JOSEP LLUIS WEBSITE   

      cinema

HOMEMUSICBOOKSCINEMARECIPESFAQsCOUNTRIESCHATEASY ENGLISHRELATED LINKSMISCELLANEOUSTESTFEEDBACKDICTIONARY
Charles Chaplin

 

Charles Chaplin, was an English comedy actor who became one of the most famous performers in the Hollywood silent cinema era, and he was also a remarkable director. he acted in, directed, scripted, produced  his own films.

His principal character was "The Tramp" (known as "Charlot" in France, Italy and Spain): a vagrant with the refined manners and dignity of a gentleman who wears a tight coat, oversized trousers and shoes, a hat, carries a cane, and has a toothbrush moustache. 

Indian Stamp

Charles Chaplin was born in London on April 16th 1889. His parents, both entertainers in the Music Hall tradition, separated before he was three.

As a child he lived with his mother. His father died when Charlie was twelve,  his mother, Hannah Chaplin, suffered from schizophrenia, and was admitted to an Asylum. Chaplin went to a workhouse at Lambeth, London, moving after several weeks to a London School for paupers.

Charlie first acted on the stage in 1894 at the age of five. In 1907, he became a clown in Fred Karno's 'Fun Factory' comedy company, where Chaplin became the star of the troupe.

In 1913, Chaplin's act with the Karno Troupe was seen by film producer Mack Sennett, who hired him for his studio, the Keystone Film Company. Chaplin's first film appearance was in Making a Living a comedy released on February 2, 1914.
 In 1919 Chaplin founded the United Artists film distribution company with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith. This move, along with complete control of his film production through his studio, assured Chaplin's independence as a filmmaker. He worked in United Artists until the early 1950s.

All Chaplin's United Artists pictures were of feature length, beginning with  A Woman of Paris (1923). This was followed by the classic The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). 
 After the arrival of sound films, he made City Lights (1931), and Modern Times (1936) which portrays the terrible situation of workers and the poor in industrial society and the dehumanizing effect of mechanization.

Modern Times

The Great Dictator

His next films made in Hollywood were The Great Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), and Limelight (1952).
The Great Dictator (1940) was an act of defiance against Adolf Hitler and Nazism.  Chaplin played a fascist dictator clearly inspired on Hitler.
 Chaplin dropped his comic character to directly address the audience at the conclusion of The Great Dictator.

Chaplin's two final films were made in London: A King in New York (1957) in which he starred, and (as writer and director) A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando.

Chaplin died on Christmas Day, 1977, in Vevey, Switzerland, in his sleep, he was 88 years old.

If you can't see the player, click here.

 

 

TOP