Editing Charlie Chaplin (section)

====Mutual====
[[File:Charlie Chaplin with doll.jpg|thumb|left|upright|By 1916, Chaplin was a global phenomenon. Here he shows off some of his merchandise, {{circa|1918}}.]]
A contract was negotiated with Mutual that amounted to $670,000{{efn|{{Inflation|US|670000|1916|fmt=eq|r=-5}}}} a year,<ref>{{cite journal|title=C. Chaplin, Millionaire-Elect |url=https://archive.org/details/PhotoplayMagazineMay1916 |journal=[[Photoplay]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/PhotoplayMagazineMay1916/page/n57 58] |volume=IX |issue=6 |date=May 1916 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117045754/https://archive.org/details/PhotoplayMagazineMay1916 |archive-date=17 January 2014}}</ref> which Robinson says made Chaplin{{snd}}at 26 years old{{snd}}one of the highest-paid people in the world.{{sfn|Robinson|p=160}} The high salary shocked the public and was widely reported in the press.{{sfn|Larcher|p=29}} John R. Freuler, the studio president, explained: "We can afford to pay Mr. Chaplin this large sum annually because the public wants Chaplin and will pay for him."{{sfn|Robinson|p=159}}

Mutual gave Chaplin his own Los Angeles studio to work in, which opened in March 1916.{{sfn|Robinson|p=164}} He added two key members to his stock company, [[Albert Austin]] and [[Eric Campbell (actor)|Eric Campbell]],{{sfn|Robinson|pp=165–166}} and produced a series of elaborate two-reelers: ''[[The Floorwalker]]'', ''[[The Fireman (1916 film)|The Fireman]]'', ''[[The Vagabond (1916 film)|The Vagabond]]'', ''[[One A.M. (1916 film)|One A.M.]]'' and ''[[The Count (film)|The Count]]''.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=169–173}} For ''[[The Pawnshop]]'', he recruited the actor [[Henry Bergman]], who was to work with Chaplin for 30 years.{{sfn|Robinson|p=175}} ''[[Behind the Screen]]'' and ''[[The Rink (film)|The Rink]]'' completed Chaplin's releases for 1916. The Mutual contract stipulated that he release a two-reel film every four weeks, which he had managed to achieve. With the new year, however, Chaplin began to demand more time.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=179–180}} He made only four more films for Mutual over the first ten months of 1917: ''[[Easy Street (1917 film)|Easy Street]]'', ''[[The Cure (1917 film)|The Cure]]'', ''[[The Immigrant (1917 film)|The Immigrant]]'' and ''[[The Adventurer (1917 film)|The Adventurer]]''.{{sfn|Robinson|p=191}} With their careful construction, these films are considered by Chaplin scholars to be among his finest work.<ref>{{cite web |title="The Happiest Days of My Life": Mutual |url=http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog6 |url-status=dead |work=Charlie Chaplin |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=28 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122054424/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog6 |archive-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=Brownlow|1p=45|2a1=Robinson|2p=191|3a1=Louvish|3p=104|4a1=Vance|4y=2003|4p=203}} Later in life, Chaplin referred to his Mutual years as the happiest period of his career.{{sfn|Chaplin|p=188}} However, Chaplin also felt that those films became increasingly formulaic over the period of the contract, and he was increasingly dissatisfied with the working conditions encouraging that.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brownlow |first1=Kevin |last2=Gill |first2=David |title=Unknown Chaplin |publisher=Thames Silent |date=1983}}</ref>

Chaplin was attacked in the British media for not fighting in the [[First World War]].{{sfn|Robinson|p=185}} He defended himself, claiming that he would fight for Britain if called and had registered for the American draft, but he was not summoned by either country.{{efn|The British embassy made a statement saying: "[Chaplin] is of as much use to Great Britain now making big money and subscribing to war loans as he would be in the trenches."{{sfn|Robinson|p=186}}}} Despite this criticism, Chaplin was a favourite with the troops,{{sfn|Robinson|p=187}} and his popularity continued to grow worldwide. ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' reported that the name of Charlie Chaplin was "a part of the common language of almost every country", and that the Tramp image was "universally familiar".{{sfn|Robinson|p=210}} In 1917, professional Chaplin imitators were so widespread that he took legal action,{{sfn|Robinson|pp=215–216}} and it was reported that nine out of ten men who attended costume parties, did so dressed as the Tramp.{{sfn|Robinson|p=213}} The same year, a study by the [[Boston Society for Psychical Research]] concluded that Chaplin was "an American obsession".{{sfn|Robinson|p=213}} The actress [[Minnie Maddern Fiske]] wrote that "a constantly increasing body of cultured, artistic people are beginning to regard the young English buffoon, Charles Chaplin, as an extraordinary artist, as well as a comic genius".{{sfn|Robinson|p=210}}