CHARLIE CHAPLIN

& THE KID

Film Literature—Early Film

Charlie Chaplin• 1889-1977

• Was an English actor, comedian, and filmmaker.

• Endured poverty and hardship as a child.

• After work in vaudeville, began acting in short films in America in 1914.

The Tramp• Chaplin created the

character of “The Tramp” for his second film, in 1914.

• He acted in 68 short films between 1914 and 1919.

• His salary began at $150 a week, but by 1916, he was earning $670,000 a year.

Some Chaplin Short Films• The Tramp (1915)

• Easy Street (1917)

• The Immigrant (1917)

Feature Films• In 1919, Chaplin co-

founded United Artists, which gave him complete control of his work.

• The Kid (1921), at 68 minutes, was Chaplin’s longest film to date.

• He wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films.

Feature FilmsAfter The Kid, Chaplin went on to direct ten more feature films:

A Woman of Paris (1923)

The Gold Rush (1925)

The Circus (1928)

City Lights (1931)

Modern Times (1936)

The Great Dictator (1940)

Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Limelight (1952)

A King in New York (1957)

A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

Feature Films• Chaplin starred as “The

Tramp” in nearly all his films, through 1936.

• Although Hollywood had mostly transitioned to “talkies” by the beginning of the 1930’s, The Tramp remained almost entirely silent, although sound effects and music were used.

Feature Films• Chaplin parodied

Adolph Hitler in The Great Dictator (1940).

• He played a serial killer in Monsieur Verdoux(1947).

• His final film – the only one to be shot in color –was A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), starring Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren.

Controversy• Beginning in the 1940’s,

Chaplin’s popularity declined rapidly due to negative publicity and smear campaigns promoted by J. Edgar Hoover.

• He was accused of communist sympathies and was involved in a paternity suit and scandals involving his marriages to much younger women.

• After an FBI investigation was opened, he left the US and moved to Switzerland.

Style and ThemesStyle

• Restrained slapstick.

• Physical comedy and situation-based humor.

• Pathos and sentimentality.

• Unobtrusive, simple camera work.

Themes

• Surviving and remaining positive in the face of a hostile world.

• Retaining dignity in spite of low social position.

• Draws on tragic and controversial issues.

The Kid• In the process of

making The Kid, Chaplin integrated slapstick comedy with dramatic sequences for the first time in a feature film comedy

• Born out of Chaplin’s grief over the death of his infant son

• Perhaps Chaplin’s most potent marriage of comedy and high emotion

The Kid• Chaplin, fearing that his

estranged wife was going to get her hands on the movie, fled to California with 400,000 feet of uncut negative of the film hidden in coffee tins

• Chaplin and his crew improvised an editing room in a hotel room and made a rough cut of the film, reducing 400,000 feet to 5,300 feet

• Audiences deemed it a hit

Watch The Kid (click on photo below)

Discussion Questions• How does poverty affect the little tramp’s

ability to parent the kid?

• What job or trade does he teach the kid? What is your reaction to that?

• What is Chaplin’s message—comic or tragic—about being a parent?

• Do you think the little tramp is a good father?

• Many critics have criticized the dream sequence as inconsistent with the rest of the film. What do you think? Why?

Discussion Questions• Without dialogue, body language and facial

expressions are what the audience “hears” in the movie. Discuss some of the interactions/acting between the tramp and the kid, the tramp and the policeman, and in the street fight scene with the boy and his muscular brother. How is the acting different from the acting you see in films today?

• The music changes from the opening scenes to Chaplin’s first appearance. Explain how the music changes and why. How does the tempo of the music control the speed of the action? Give examples? How does the music make you feel in each of these situations?

Discussion Questions• How do you know Chaplin’s character is a tramp?

What elements of mise-en-scene (what you see) covey this message? Props, costume, setting?

• Discuss style and theme of The Kid

Style

• Restrained slapstick.

• Physical comedy and situation-based humor.

• Pathos and sentimentality.

• Unobtrusive, simple camera work.

Themes

• Surviving and remaining positive in the face of a hostile world.

• Retaining dignity in spite of low social position.

• Draws on tragic and controversial issues.