Chaplin, Charlie 1889-1977

CHAPLIN, CHARLIE 1889-1977

Comedian

Famous Face

The American recognized more readily than any other throughout the world for more than seventy years was inhabited by an Englishman. Charles Spencer Chaplin, the child of English music-hall entertainers, grew up in English work-houses and orphanages, but his success story is a type of the American dream unrivaled by the imaginings of Hollywood: he became the supreme genius of movie comedy. His work has been analyzed by intellectuals and enjoyed everywhere by people wanting to be amused, and his Little Tramp is still such an identifiable Everyman that an impersonation of him has been used to sell electronic office equipment.

Early Shorts

At twelve Chaplin was on the stage, and at seventeen he was touring with the Fred Karno comedy troupe. In 1914 he was hired by Mack Sennett to appear in the silent shorts made by Mack Sennett's Keystone studio in Hollywood. The Sennett company included Fatty Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, and the Keystone Kops; the humor was physical, and the chase was mandatory. Sennett's mass-produced comedies provided Chaplin little opportunity to develop his comic ideas, as he appeared in thirty-five shorts in one year. One of these, Kid Auto Races at Venice (seven minutes), introduced Chaplin's tramp figure, who became the most popular movie character of all time. Told to put on a funny costume, Chaplin selected baggy trousers (borrowed from Fatty Arbuckle), oversize shoes (worn on the wrong feet), a cutaway coat that was too small, a derby, a bamboo cane, and a false mustache. The effect of seedy elegance—an insouciant absurd dignity—was a personification of unrealizable but resilient human aspiration.

Writer and Director

Although Chaplin began writing and directing at Keystone with Caught in the Rain, he was dissatisfied with the working conditions and remuneration. Possibly because of his impoverished childhood, Chaplin was a shrewd manager of his finances. Determined to acquire full control over his genius, Chaplin moved to the Essanay Studio (fourteen two-reelers, written and directed by Chaplin), thence to the Mutual Studio in 1916; at twenty-six he became the highest-paid performer in the world, receiving $670,000 for a dozen two-reelers—all of which he wrote and directed—including The Floorwalker, The Fireman, One A.M., The Rink, The Cure, Easy Street, and The Immigrant. During his year at Mutual, Chaplin refined his theories of comedy and movie construction. As he explained:

I not only try to get myself into embarrassing situations, but I also incriminate the other characters in the picture. When I do this, I always aim for economy of means. By that I mean that when one incident can get two big, separate laughs, it is much better than two individual incidents. In "The Adventurer" [ Mutual, 1917 ] I accomplished this by first placing myself on a balcony, eating ice cream with a girl. On the floor directly underneath the balcony I put a stout, dignified, well-dressed woman at a table. Then, while eating the ice cream, I let a piece drop off my spoon, slip through my baggy trousers and drop from the balcony onto this woman's neck The first laugh came at my embarrassment over my own predicament. The second, and the much greater one, came when the ice cream landed on the woman's neck and she shrieked and started to dance around. Only one incident had been used, but it had got two people in trouble, and had also got two big laughs.

Early Features

In 1918 he moved to First National when he was paid $1 million for eight movies, including his first'feature, The Kid (1921). A perfectionist who discarded much of his footage, Chaplin reduced his productions during the 1920s. While Fatty Arbuckle made nine features in a year, Chaplin spent one year on The Kid. Chaplin's Mutual and First National movies developed the character of the Little Tramp into a comic hero, weak and friendless but moved to quixotic exertion by acts of injustice or cruelty, confronting powerful figures. He may triumph through his wits or he may be defeated by brute force, but the Tramp's essential goodness and optimism are not impaired. Increasingly Chaplin built pathos into his hero's struggles.

Independence

He achieved total artistic and financial control over his movies in 1923 when Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith formed United Artists. The Gold Rush (1925)—to which he devoted two years—was Chaplin's masterpiece in the 1920s. The episode of the tramp cooking and eating his shoes is the most famous movie comedy routine. Three years were spent on The Circus (1928).

Sound

Chaplin recognized that his comedy did not need sound and that spoken dialogue would limit his audience. Other silent clowns were destroyed by talkies, but Chaplin maintained his artistic independence and wealth. He spent another three years on City Lights (1931), which had sound effects and music but not dialogue. It is generally ranked as his greatest achievement. Chaplin's voice was not heard until Modern Times (1936), the last appearance of the Little Tramp.

Messages

Chaplin's career survived sexual and marital scandals that would have ruined any other star. He married two child brides and was involved in a messy paternity case. At age fifty-four he married eighteen-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of dramatist Eugene O'Neill; the enduring marriage produced eight children. Chaplin generated further hostile attention by his political ideas. Beginning with Modern Times, Chaplin used his movies to make political statements—with mixed results. The Great Dictator (1940) effectively ridiculed Hitler and Mussolini, but his postwar movies were didactic. Critics complained that his work had become pretentious.

Exile

During the war Chaplin advocated a second front in Europe to relieve the German pressure on the Soviet Union and became known as a friend of Russia. The fact that he had retained his British citizenship was cited as evidence of his un-American conduct. There were income-tax claims that Chaplin believed to be punitive. Boycotts were organized against Monsieur Verdoux (1947) and A King in New York (1957). Limelight (1952) was Chaplin's last major achievement. This evocation of the English music halls of his apprenticeship ends with a superb comedy routine by Chaplin and Buster Keaton. In 1952 while traveling abroad Chaplin was informed that the attorney general would not permit him to reenter the United States unless he could prove his "moral worth." Chaplin remained in Europe, settling in Switzerland, and returned to America only to accept a special Oscar in 1972. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975.

Endurance

During the 1920s there was never a minute when a Chaplin movie was not being shown some-where. More people have watched his movies all over the world than those of any other performer. More than anyone else, he enlarged the range of comedy. Charlie Chaplin's audiences are still laughing.

Sources:

Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's Own Story (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985);

Chaplin, My Autobiography (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1964);

David Robinson, Chaplin: His Life and Art (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985).