This program showcases the comic invention of Chaplin's work for Mutual Film Corporation. In 1916 and 1917, Mutual gave Chaplin the run of his own studio, and he repaid the favor with a series of hilarious films that honed his comic persona and directorial talents. Chaplin's physical grace comes to the fore as he roller-skates his way through The Rink. Easy Street casts the Tramp as the resident cop on a block reminiscent of the mean streets of the filmmaker's childhood. In The Cure, Chaplin checks into a spa to recover from the effects of drink, but a suitcase full of booze impedes his progress. Chaplin's own favorite work from his Mutual period, The Immigrant follows the travels and travails of new Americans, from steerage to the streets of New York. Like many of Chaplin's later films, it depicts the very real miseries of poverty with a mixture of sharp humor and compassion.