243; 247; 251; 252; 253; 255; 259; 260; 264; 265; 267; 281; 282; 283; 288; 289; 301; 302; 303; 304. Some shots are truncated or different from the script : 4bis. C. U. Charlie; 11. Charlie enters dug-out from right (not left); Missing « Charlie pretending to be brace, hits self on chest. Another shell explodes. Charlie shows fear. »; 19. Not a close up but a medium shot; 36bis. C. U. Charlie looking at his medal; 101. Missing « Iris in »; 163bis. C. U. Syd looking at the enemy; 290. Missing « Kaiser, Crown Prince and Hindenburg enter and drive away in car ». The intertitles are translated as the following (the bis indicate intertitles that do not appear in the original script and that follow the shot numbered): 4. « Les pieds dedans » ; 10bis. « En France » ; 27. « Un paisible déjeuner »; 34. « Recommance [sic] ton service » ; 36bis. « Le « 13 » porte veine » ; 41. « Enfin la relève » ; 43. « Le mot de passe « il pleut » » ; 46. « Le courrier » ; 69. « Pour toi » ; 72. « Un camembert » ; 97. « Arrête tu bouscules la barque » ; 106. « L’attaque dans un 1/4 d’heure » ; 119. « La tranchée conquise » ; 128. « Pauvre France » ; 137. « On demande des volontaires » ; 139. « Vous êtes sûr d’y rester mon brave » ; 141. « Un savant camouflage » ; 154. « Son compagnon en mission » ; 191. « Français » ; 193. « Moi, Américain » ; 220. « Arrêtée » ; 244. « Le Kaiser visite le front » ; 254. « L’officier de garde » ; 269. « Son compagnon a été repris » ; 270bis. « Attention pas de gaffes » ; 290. « Un coup d’audace » ; 291. « Une communication aux alliés » ; 299. « Un héros à l’honneur » ; 305bis. « Hélas ce n’était qu’un rêve »
Distribution company markings on elementNo information about distribution company.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print have few printing errors (two duplications/repetitions of two frames in shot 190).
Former owners and source of acquisitionThe print was received from an exchange with the Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique (1971).
Contact person of the holding institutionMaria Assunta Pimpinelli
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Jugoslovenska Kinoteka
Inventory number(s) of the print/element?
Film title on elementCHARLIE CHAPLIN DANS CHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)843 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film? Gevaert
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitygood
Number of units (reels) and completeness?

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

? (see additional notes below)
Distribution company markings on elementno
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Most of the cuts in the Jugoslovenska Kinoteka print seem to be identical with the cuts in the Lobster Films print executed by Les Films Célébres and the German embassy in Paris in 1927 (see additional notes for Lobster Films print). All cuts in the Jugoslovenska Kinoteka print are copied. Research by Adrian Gerber.
Former owners and source of acquisitionJugoslovenska Kinoteka received the copy from a Belgian cinematheque in 1967.
Contact person of the holding institutionAleksandar Erdeljanović
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementPX 21636A
Film title on elementCHARLOT PORTEZ ARMES / CHARLOT SOLDAAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and Dutch

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)810–760 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate; images: mostly unmarked film with BH perforations, but also a few bits of EASTMAN KODAK ▲ (1918) and GEVAERT BELGIUM; intertitles: EASTMAN T KODAK +●˜ (1934) and KODAK +●˜ NITRATE FILM + (1934)
Color characteristicsb&w, blue tinting
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityshrunk and curled, some tears at the beginnings and ends, a few missing perforations, but otherwise in rather good condition; good image quality overall, with some short bits (inserts) of poorer image quality (one of the inserts has an empty strip for a missing soundrack)
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Several missing scenes, notably all the scenes of the German trench (there is however a short foreign low-quality insert of the german officer receiving the limburger on his face). Also missing the fragment of “the captured trench” (119-127). R2 is cut short (missing scenes 180-183). The sequence of Charlie getting hold of the machine gun in the chateau has a few missing scenes, notably Edna’s help. A few other missing bits with the Kaiser and the last run with the car (incomplete). At the end, extra sub-title: “Melheureusement, ce n’était qu’un rêve…” before Charlie is woken up in his tent.
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Due to the bilingual French-Dutch intertitles, we suppose that this print was distributed in Belgium.
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private owner in 1989.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?Rough photographs of the element against a lightbox available.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementPX 21636C
Film title on elementCHARLOT PORTEZ ARMES / CHARLOT SOLDAAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and Dutch

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)607–582.5 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate; images: GEVAERT BELGIUM; intertitles: EASTMAN │┼ KODAK +●˜ NITRATE FILM + (1934)
Color characteristicsb&w, orange tinting
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitypoor physical condition: fragile film, several tears, damaged/torn/missing perforations, includes a vandalised sequence (intentionally scratched emulsion), but photographic quality of the images is adequate
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Many misisng bits, including the entire opening sequence of military training and the cheering at the end before Charlie is woken up. Some ends of the reel lack leaders and their sequences are incomplete (ending abruptly).
Distribution company markings on elementC. Krauss Films
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Due to the bilingual French-Dutch intertitles, we suppose that this print was distributed in Belgium, but we were unable, at this time, to find out more about “C. Krauss Films”.
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private owner in 1989.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?Rough photographs of the element against a lightbox available.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementPX 21636B
Film title on elementCHARLOT PORTEZ ARMES / CHARLOT SOLDAAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench and Dutch

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)543.6–515.5 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate, unmarked edges
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitygood overall state of preservation; but medium-poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 3 reels, first reel missing

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

first reel missing
Distribution company markings on elementLedrou-Film-Bruxelles
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Ledrou was a distribution company in Belgium, that had to close down permanently on July 31, 1941.
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private owner in 1989.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?Rough photographs of the element against a lightbox available.

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementYA212
Film title on elementCHARLOT DANS LES TRANCHÉES / CHARLOT IN DE LOOPGRAVEN
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)838 – 778 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Gevaert Belgium AB safety
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsoptical sound, variable area, “Musique originale de Paul Devred”, “Enregistrement sonore procédé Charollais-Picot”; the soundtrack was added to the 1:1.33 frame, thus cropping the left side of the frame
Overall state of preservation and image qualitymediocre state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Includes shots of a flying airplane when Charlie is taking down enemies (not included in the cutting continuity).
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Strong possibility that it’s related to our dup. pos CMN 0657.
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a laboratory in 1955.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementCMN 0657
Film title on elementCHARLOT DANS LES TRANCHÉES / CHARLOT IN DE LOOPGRAVEN
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)dupe positive
Length (in meters)839 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate, Gevaert Belgium
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsoptical sound, variable area, “Musique originale de Paul Devred”, “Enregistrement sonore procédé Charollais-Picot”; the soundtrack was added to the 1:1.33 frame, thus cropping the left side of the frame
Overall state of preservation and image qualityadequate state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Strong possibility that it’s related to our print YA212.
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a laboratory in 1955.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementCMN 1280
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)dupe negative
Length (in meters)829 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate, Agfa Gevaert
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsoptical sound, VA; the soundtrack was added to the 1:1.33 frame, thus cropping the left side of the frame
Overall state of preservation and image qualityadequate state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a French distributor in 1985.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementG/IV H815/13
Film title on elementCHARLEY IN DE LOOPGRAVEN / CHARLOT DANS LES TRANCHÉES (“SHOULDER ARMS”)
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Ferrania safety
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitymedium state of preservation; low image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on elementFilm is preceded by a “Degeto Schmalfilm-Schrank” logo, although it might have been used simply as a leader from another element – a splice separates the film from this logo.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a Belgian private collector in 1999.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementI CC363
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Gevaert safety
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitypoor state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private collector in 2015.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementI D635
Film title on elementbeginning is missing, no title on element
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)305.1 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate, Gevaert
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitypoor state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private collector in 2019.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementII I262
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDAT
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Gevaert safety
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualitymedium-poor state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from a private collector in 2016.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?no

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementB 17096-0
Film title on elementCHARLIE ALS SOLDAAT (title on can)
Language(s) of intertitlesDutch

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)276 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm, full aperture

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

nitrate print; image: print-through Gevaert Belgium; intertitles: Agfa (pointed)
Color characteristicsb&w; except for the distribution credits which are tinted yellow
Sound characteristicssilent
Overall state of preservation and image qualityThe print itself is in fair condition: many scratches and cables (including in the emulsion). Lots of punch marks near the end of the reel. Good image quality.
Number of units (reels) and completenessone reel (reel 2), which is incomplete

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

The print corresponds to reel 2 of the film, although a few elements are missing: some of the intertitles, Chaplin bringing in 13 German soldiers, a shell exploding close to Edna at the chateau, and the ending of the scene in which Chaplin is being chased and escapes through a pipe. Missing parts: 102, 122-131, 141, 180-183. Intertitles in the print: TT 19: “Over een kwartier aanvallen.” (United Artists); TT 20: “Een genomen loopgraaf.”; TT 21: “13 brengt niet altijd ongeluk.”; TT 26: “Vrijwilligers gevraagd!”; TT 27: “Ben je er goed van doordrongen, dat je er nooit meer uit terugkomt, beste kerel?”; TT 28: “Een levens-gevaarlijke opdracht.”
Distribution company markings on elementtinted distribution title added at the end of the reel: F. A. Noggerath, Amsterdam; on intertitles: United Artists logo
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)We suspect this print was distributed in the Netherlands around the late 1920s – early 1930s.
Former owners and source of acquisitiondonated by a private collector in 2019
Contact person of the holding institutionElif Rongen-Kaynakçi and Martine Bouw
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementF 4384-0
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench (intertitles); Dutch (end title)

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (definitely not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)165 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

triacetate, edge marks: PERUTZ NONFLAM
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicscontains soundtrack: VA unilateral
Overall state of preservation and image qualitysome shrinkage and cables; high contrast; lots of printed-in damage (splices, cables) from a previous generation; one tape splice in the copy, used to connect reel 1 and reel 3
Number of units (reels) and completenessone reel (reel 1 and 3 spliced together), incomplete

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

The print corresponds to reel 1 and 3 (both incomplete), which are spliced together. In reel 1, the beginning title and first few shots are missing. There is also many missing intertitles and most of the shots of the German trenches are gone (except for the shot where the little officer receives the Limburger on his face). When Chaplin enters the dug-out and sees it’s filled with water, there is a splice and then the start of reel 3. In reel 3, many of the intertitles and some of the shots of the visit by the kaiser, the crown prince and Hindenburg are missing. Also, the ending is slightly different: the car passes; soldiers are cheering; IT: “Un héros à l’honneur”; iris in to Chaplin sleeping in a tent; cut to black; end title: “Einde”. Missing parts of reel 1: 1-10, 24-26, 34, 37-38, 46, 67, 72, 74-76, 80-81, 83-101. Reel 2 entirely missing. Missing parts of reel 3: 220, 244, 255, 259, 264, 267, 280-283, 288-289, 291, 299, 301-305.
Distribution company markings on elementnone
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The print is in the same state as when received from the private collector. Eye has not done any work on this element since registration.
Former owners and source of acquisitiondeposited by a private collector in 2004
Contact person of the holding institutionElif Rongen-Kaynakçi and Martine Bouw
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Arhiva Nationala de Filme – Cinemateca Romana
Inventory number(s) of the print/element2135
Film title on elementŠARLO KAO VOJNIK
Language(s) of intertitlesCroatian (main title); Italian (intertitles)

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

C negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (definitely not a first-generation print)
Length (in meters)633 m
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

main title, images and intertitles: Ferrania S. A. V. N. (Sonoro Area Variabile Nitrato?); main title and images: AGFA (copied?)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicswith soundtrack on film (empty/black)
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint is in good condition; medium image quality (high contrast, scratches), image is cropped left (soundtrack)
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2? reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on elementnone?
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)
Former owners and source of acquisitionacquired in 1968
Contact person of the holding institutionAna Ivan, Bogdan Movileanu
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

D Negative

The following discovered prints/elements are based on the D negative used for the CHAPLIN REVUE domestic and international release beginning in 1959, as well as later releases. This list is not exhaustive, as project MASh focuses on pre-1959 releases.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna (deposited by the owner Roy Export Company Establishment)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element57339
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)first
Length (in meters)906 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate; Eastman ▲+ (1950) safety film F
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsmute
Overall state of preservation and image qualitygood
Number of units (reels) and completeness4, complete

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

film is complete
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)from this source analogue restoration in 2002 and digital restoration in 2015
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionAndrea Meneghelli
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Harvard Film Archive (Cambridge)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element1801
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)distribution print (not first generation)
Length (in meters)1020 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Kodak positive – safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsmono
Overall state of preservation and image qualitydecent condition, high contrast, light wear throughout print
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Print has approximately 10-15 splices in it.
Distribution company markings on elementNo distribution company information in cerdits but the leader indicates” Revue de Charliot/Charlot Soldat”.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Kodak date code suggests either 1940 or 1960.
Former owners and source of acquisition
Contact person of the holding institutionMark Johnson
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)UCLA Film & Television Archive (Los Angeles)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementM02342
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)Print appears to be made from Kodak safety dupe negative, so print would have to be at least 3rd generation from O-Neg.
Length (in meters)from Shoulder Arms title to end: 1093 meters; including Columbia logo and newsreel intro: 1114 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

print: 3M film stock; DPN print-through edgecode: Kodak safety (no date code observed)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsvariable area bilateral optical soundtrack
Overall state of preservation and image qualityfilm condtion: very good, no vinegar syndrome detected, plattered
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Distribution company markings on elementColumbia Pictures
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Columbia Pictures was responsible for the US theatrical release in 1972.
Former owners and source of acquisitionprivate collector donation
Contact person of the holding institutionSteven K. Hill
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes (simple digital images taken on work bench)

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cinémathèque Royale de Belgique
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementIII S636 A
Film title on elementLA REVUE DE CHARLOT (CHARLOT SOLDAT)
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench (intertitles), Dutch (subtitles)

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)print
Length (in meters)1036 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

acetate, Agfa Gevaert (was copied from a Kodak Safe•ty +■ for the film and ▲+ for the main title)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsoptical sound, variable area, mono, music unknown (not mentioned in the titles)
Overall state of preservation and image qualitypoor state of preservation; poor image quality
Number of units (reels) and completeness2 of 2 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Includes scenes from the German front.
Distribution company markings on element
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)similar prints: III S636 B (no subtitles, 1031 meters) and III S636 C (no subtitles, 1026 meters)
Former owners and source of acquisitionReceived as a deposit from the Belgian distributor Elan in 1979.
Contact person of the holding institutionArianna Turci
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?Yes
Frame enlargements available?No

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)CNC – Direction du Patrimoine Cinématographique (Paris)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element153143451
Film title on element?
Language(s) of intertitlesFrench?

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)1030 meters
Gauge (format)35 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

safety film
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssoundtrack on film
Overall state of preservation and image qualityprint in very bad state of preservation; image quality ok
Number of units (reels) and completeness3 of 3 reels

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

?
Distribution company markings on element?
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)Print was probably released in France by Pathé-Consortium.
Former owners and source of acquisitiondeposited by Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé
Contact person of the holding institutionVincent Lallier
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive (Bloomington)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementBR0367 / 30000083789739
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS
Language(s) of intertitlesEnglish

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)distribution print
Length (in meters)438
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Acetate, Fuji Safety Film, Oct-Dec 1977
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicsDual bi-lateral variable area (mono)
Overall state of preservation and image qualityThis physical print is vertically emulsion-scratched throughout and includes print-through scratches from previous copies. The contrast and image quality are good.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

This print appears to be very complete and shot-accurate. The stretch-printing is visibly evident in scenes. There is no distribution company listed in the end credits, however. Also included are a narrated introduction with moving images, post credit narration and a musical score.
Distribution company markings on elementn/a
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)One of three 16 mm titles from the “Chaplin Revue” in our collection
Former owners and source of acquisitionDavid Bradley
Contact person of the holding institutionRachael Stoeltje
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?upon request

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca Nazionale – Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Rome)
Inventory number(s) of the print/element2501
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDATO
Language(s) of intertitlesItalian

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)dupe negative
Length (in meters)407.3 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

Triacetate base. Stock: Kodak Safe*ty Film +□ (manufactured in France in 1955 or 1975)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicssound version (with separated sound negative – score composed by Chaplin according the starting title)
Overall state of preservation and image qualityOverall good quality. Fair photographic quality for a 16mm reduction.
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

Missing shots: 29; 31; 39; 77; 119; 129; 130; 134; 135; 147; 166; 167; 172; 180; 181; 183; 223; 252; 253; 255; 262; 294; 295; 297; 298. Discrepancies in the editing: 11. “Charlie enters dug-out from right (not left) f.g.” Missing: Charlie pretending to be brace, hits self on chest. Another shell explodes. Charlie shows fear.”; 19. No close-up; 27. The shot is split by intertitles; 28. after “Officer congratulates Charlie and exits”; 63bis. Close-up Syd watching at the enemy. Intertitles: 1 “Charlot soldato, scritto e prodotto da Charles Chaplin, settembre 1918” / “Produzione United Artists / Distribuzione Dear Film”; 2 “Il plotone dei maldestri”; 4 “Raddrizza quei piedi”; 10 “Al fronte”; 23 “Il nemico”; 27 “Un pranzetto tranquillo”; 34 “Sistemati a tuo agio”; 38 “Più tardi”; 41 “Il cambio della guardia”; 43 “La parola d’ordine è “umidità””; 46 “Posta da casa”; 69 “Questo deve essere tuo”; 72 “Gorgonzola”; 75 “Alla vittoria”;80 “Ora di dormire”; 97 “Smettila di fare dondolare la barca”; 102 “Mattino”; 106 “Fra 15 minuti all’attacco”; 121 “Il 13 non è un numero tanto scalognato”; 124 “Come hai fatto a catturarne 13?”; 126 “Li ho circondati”;128 “Povera Francia”; 131 “Due anime gemelle”; 137 “Si cercano volontari”; 139 “Potresti non tornare indietro”; 141 “Dietro le linee nemiche”; 154 “Altre azioni eroiche” ; 191 “Parlez vous français?”; 193 “Io, soldato americano” ; 220 “Arrestata per aver aiutato il nemico”; 244 “Il Kaiser in visita al fronte” ; 254 “Dov’è l’ufficiale?”; 259 “Non mentire, e là!” ; 264 “Ci occuperemo di lei più tardi” ; 269 “Il suo amico è statao catturato di nuovo”; 280 “Azione immediata”; 282 “Pensi alla guerra”; 288 “La cattura” ; 291 “Informazione agli Alleati”; 299 “Ritorno col bottino”; 304 “Pace in terra agli uomini di buona volontà”
Distribution company markings on elementDistributed in Italy by Dear Film. Produced by United Artists.
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)The film is part of a two-reel Chaplin’s film montage including Shoulder Arms (Charlot soldato) and A Dog’s Life (Vita da cani). The element title is Ecco Charlot! (Here is Charlot!) [=The Chaplin Revue (1959)] and has a separate sound negative.
Former owners and source of acquisitionThe element has been acquired by the Cineteca Nazionale from a private collector in 2000.
Contact person of the holding institutionMaria Assunta Pimpinelli
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen (Berlin)
Inventory number(s) of the print/elementSDK01762-V
Film title on elementGEWEHR ÜBER
Language(s) of intertitlesGerman

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

D negative
Element status (generation)distribution print, 3rd or 4th generation
Length (in meters)396 meters
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

KODAK SAF.ETY FILM + ∎ (1975)
Color characteristicsb&w
Sound characteristicswith musik score
Overall state of preservation and image qualitygood physical condition, low image quality (similar to the shown images of the D negative on project MASh webpage)
Number of units (reels) and completeness1 of 1 reel

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

First scene (physical examination scene) is missing. Print starts after titles with first scene in the trench. Last Scene (Charlie’s awakening in his tent) is missing. Print ends with soldiers taking Charlie and Edna up in their arms and everybody starts cheering. No physical splices found. It looks like the missing parts at beginning and end are intended.
Distribution company markings on elementnone
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.)german main title with animated Chaplin signature. No other credits. No music credits.
Former owners and source of acquisitionDeutsche Kinemathek acquired the print in 1988. It was part of the private collection of Peter Hagemann. Previous provenance is unknown.
Contact person of the holding institutionMartin Koerber
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata?yes
Frame enlargements available?yes

Negative Non-Specified

The following discovered prints/elements could be based on the A, B, C, or D negative.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca del Friuli (Gemona)
Film title on elementSHOULDER ARMS

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

cellulose acetate
Sound characteristicswith soundtrack on film?

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca del Friuli (Gemona)
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDATO

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

cellulose acetate
Sound characteristicswith soundtrack on film

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Cineteca del Friuli (Gemona)
Film title on elementCHARLOT SOLDATO

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

cellulose acetate
Sound characteristicssilent?

 

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner)Filmoteca Española
Film title on element?

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

?
Gauge (format)16 mm

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

?
Sound characteristics?

No Holdings

According to their own statements, the following archives do not own any prints/elements of SHOULDER ARMS related to the pre-1959 theatrical releases.

Cinemateca de Cuba

Cinemateca Portuguesa

Cohen Media Group / Rohauer Collection (New York)

Imperial War Museum (London)

National Film Archive of Japan

National Film Institute Hungary

Rockefeller Foundation (New York)

Article “Camera Negatives, Releases, and Versions of Charlie Chaplin’s SHOULDER ARMS (1918)” by Adrian Gerber, in Early Popular Visual Culture, 19/1 (2021), 38–51, published online December 26, 2021: link

Article “Charlie Chaplin, der Krieg und das Schweizer Schul- und Volkskino” by Adrian Gerber (on the 16 mm Lichtspiel print of SHOULDER ARMS, in German), on Kinogeschite(n) by Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern, published online February 27, 2021: link

Interview with Brigitte Paulowitz about project MASh, on NitrateVille Radio, published online May 4, 2021: link

Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS: link

Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts / Guide to identifying year of manufacture for Kodak film stock: link

Excel form to report a print/element: download

Project MASh is hosted by the Swiss film archive Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern, https://lichtspiel.ch/en, member of Fédération Internationale des Archives du Film (FIAF) and of Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE).

Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern
Sandrainstrasse 3
CH-3007 Berne
Switzerland

Contact: adrian.gerber@gmx.net

Project leader: Dr. Adrian Gerber, archivist and film historian

Translation: Dr. Susie Trenka

Partners

The Chaplin Office, Paris (Kate Guyonvarch)

On behalf of the Chaplin rightsholding companies and the Chaplin family, the Chaplin Office endorses project MASh.

Cineteca di Bologna (Cecilia Cenciarelli)

Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich (Daniel Wiegand)

 


Advisory Board

Serge Bromberg, founder and CEO of Lobster Films, Paris

Cecilia Cenciarelli, head of Chaplin Project, Cineteca di Bologna

Thomas Christensen, curator, Danish Film Institute, Copenhagen

Roland Cosandey, film historian, Vevey

Caroline Fournier, head of film department, Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne

Dr. Wolfgang Fuhrmann, film scholar, Bogotà

Dan Kamin, author, Chaplin specialist, mime and theatre artist, Mt. Lebanon

Brigitte Paulowitz, head of film collections, Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern

David Robinson, author and Chaplin specialist, Bath

Dr. Matthias Uhlmann, film historian and censorship specialist, Zurich

Prof. Dr. Daniel Wiegand, film scholar, University of Zurich

Partners

The Chaplin Office, Paris (Kate Guyonvarch)

On behalf of the Chaplin rightsholding companies and the Chaplin family, the Chaplin Office endorses project MASh.

Cineteca di Bologna (Cecilia Cenciarelli)

Department of Film Studies, University of Zurich (Daniel Wiegand)

 


Advisory Board

Serge Bromberg, founder and CEO of Lobster Films, Paris

Cecilia Cenciarelli, head of Chaplin Project, Cineteca di Bologna

Thomas Christensen, curator, Danish Film Institute, Copenhagen

Roland Cosandey, film historian, Vevey

Caroline Fournier, head of film department, Cinémathèque suisse, Lausanne

Dr. Wolfgang Fuhrmann, film scholar, Bogotà

Dan Kamin, author, Chaplin specialist, mime and theatre artist, Mt. Lebanon

Brigitte Paulowitz, head of film collections, Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern

David Robinson, author and Chaplin specialist, Bath

Dr. Matthias Uhlmann, film historian and censorship specialist, Zurich

Prof. Dr. Daniel Wiegand, film scholar, University of Zurich

Cover image

Nitrate filmstrip from Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern 35mm print Shoulder Arms © Roy Export S.A.S.

Images in table

Frame enlargements of prints from Dan Kamin; Cinémathèque suisse (2018 restoration); Lichtspiel / Kinemathek Bern 35 mm (color adjusted); THE CHAPLIN REVUE Shoulder Arms © Roy Export S.A.S.

Information about prints (in forms)

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). Attribution/by: respective archive or collector.

Rest of text on website

Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). Attribution/by: Adrian Gerber. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Project MASh is immensely grateful to its partners and advisory board as well as to the many archives and collectors who checked their catalogues and vaults and inspected and reported their SHOULDER ARMS prints.

Our special thanks go to Christopher Bird, Serge Bromberg, Tino Buchs, Cecilia Cenciarelli, Thomas Christensen, Roland Cosandey, Stefan Drößler, Peter Fasnacht, Caroline Fournier, Barbara Flückiger, João Antonio Franz, Wolfgang Fuhrmann, Anita Gertiser, Kate Guyonvarch, Dan Kamin, David Landolf, Bruce Lawton, Sophia Lorent, Hooman Mehran, Ana-Maria Nascinschi, Brigitte Paulowitz, T. R., David Robinson, Ulrich Rüdel, Gilbert Stinner, David Totheroh, Susie Trenka, Margrit Tröhler, Matthias Uhlmann, Andy Ulrich, Daniel Wiegand, Niklaus Wostry, and David Wyatt.

The active reporting phase of project MASh was successfully completed in October 2022. However, the reporting of prints is still possible and appreciated.

If you represent a film archive or if you are a collector, we hope you will check your catalogues and vaults and share information about your SHOULDER ARMS print or print elements with us.

To report a film print or element, please download and use this empty Excel form (the file contains a separate worksheet as a sample of a completed entry and as guidance for filling out the form). Please use one form for each print and fill in as many fields as possible.

Holding institution (archive or collector, owner) 
Inventory number(s) of the print/element 
Film title on element 
Language(s) of intertitles 

Version (descent from A, B, C, or D negative)

(see project MASh webpage, section Historical Background, table)

 
Element status (generation) 
Length (in meters) 
Gauge (format) 

Film base and stock (edge marks, production year of stock)

(see Eastman Kodak Date Code Charts)

 
Color characteristics 
Sound characteristics 
Overall state of preservation and image quality 
Number of units (reels) and completeness 

Notes on incompleteness (missing scenes and titles) and editing (order of scenes and titles)

(see Cutting continuity on SHOULDER ARMS)

 
Distribution company markings on element 
Additional notes (country and estimated year of distribution; related elements; restoration; digitization, etc.) 
Former owners and source of acquisition 
Contact person of the holding institution 
Permission to publish this cataloguing metadata? 
Frame enlargements available? 

Please send the completed forms to adrian.gerber@gmx.net.

If available, frame enlargements can be sent via https://wetransfer.com. These images will not be published without the institution’s and the rights holder’s approval.