One truism of film restoration is that the best-loved titles are almost always in the worst shape. Negatives wear out from overuse, old prints are duped to create new ones, and image (and sound) quality are lost with every new analog generation. That’s long been the case with Charles Chaplin’s Mutual shorts, a series of 12 two-reel comedies that Chaplin made in 1916 and 1917. Considered by many to be Chaplin’s funniest, most formally accomplished work, the Mutual shorts have nearly been loved to death after over a century in constant circulation.

MoMA’s new restoration of The Adventurer, the final and, for many, finest of the Mutuals, comes as a revelation. Assembled from seven different sources, almost all from the domestic A negative, often combining elements within a given shot, the MoMA restoration has a clarity and grain structure missing from the film for generations, and has been fitted with remade intertitles that match samples from original prints of other Mutual films. The film now looks—almost eerily—very much as it did when it first appeared on American screens.

The restoration was supervised by Peter Williamson, MoMA’s Film Conservation Manager, and Dave Kehr, Curator, Department of Film, and was carried out at Metropolis Post in New York City. We are especially grateful to Metropolis for their amazing work despite the COVID shutdowns.

Featuring LIVE piano accompaniment.