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Most people know Charlie Chaplin for his work in silent movies as the little tramp, a loveable underdog. But his career didn't end in the silent movie era, though that’s all many Americans remember.
Chaplin’s youth equipped him well to play the little tramp character which made him famous. His mother supported him almost entirely alone until she became mentally ill and was diagnosed as having a psychosis. At the age of seven, he was sent to a workhouse to work to support himself. He left and returned several times depending on his mother’s state of health. He had to support himself from the age of 13 onward, and he did so performing on a stage. His mother eventually died in the asylum. His father had died at the early age of 38 of cirrhosis of the liver, a condition brought on by his alcoholism.
Fortunately for Chaplin, he had great natural talent. After some hard years, Chaplin began to get starring roles as young as fifteen. At the age of nineteen he directed his first production. Later he co-founded his own distribution company, allowing him to completely control every aspect of his creative work. He soon became the biggest box office draw in the world.
When movies added sound, Chaplin resisted adding sound because he felt that his movies had qualities which were lost in the transition to sound. Modern Times was silent, released years after the transition to sound, and it did quite well.
In time of course, even Chaplin had to capitulate to the march of time. The forties were not kind for the veteran actor, who had become increasingly political, and was described as being a Communist. Chaplin was issued a subpoena to testify for the House on Unamerican Activities, though he was never called to testify. Representative John E. Rankin, who helped establish HUAC, said in June of 1947:
“Chaplin's very life in Hollywood is detrimental to the moral fabric of America. If he is deported... his loathsome pictures can be kept from before the eyes of the American youth. He should be deported and gotten rid of at once."
I'm not sure what idea in his films was detrimental to the moral fabric of America, unless you thought portraying the poor in a positive light was a bad thing. If you consider that an assault on society, then I suppose Chaplin would look like a problem. I honestly can't isolate anything else in his films that might have bothered Rankin. The little tramp was a pretty unusual character for his day.
Though once the best known actor in the world, things changed so much that he had difficulty finding work at various times in his career. He moved to Switzerland, and continued to make films where he could. While living in Europe, he made Limelight. So great was the damage to his reputation that Limelight was not seen at all in America for twenty years.
It could be argued the character that Chaplin played in Limelight was himself.
The plot is about an ageing vaudeville actor who was was once great, but had since fallen on hard times. He becomes involved with a ballerina who he prevents from committing suicide. After years of being unable to work, he finally gets one more big chance.
Near the end of the movie, Chaplin shared the stage with Buster Keaton for the first time. Buster Keaton was one of the other three geniuses of the silent film era. He had been out of work for longer than Chaplin, not having done anything since the end of silent films.
During the production of the movie, none of the other actors even knew who Buster Keaton was, and they were mystified at the great deference that Chaplin showed to Keaton, insisting that he get his own room and asking his opinion on many matters. .
For many years nothing that Chaplin made was seen to any great extent in the United States. In the sixties public opinion began to change in his favour, but Chaplin also suffered a series of strokes which effected his health and limited his ability to work.
In 1972, Limelight was finally shown in Los Angeles. The Academy awards only consider films which had been shown in Los Angeles that year for the first time. Limelight received an Academy award. Chaplin attended the awards, and he received a twelve minute standing ovation, which so far as is known is the longest standing ovation anyone has ever received.
It’s not my favourite of Chaplin’s films by any means, but it reminds me of the temporal nature of fame. Even those with great talent who achieve more success than any other, can find themselves forgotten or disliked in a very short time, sometimes for the most petty of reasons.
I’d been hoping to talk more about my project, but since I’m in the middle of a big move I’ve had to put that off for a bit, perhaps next week.
Have a nice morning.