Charlie Chaplin

British comic actor and filmmakerTemplate:SHORTDESC:British comic actor and filmmaker[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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* director
* composer
* screenwriter
* producer
* Lita Grey(m. 1924; div. 1927)
* Paulette Goddard(m. 1936; div. 1942)

**Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin** KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, "The Tramp", and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy.

Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship, as his father was absent and his mother struggled financially, and he was sent to a workhouse twice before the age of nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the prestigious Fred Karno company, which took him to America. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fan base. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the best-known figures in the world.

In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length film was *The Kid* (1921), followed by *A Woman of Paris* (1923), *The Gold Rush* (1925), and *The Circus* (1928). He initially refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing *City Lights* (1931) and *Modern Times* (1936) without dialogue. He became increasingly political, and his first sound film was *The Great Dictator* (1940), which satirised Adolf Hitler. The 1940s were a decade marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, and some members of the press and public found his involvement in a paternity suit, and marriages to much younger women, scandalous. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the United States and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include *Monsieur Verdoux* (1947), *Limelight* (1952), *A King in New York* (1957), and *A Countess from Hong Kong* (1967).

Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. He received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century" in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in high regard, with *The Gold Rush*, *City Lights*, *Modern Times*, and *The Great Dictator* often ranked on lists of the greatest films of all time.

## Biography

### 1889–1913: Early years

#### Background and childhood hardship

 File:Chaplin at Hanwell.jpg
Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889 to Hannah Chaplin (born Hannah Harriet Pedlingham Hill) and Charles Chaplin Sr. There is no official record of his birth, although Chaplin believed he was born at East Street, Walworth, in South London.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His parents had married four years previously, at which time Charles Sr. became the legal guardian of Hannah's illegitimate son, Sydney John Hill.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At the time of his birth, Chaplin's parents were both music hall entertainers. Hannah, the daughter of a shoemaker,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** had a brief and unsuccessful career under the stage name Lily Harley,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** while Charles Sr., a butcher's son,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** was a popular singer.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Although they never divorced, Chaplin's parents were estranged by around 1891.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The following year, Hannah gave birth to a third son – George Wheeler Dryden – fathered by the music hall entertainer Leo Dryden. The child was taken by Dryden at six months old, and did not re-enter Chaplin's life for 30 years.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin's childhood was fraught with poverty and hardship, making his eventual trajectory "the most dramatic of all the rags to riches stories ever told" according to his authorised biographer David Robinson.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's early years were spent with his mother and brother Sydney in the London district of Kennington; Hannah had no means of income, other than occasional nursing and dressmaking, and Chaplin Sr. provided no financial support.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As the situation deteriorated, Chaplin was sent to Lambeth Workhouse when he was seven years old. The council housed him at the Central London District School for paupers, which Chaplin remembered as "a forlorn existence".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He was briefly reunited with his mother 18 months later, before Hannah was forced to readmit her family to the workhouse in July 1898. The boys were promptly sent to Norwood Schools, another institution for destitute children.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

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In September 1898, Hannah was committed to Cane Hill mental asylum – she had developed a psychosis seemingly brought on by an infection of syphilis and malnutrition.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** For the two months she was there, Chaplin and his brother Sydney were sent to live with their father, whom the young boys scarcely knew.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Charles Sr. was by then a severe alcoholic, and life there was bad enough to provoke a visit from the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's father died two years later, at 38 years old, from cirrhosis of the liver.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Hannah entered a period of remission but, in May 1903, became ill again.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin, then 14, had the task of taking his mother to the infirmary, from where she was sent back to Cane Hill.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He lived alone for several days, searching for food and occasionally sleeping rough, until Sydney – who had enrolled in the Navy two years earlier – returned.Template:Sfnm Hannah was released from the asylum eight months later,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** but in March 1905, her illness returned, this time permanently. "There was nothing we could do but accept poor mother's fate", Chaplin later wrote, and she remained in care until her death in 1928.Template:Sfnm

#### Young performer

 File:Chaplin in Sherlock Holmes.jpg
Between his time in the poor schools and his mother succumbing to mental illness, Chaplin began to perform on stage. He later recalled making his first amateur appearance at the age of five years, when he took over from Hannah one night in Aldershot. This was an isolated occurrence, but by the time he was nine Chaplin had, with his mother's encouragement, grown interested in performing. He later wrote: "[she] imbued me with the feeling that I had some sort of talent".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Through his father's connections,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin became a member of the Eight Lancashire Lads clog-dancing troupe, with whom he toured English music halls throughout 1899 and 1900. Chaplin worked hard, and the act was popular with audiences, but he was not satisfied with dancing and wished to form a comedy act.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

In the years Chaplin was touring with the Eight Lancashire Lads, his mother ensured that he still attended school but, by age 13, he had abandoned education.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.****Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He supported himself with a range of jobs, while nursing his ambition to become an actor.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At 14, shortly after his mother's relapse, he registered with a theatrical agency in London's West End. The manager sensed potential in Chaplin, who was promptly given his first role as a newsboy in Harry Arthur Saintsbury's *Jim, a Romance of Cockayne*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** It opened in July 1903, but the show was unsuccessful and closed after two weeks. Chaplin's comic performance, however, was singled out for praise in many of the reviews.Template:Sfnm

Saintsbury secured a role for Chaplin in Charles Frohman's production of *Sherlock Holmes*, where he played Billy the pageboy in three nationwide tours.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His performance was so well received that he was called to London to play the role alongside William Gillette, the original Holmes. "It was like tidings from heaven", Chaplin recalled.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At 16 years old, Chaplin starred in the play's West End production at the Duke of York's Theatre from October to December 1905.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He completed one final tour of *Sherlock Holmes* in early 1906, before leaving the play after more than two-and-a-half years.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Stage comedy and vaudeville

Chaplin soon found work with a new company, and went on tour with his brother – who was also pursuing an acting career – in a comedy sketch called *Repairs*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In May 1906, Chaplin joined the juvenile act Casey's Circus,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** where he developed popular burlesque pieces and was soon the star of the show. By the time the act finished touring in July 1907, the 18-year-old had become an accomplished comedic performer.Template:Sfnm He struggled to find more work, however, and a brief attempt at a solo act was a failure.

 File:Chaplin Karno advert.jpg
Meanwhile, Sydney Chaplin had joined Fred Karno's prestigious comedy company in 1906 and, by 1908, he was one of their key performers.Template:Sfnm In February, he managed to secure a two-week trial for his younger brother. Karno was initially wary, and considered Chaplin a "pale, puny, sullen-looking youngster" who "looked much too shy to do any good in the theatre."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** However, the teenager made an impact on his first night at the London Coliseum and he was quickly signed to a contract.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin began by playing a series of minor parts, eventually progressing to starring roles in 1909.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In April 1910, he was given the lead in a new sketch, *Jimmy the Fearless*. It was a big success, and Chaplin received considerable press attention.Template:Sfnm

Karno selected his new star to join the section of the company, one that also included Stan Laurel, that toured North America's vaudeville circuit.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The young comedian headed the show and impressed reviewers, being described as "one of the best pantomime artists ever seen here".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His most successful role was a drunk called the "Inebriate Swell", which drew him significant recognition.Template:Sfnm The tour lasted 21 months, and the troupe returned to England in June 1912.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin recalled that he "had a disquieting feeling of sinking back into a depressing commonplaceness" and was, therefore, delighted when a new tour began in October.Template:Sfnm

### 1914–1917: Entering films

#### Keystone

Six months into the second American tour, Chaplin was invited to join the New York Motion Picture Company. A representative who had seen his performances thought he could replace Fred Mace, a star of their Keystone Studios who intended to leave.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin thought the Keystone comedies "a crude mélange of rough and rumble", but liked the idea of working in films and rationalised: "Besides, it would mean a new life."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He met with the company and signed a $150-per-week contract in September 1913.Template:Sfnm Chaplin arrived in Los Angeles in early December,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and began working for the Keystone studio on 5 January 1914.

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Chaplin's boss was Mack Sennett, who initially expressed concern that the 24-year-old looked too young.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He was not used in a picture until late January, during which time Chaplin attempted to learn the processes of filmmaking.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The one-reeler *Making a Living* marked his film acting debut and was released on 2 February 1914. Chaplin strongly disliked the picture, but one review picked him out as "a comedian of the first water".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** For his second appearance in front of the camera, Chaplin selected the costume with which he became identified. He described the process in his autobiography:

> I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large ... I added a small moustache, which, I reasoned, would add age without hiding my expression. I had no idea of the character. But the moment I was dressed, the clothes and the makeup made me feel the person he was. I began to know him, and by the time I walked on stage he was fully born.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**
>
>

The film was *Mabel's Strange Predicament*, but "the Tramp" character, as it became known, debuted to audiences in *Kid Auto Races at Venice* – shot later than *Mabel's Strange Predicament* but released two days earlier on 7 February 1914.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin adopted the character as his screen persona and attempted to make suggestions for the films he appeared in. These ideas were dismissed by his directors.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** During the filming of his eleventh picture, *Mabel at the Wheel*, he clashed with director Mabel Normand and was almost released from his contract. Sennett kept him on, however, when he received orders from exhibitors for more Chaplin films. Sennett also allowed Chaplin to direct his next film himself after Chaplin promised to pay $1,500 ($Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year dollars) if the film was unsuccessful.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

*Caught in the Rain*, issued 4 May 1914, was Chaplin's directorial debut and was highly successful.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Thereafter he directed almost every short film in which he appeared for Keystone,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** at the rate of approximately one per week,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** a period which he later remembered as the most exciting time of his career.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's films introduced a slower form of comedy than the typical Keystone farce,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and he developed a large fan base.Template:Sfnm In November 1914, he had a supporting role in the first feature length comedy film, *Tillie's Punctured Romance*, directed by Sennett and starring Marie Dressler, which was a commercial success and increased his popularity.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** When Chaplin's contract came up for renewal at the end of the year, he asked for $1,000 a week ($Template:Inflation in Template:Inflation-year dollars) – an amount Sennett refused as too large.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Essanay

 File:Chaplin and Purviance in Work.jpg
The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company of Chicago sent Chaplin an offer of $1,250 a week with a signing bonus of $10,000. He joined the studio in late December 1914,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** where he began forming a stock company of regular players, actors he worked with again and again, including Leo White, Bud Jamison, Paddy McGuire and Billy Armstrong. He soon recruited a leading lady – Edna Purviance, whom Chaplin met in a café and hired on account of her beauty. She went on to appear in 35 films with Chaplin over eight years;**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** the pair also formed a romantic relationship that lasted into 1917.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin asserted a high level of control over his pictures and started to put more time and care into each film.Template:Sfnm There was a month-long interval between the release of his second production, *A Night Out*, and his third, *The Champion*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The final seven of Chaplin's 14 Essanay films were all produced at this slower pace.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin also began to alter his screen persona, which had attracted some criticism at Keystone for its "mean, crude, and brutish" nature.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The character became more gentle and romantic;**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *The Tramp* (April 1915) was considered a particular turning point in his development.Template:Sfnm The use of pathos was developed further with *The Bank*, in which Chaplin created a sad ending. Robinson notes that this was an innovation in comedy films, and marked the time when serious critics began to appreciate Chaplin's work.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At Essanay, writes film scholar Simon Louvish, Chaplin "found the themes and the settings that would define the Tramp's world."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

During 1915, Chaplin became a cultural phenomenon. Shops were stocked with Chaplin merchandise, he was featured in cartoons and comic strips, and several songs were written about him.Template:Sfnm In July, a journalist for *Motion Picture Magazine* wrote that "Chaplinitis" had spread across America.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As his fame grew worldwide, he became the film industry's first international star.Template:Sfnm When the Essanay contract ended in December 1915,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin – fully aware of his popularity – requested a $150,000 signing bonus from his next studio. He received several offers, including Universal, Fox, and Vitagraph, the best of which came from the Mutual Film Corporation at $10,000 a week.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Mutual

 File:Charlie Chaplin with doll.jpg
A contract was negotiated with Mutual that amounted to $670,000 a year ($Template:Inflation million today), which Robinson says made Chaplin – at 26 years old – one of the highest paid people in the world.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The high salary shocked the public and was widely reported in the press.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Mutual gave Chaplin his own Los Angeles studio to work in, which opened in March 1916.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He added two key members to his stock company, Albert Austin and Eric Campbell,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and produced a series of elaborate two-reelers: *The Floorwalker*, *The Fireman*, *The Vagabond*, *One A.M.*, and *The Count*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** For *The Pawnshop*, he recruited the actor Henry Bergman, who was to work with Chaplin for 30 years.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *Behind the Screen* and *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.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He made only four more films for Mutual over the first ten months of 1917: *Easy Street*, *The Cure*, *The Immigrant*, and *The Adventurer*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** With their careful construction, these films are considered by Chaplin scholars to be among his finest work.Template:Sfnm Later in life, Chaplin referred to his Mutual years as the happiest period of his career.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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.

Chaplin was attacked in the British media for not fighting in the First World War.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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. Despite this criticism Chaplin was a favourite with the troops,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In 1917, professional Chaplin imitators were so widespread that he took legal action,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and it was reported that nine out of ten men who attended costume parties dressed as the Tramp.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The same year, a study by the Boston Society for Psychical Research concluded that Chaplin was "an American obsession".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** 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".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### 1918–1922: First National

 File:Poster - A Dog's Life 01.jpg
In January 1918, Chaplin was visited by leading British singer and comedian Harry Lauder, and the two acted in a short film together.

Mutual was patient with Chaplin's decreased rate of output, and the contract ended amicably. With his aforementioned concern about the declining quality of his films because of contract scheduling stipulations, Chaplin's primary concern in finding a new distributor was independence; Sydney Chaplin, then his business manager, told the press, "Charlie [must] be allowed all the time he needs and all the money for producing [films] the way he wants ... It is quality, not quantity, we are after."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In June 1917, Chaplin signed to complete eight films for First National Exhibitors' Circuit in return for $1 million ($Template:Inflation million today).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He chose to build his own studio, situated on five acres of land off Sunset Boulevard, with production facilities of the highest order.Template:Sfnm It was completed in January 1918,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and Chaplin was given freedom over the making of his pictures.

*A Dog's Life*, released April 1918, was the first film under the new contract. In it, Chaplin demonstrated his increasing concern with story construction and his treatment of the Tramp as "a sort of Pierrot".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The film was described by Louis Delluc as "cinema's first total work of art".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin then embarked on the Third Liberty Bond campaign, touring the United States for one month to raise money for the Allies of the First World War.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He also produced a short propaganda film at his own expense, donated to the government for fund-raising, called *The Bond*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's next release was war-based, placing the Tramp in the trenches for *Shoulder Arms*. Associates warned him against making a comedy about the war but, as he later recalled: "Dangerous or not, the idea excited me."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He spent four months filming the 45-minute-long picture, which was released in October 1918 with great success.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### United Artists, Mildred Harris, and *The Kid*

After the release of *Shoulder Arms*, Chaplin requested more money from First National, which was refused. Frustrated with their lack of concern for quality, and worried about rumours of a possible merger between the company and Famous Players-Lasky, Chaplin joined forces with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D. W. Griffith to form a new distribution company – United Artists, established in January 1919.Template:Sfnm The arrangement was revolutionary in the film industry, as it enabled the four partners – all creative artists – to personally fund their pictures and have complete control.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin was eager to start with the new company and offered to buy out his contract with First National. They refused and insisted that he complete the final six films owed.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

 File:Chaplin The Kid 2 crop.jpg
Before the creation of United Artists, Chaplin married for the first time. The 16-year-old actress Mildred Harris had revealed that she was pregnant with his child, and in September 1918, he married her quietly in Los Angeles to avoid controversy.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Soon after, the pregnancy was found to be false.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin was unhappy with the union and, feeling that marriage stunted his creativity, struggled over the production of his film *Sunnyside*.Template:Sfnm Harris was by then legitimately pregnant, and on 7 July 1919, gave birth to a son. Norman Spencer Chaplin was born malformed and died three days later.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The marriage ended in April 1920, with Chaplin explaining in his autobiography that they were "irreconcilably mismated".Template:Sfnm

Losing the child, plus his own childhood experiences, are thought to have influenced Chaplin's next film, which turned the Tramp into the caretaker of a young boy.Template:Sfnm For this new venture, Chaplin also wished to do more than comedy and, according to Louvish, "make his mark on a changed world."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Filming on *The Kid* began in August 1919, with four-year-old Jackie Coogan his co-star.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *The Kid* was in production for nine months until May 1920 and, at 68 minutes, it was Chaplin's longest picture to date.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Dealing with issues of poverty and parent–child separation, *The Kid* was one of the earliest films to combine comedy and drama.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** It was released in January 1921 with instant success, and, by 1924, had been screened in over 50 countries.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin spent five months on his next film, the two-reeler *The Idle Class*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Following its September 1921 release, he chose to return to England for the first time in almost a decade.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He then worked to fulfil his First National contract, releasing *Pay Day* in February 1922. *The Pilgrim* – his final short film – was delayed by distribution disagreements with the studio, and released a year later.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### 1923–1938: Silent features

#### *A Woman of Paris* and *The Gold Rush*

Having fulfilled his First National contract, Chaplin was free to make his first picture as an independent producer. In November 1922, he began filming *A Woman of Paris*, a romantic drama about ill-fated lovers.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin intended it to be a star-making vehicle for Edna Purviance,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and did not appear in the picture himself other than in a brief, uncredited cameo.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He wished the film to have a realistic feel and directed his cast to give restrained performances. In real life, he explained, "men and women try to hide their emotions rather than seek to express them".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *A Woman of Paris* premiered in September 1923 and was acclaimed for its innovative, subtle approach.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The public, however, seemed to have little interest in a Chaplin film without Chaplin, and it was a box office disappointment.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The filmmaker was hurt by this failure – he had long wanted to produce a dramatic film and was proud of the result – and soon withdrew *A Woman of Paris* from circulation.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

 File:Chaplin the gold rush boot.jpg
Chaplin returned to comedy for his next project. Setting his standards high, he told himself "This next film must be an epic! The Greatest!"**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Inspired by a photograph of the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush, and later the story of the Donner Party of 1846–47, he made what Geoffrey Macnab calls "an epic comedy out of grim subject matter."Template:Sfnm In *The Gold Rush*, the Tramp is a lonely prospector fighting adversity and looking for love. With Georgia Hale as his new leading lady, Chaplin began filming the picture in February 1924.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Its elaborate production, costing almost $1 million,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** included location shooting in the Truckee mountains in Nevada with 600 extras, extravagant sets, and special effects.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The last scene was shot in May 1925 after 15 months of filming.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin felt *The Gold Rush* was the best film he had made.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** It opened in August 1925 and became one of the highest-grossing films of the silent era with a U.S. box-office of $5 million.Template:Sfnm The comedy contains some of Chaplin's most famous sequences, such as the Tramp eating his shoe and the "Dance of the Rolls".Template:Sfnm Macnab has called it "the quintessential Chaplin film".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin stated at its release, "This is the picture that I want to be remembered by".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Lita Grey and *The Circus*

 File:Lita Grey.jpg
While making *The Gold Rush*, Chaplin married for the second time. Mirroring the circumstances of his first union, Lita Grey was a teenage actress, originally set to star in the film, whose surprise announcement of pregnancy forced Chaplin into marriage. She was 16 and he was 35, meaning Chaplin could have been charged with statutory rape under California law.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He therefore arranged a discreet marriage in Mexico on 25 November 1924.Template:Sfnm Their first son, Charles Spencer Chaplin, Jr., was born on 5 May 1925, followed by Sydney Earl Chaplin on 30 March 1926.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

It was an unhappy marriage, and Chaplin spent long hours at the studio to avoid seeing his wife.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In November 1926, Grey took the children and left the family home.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** A bitter divorce followed, in which Grey's application – accusing Chaplin of infidelity, abuse, and of harbouring "perverted sexual desires" – was leaked to the press.Template:Sfnm Chaplin was reported to be in a state of nervous breakdown, as the story became headline news and groups formed across America calling for his films to be banned.Template:Sfnm Eager to end the case without further scandal, Chaplin's lawyers agreed to a cash settlement of $600,000 – the largest awarded by American courts at that time.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His fan base was strong enough to survive the incident, and it was soon forgotten, but Chaplin was deeply affected by it.Template:Sfnm

Before the divorce suit was filed, Chaplin had begun work on a new film, *The Circus*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He built a story around the idea of walking a tightrope while besieged by monkeys, and turned the Tramp into the accidental star of a circus.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Filming was suspended for 10 months while he dealt with the divorce scandal,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and it was generally a trouble-ridden production.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Finally completed in October 1927, *The Circus* was released in January 1928 to a positive reception.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At the 1st Academy Awards, Chaplin was given a special trophy "For versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing and producing *The Circus*". Despite its success, he permanently associated the film with the stress of its production; Chaplin omitted *The Circus* from his autobiography, and struggled to work on it when he recorded the score in his later years.Template:Sfnm

#### *City Lights*

Template:Rquote

By the time *The Circus* was released, Hollywood had witnessed the introduction of sound films. Chaplin was cynical about this new medium and the technical shortcomings it presented, believing that "talkies" lacked the artistry of silent films.Template:Sfnm He was also hesitant to change the formula that had brought him such success,Template:Sfnm and feared that giving the Tramp a voice would limit his international appeal.Template:Sfnm He, therefore, rejected the new Hollywood craze and began work on a new silent film. Chaplin was nonetheless anxious about this decision and remained so throughout the film's production.Template:Sfnm

 File:Chaplin City Lights still.jpg
When filming began at the end of 1928, Chaplin had been working on the story for almost a year.Template:Sfnm *City Lights* followed the Tramp's love for a blind flower girl (played by Virginia Cherrill) and his efforts to raise money for her sight-saving operation. It was a challenging production that lasted 21 months,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** with Chaplin later confessing that he "had worked himself into a neurotic state of wanting perfection".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** One advantage Chaplin found in sound technology was the opportunity to record a musical score for the film, which he composed himself.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin finished editing *City Lights* in December 1930, by which time silent films were an anachronism.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** A preview before an unsuspecting public audience was not a success,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** but a showing for the press produced positive reviews. One journalist wrote, "Nobody in the world but Charlie Chaplin could have done it. He is the only person that has that peculiar something called 'audience appeal' in sufficient quality to defy the popular penchant for movies that talk."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Given its general release in January 1931, *City Lights* proved to be a popular and financial success – eventually grossing over $3 million.Template:Sfnm The British Film Institute cites it as Chaplin's finest accomplishment, and the critic James Agee hails the closing scene as "the greatest piece of acting and the highest moment in movies".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *City Lights* became Chaplin's personal favourite of his films and remained so throughout his life.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Travels, Paulette Goddard, and *Modern Times*

*City Lights* had been a success, but Chaplin was unsure if he could make another picture without dialogue. He remained convinced that sound would not work in his films, but was also "obsessed by a depressing fear of being old-fashioned."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In this state of uncertainty, early in 1931, the comedian decided to take a holiday and ended up travelling for 16 months.Template:Sfnm He spent months travelling Western Europe, including extended stays in France and Switzerland, and spontaneously decided to visit Japan.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The day after he arrived in Japan, Prime Minister Inukai Tsuyoshi was assassinated by ultra-nationalists in the May 15 Incident. The group's original plan had been to provoke a war with the United States by assassinating Chaplin at a welcome reception organised by the prime minister, but the plan had been foiled due to delayed public announcement of the event's date.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

 File:Modern Times poster.jpg
In his autobiography, Chaplin recalled that on his return to Los Angeles, "I was confused and without plan, restless and conscious of an extreme loneliness". He briefly considered retiring and moving to China.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's loneliness was relieved when he met 21-year-old actress Paulette Goddard in July 1932, and the pair began a relationship.Template:Sfnm He was not ready to commit to a film, however, and focused on writing a serial about his travels (published in *Woman's Home Companion*).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The trip had been a stimulating experience for Chaplin, including meetings with several prominent thinkers, and he became increasingly interested in world affairs.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The state of labour in America troubled him, and he feared that capitalism and machinery in the workplace would increase unemployment levels. It was these concerns that stimulated Chaplin to develop his new film.Template:Sfnm

*Modern Times* was announced by Chaplin as "a satire on certain phases of our industrial life."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Featuring the Tramp and Goddard as they endure the Great Depression, it took ten and a half months to film.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin intended to use spoken dialogue but changed his mind during rehearsals. Like its predecessor, *Modern Times* employed sound effects but almost no speaking.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's performance of a gibberish song did, however, give the Tramp a voice for the only time on film.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** After recording the music, Chaplin released *Modern Times* in February 1936.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** It was his first feature in 15 years to adopt political references and social realism,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** a factor that attracted considerable press coverage despite Chaplin's attempts to downplay the issue.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The film earned less at the box-office than his previous features and received mixed reviews, as some viewers disliked the politicising.Template:Sfnm Today, *Modern Times* is seen by the British Film Institute as one of Chaplin's "great features," while David Robinson says it shows the filmmaker at "his unrivalled peak as a creator of visual comedy."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Following the release of *Modern Times*, Chaplin left with Goddard for a trip to the Far East.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The couple had refused to comment on the nature of their relationship, and it was not known whether they were married or not.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Some time later, Chaplin revealed that they married in Canton during this trip.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** By 1938, the couple had drifted apart, as both focused heavily on their work, although Goddard was again his leading lady in his next feature film, *The Great Dictator*. She eventually divorced Chaplin in Mexico in 1942, citing incompatibility and separation for more than a year.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### 1939–1952: Controversies and fading popularity

#### *The Great Dictator*

 File:The Great Dictator still cropped.jpg
The 1940s saw Chaplin face a series of controversies, both in his work and in his personal life, which changed his fortunes and severely affected his popularity in the United States. The first of these was his growing boldness in expressing his political beliefs. Deeply disturbed by the surge of militaristic nationalism in 1930s world politics,Template:Sfnm Chaplin found that he could not keep these issues out of his work.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Parallels between himself and Adolf Hitler had been widely noted: the pair were born four days apart, both had risen from poverty to world prominence, and Hitler wore the same toothbrush moustache as Chaplin. It was this physical resemblance that supplied the plot for Chaplin's next film, *The Great Dictator*, which directly satirised Hitler and attacked fascism.Template:Sfnm

Chaplin spent two years developing the script,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and began filming in September 1939 – six days after Britain declared war on Germany.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He had submitted to using spoken dialogue, partly out of acceptance that he had no other choice, but also because he recognised it as a better method for delivering a political message.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Making a comedy about Hitler was seen as highly controversial, but Chaplin's financial independence allowed him to take the risk.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** "I was determined to go ahead," he later wrote, "for Hitler must be laughed at."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin replaced the Tramp (while wearing similar attire) with "A Jewish Barber", a reference to the Nazi party's belief that he was Jewish. In a dual performance, he also played the dictator "Adenoid Hynkel", who parodied Hitler.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

*The Great Dictator* spent a year in production and was released in October 1940.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The film generated a vast amount of publicity, with a critic for *The New York Times* calling it "the most eagerly awaited picture of the year", and it was one of the biggest money-makers of the era.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The ending was unpopular, however, and generated controversy.Template:Sfnm Chaplin concluded the film with a five-minute speech in which he abandoned his barber character, looked directly into the camera, and pleaded against war and fascism.Template:Sfnm Charles J. Maland has identified this overt preaching as triggering a decline in Chaplin's popularity, and writes, "Henceforth, no movie fan would ever be able to separate the dimension of politics from [his] star image".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *The Great Dictator* received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor.

#### Legal troubles and Oona O'Neill

In the mid-1940s, Chaplin was involved in a series of trials that occupied most of his time and significantly affected his public image.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The troubles stemmed from his affair with an aspirant actress named Joan Barry, with whom he was involved intermittently between June 1941 and the autumn of 1942.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Barry, who displayed obsessive behaviour and was twice arrested after they separated, reappeared the following year and announced that she was pregnant with Chaplin's child. As Chaplin denied the claim, Barry filed a paternity suit against him.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

The director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, who had long been suspicious of Chaplin's political leanings, used the opportunity to generate negative publicity about him. As part of a smear campaign to damage Chaplin's image,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** the FBI named him in four indictments related to the Barry case. Most serious of these was an alleged violation of the Mann Act, which prohibits the transportation of women across state boundaries for sexual purposes. The historian Otto Friedrich has called this an "absurd prosecution" of an "ancient statute",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** yet if Chaplin was found guilty, he faced 23 years in jail.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Three charges lacked sufficient evidence to proceed to court, but the Mann Act trial began on 21 March 1944. Chaplin was acquitted two weeks later, on 4 April.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The case was frequently headline news, with *Newsweek* calling it the "biggest public relations scandal since the Fatty Arbuckle murder trial in 1921."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

 File:Oona O'Neill - 1943.jpg
Barry's child, Carol Ann, was born in October 1943, and the paternity suit went to court in December 1944. After two arduous trials, in which the prosecuting lawyer accused him of "moral turpitude",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin was declared to be the father. Evidence from blood tests which indicated otherwise were not admissible, and the judge ordered Chaplin to pay child support until Carol Ann turned 21. Media coverage of the paternity suit was influenced by the FBI, as information was fed to the prominent gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, and Chaplin was portrayed in an overwhelmingly critical light.Template:Sfnm

The controversy surrounding Chaplin increased when, two weeks after the paternity suit was filed, it was announced that he had married his newest protégée, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill – daughter of the American playwright Eugene O'Neill.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin, then 54, had been introduced to her by a film agent seven months earlier. In his autobiography, Chaplin described meeting O'Neill as "the happiest event of my life", and claimed to have found "perfect love".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's son, Charles Jr., reported that Oona "worshipped" his father.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The couple remained married until Chaplin's death, and had eight children over 18 years: Geraldine Leigh (b. July 1944), Michael John (b. March 1946), Josephine Hannah (b. March 1949), Victoria (b. May 1951), Eugene Anthony (b. August 1953), Jane Cecil (b. May 1957), Annette Emily (b. December 1959), and Christopher James (b. July 1962).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### *Monsieur Verdoux* and communist accusations

 File:Monsieur Verdoux poster.jpg
Chaplin claimed that the Barry trials had "crippled [his] creativeness", and it was some time before he began working again.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In April 1946, he finally began filming a project that had been in development since 1942.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *Monsieur Verdoux* was a black comedy, the story of a French bank clerk, Verdoux (Chaplin), who loses his job and begins marrying and murdering wealthy widows to support his family. Chaplin's inspiration for the project came from Orson Welles, who wanted him to star in a film about the French serial killer Henri Désiré Landru. Chaplin decided that the concept would "make a wonderful comedy",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and paid Welles $5,000 for the idea.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin again vocalised his political views in *Monsieur Verdoux*, criticising capitalism and arguing that the world encourages mass killing through wars and weapons of mass destruction.Template:Sfnm Because of this, the film met with controversy when it was released in April 1947;Template:Sfnm Chaplin was booed at the premiere, and there were calls for a boycott.Template:Sfnm *Monsieur Verdoux* was the first Chaplin release that failed both critically and commercially in the United States.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** It was more successful abroad,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and Chaplin's screenplay was nominated at the Academy Awards.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He was proud of the film, writing in his autobiography, "*Monsieur Verdoux* is the cleverest and most brilliant film I have yet made."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

The negative reaction to *Monsieur Verdoux* was largely the result of changes in Chaplin's public image.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Along with damage of the Joan Barry scandal, he was publicly accused of being a communist.Template:Sfnm His political activity had heightened during World War II, when he campaigned for the opening of a Second Front to help the Soviet Union and supported various Soviet–American friendship groups.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He was also friendly with several suspected communists, and attended functions given by Soviet diplomats in Los Angeles.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In the political climate of 1940s America, such activities meant Chaplin was considered, as Larcher writes, "dangerously progressive and amoral."Template:Sfnm The FBI wanted him out of the country,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and launched an official investigation in early 1947.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin denied being a communist, instead calling himself a "peacemonger",Template:Sfnm but felt the government's effort to suppress the ideology was an unacceptable infringement of civil liberties.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Unwilling to be quiet about the issue, he openly protested against the trials of Communist Party members and the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin received a subpoena to appear before HUAC but was not called to testify.Template:Sfnm As his activities were widely reported in the press, and Cold War fears grew, questions were raised over his failure to take American citizenship.Template:Sfnm Calls were made for him to be deported; in one extreme and widely published example, Representative John E. Rankin, who helped establish HUAC, told Congress in June 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."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### *Limelight* and banning from the United States

 File:Limelight promo crop.jpg
Although Chaplin remained politically active in the years following the failure of *Monsieur Verdoux*, his next film, about a forgotten vaudeville comedian and a young ballerina in Edwardian London, was devoid of political themes. *Limelight* was heavily autobiographical, alluding not only to Chaplin's childhood and the lives of his parents, but also to his loss of popularity in the United States.Template:Sfnm The cast included various members of his family, including his five oldest children and his half-brother, Wheeler Dryden.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Filming began in November 1951, by which time Chaplin had spent three years working on the story.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He aimed for a more serious tone than any of his previous films, regularly using the word "melancholy" when explaining his plans to his co-star Claire Bloom.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *Limelight* featured a cameo appearance from Buster Keaton, whom Chaplin cast as his stage partner in a pantomime scene. This marked the only time the comedians worked together.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin decided to hold the world premiere of *Limelight* in London, since it was the setting of the film.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As he left Los Angeles, he expressed a premonition that he would not be returning.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** At New York, he boarded the Template:RMS with his family on 18 September 1952.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The next day, United States Attorney General James P. McGranery revoked Chaplin's re-entry permit and stated that he would have to submit to an interview concerning his political views and moral behaviour to re-enter the US.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Although McGranery told the press that he had "a pretty good case against Chaplin", Maland has concluded, on the basis of the FBI files that were released in the 1980s, that the US government had no real evidence to prevent Chaplin's re-entry. It is likely that he would have gained entry if he had applied for it.Template:Sfnm However, when Chaplin received a cablegram informing him of the news, he privately decided to cut his ties with the United States:

> Whether I re-entered that unhappy country or not was of little consequence to me. I would like to have told them that the sooner I was rid of that hate-beleaguered atmosphere the better, that I was fed up of America's insults and moral pomposity...**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**
>
>

Because all of his property remained in America, Chaplin refrained from saying anything negative about the incident to the press.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The scandal attracted vast attention,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** but Chaplin and his film were warmly received in Europe.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In America, the hostility towards him continued, and, although it received some positive reviews, *Limelight* was subjected to a wide-scale boycott.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Reflecting on this, Maland writes that Chaplin's fall, from an "unprecedented" level of popularity, "may be the most dramatic in the history of stardom in America".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### 1953–1977: European years

#### Move to Switzerland and *A King in New York*

Template:Rquote

Chaplin did not attempt to return to the United States after his re-entry permit was revoked, and instead sent his wife to settle his affairs. The couple decided to settle in Switzerland and, in January 1953, the family moved into their permanent home: Manoir de Ban, a 14-hectare (35-acre) estate overlooking Lake Geneva in Corsier-sur-Vevey.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin put his Beverly Hills house and studio up for sale in March, and surrendered his re-entry permit in April. The next year, his wife renounced her US citizenship and became a British citizen.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin severed the last of his professional ties with the United States in 1955, when he sold the remainder of his stock in United Artists, which had been in financial difficulty since the early 1940s.Template:Sfnm

Chaplin remained a controversial figure throughout the 1950s, especially after he was awarded the International Peace Prize by the communist-led World Peace Council, and after his meetings with Zhou Enlai and Nikita Khrushchev.Template:Sfnm He began developing his first European film, *A King in New York*, in 1954.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Casting himself as an exiled king who seeks asylum in the United States, Chaplin included several of his recent experiences in the screenplay. His son, Michael, was cast as a boy whose parents are targeted by the FBI, while Chaplin's character faces accusations of communism.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The political satire parodied HUAC and attacked elements of 1950s culture – including consumerism, plastic surgery, and wide-screen cinema.Template:Sfnm In a review, the playwright John Osborne called it Chaplin's "most bitter" and "most openly personal" film.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In a 1957 interview, when asked to clarify his political views, Chaplin stated "As for politics, I am an anarchist. I hate government and rules – and fetters ... People must be free."

Chaplin founded a new production company, Attica, and used Shepperton Studios for the shooting.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Filming in England proved a difficult experience, as he was used to his own Hollywood studio and familiar crew, and no longer had limitless production time. According to Robinson, this had an effect on the quality of the film.Template:Sfnm *A King in New York* was released in September 1957, and received mixed reviews.Template:Sfnm Chaplin banned American journalists from its Paris première and decided not to release the film in the United States. This severely limited its revenue, although it achieved moderate commercial success in Europe.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *A King in New York* was not shown in America until 1973.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.****Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

#### Final works and renewed appreciation

 File:Chaplin family 1961.jpg
In the last two decades of his career, Chaplin concentrated on re-editing and scoring his old films for re-release, along with securing their ownership and distribution rights.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In an interview he granted in 1959, the year of his 70th birthday, Chaplin stated that there was still "room for the Little Man in the atomic age".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The first of these re-releases was *The Chaplin Revue* (1959), which included new versions of *A Dog's Life*, *Shoulder Arms*, and *The Pilgrim*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

In America, the political atmosphere began to change and attention was once again directed to Chaplin's films instead of his views.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In July 1962, *The New York Times* published an editorial stating that "we do not believe the Republic would be in danger if yesterday's unforgotten little tramp were allowed to amble down the gangplank of a steamer or plane in an American port".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The same month, Chaplin was invested with the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the universities of Oxford and Durham.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In November 1963, the Plaza Theater in New York started a year-long series of Chaplin's films, including *Monsieur Verdoux* and *Limelight*, which gained excellent reviews from American critics.Template:Sfnm September 1964 saw the release of Chaplin's memoirs, *My Autobiography*, which he had been working on since 1957.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The 500-page book became a worldwide best-seller. It focused on his early years and personal life, and was criticised for lacking information on his film career.Template:Sfnm

Shortly after the publication of his memoirs, Chaplin began work on *A Countess from Hong Kong* (1967), a romantic comedy based on a script he had written for Paulette Goddard in the 1930s.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Set on an ocean liner, it starred Marlon Brando as an American ambassador and Sophia Loren as a stowaway found in his cabin.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The film differed from Chaplin's earlier productions in several aspects. It was his first to use Technicolor and the widescreen format, while he concentrated on directing and appeared on-screen only in a cameo role as a seasick steward.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He also signed a deal with Universal Pictures and appointed his assistant, Jerome Epstein, as the producer.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin was paid $600,000 director's fee as well as a percentage of the gross receipts.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *A Countess from Hong Kong* premiered in January 1967, to unfavourable reviews, and was a box-office failure.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**Template:Sfnm Chaplin was deeply hurt by the negative reaction to the film, which turned out to be his last.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin suffered a series of minor strokes in the late 1960s, which marked the beginning of a slow decline in his health.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Despite the setbacks, he was soon writing a new film script, *The Freak*, a story of a winged girl found in South America, which he intended as a starring vehicle for his daughter, Victoria.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His fragile health prevented the project from being realised.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In the early 1970s, Chaplin concentrated on re-releasing his old films, including *The Kid* and *The Circus*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In 1971, he was made a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour at the Cannes Film Festival.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The following year, he was honoured with a special award by the Venice Film Festival.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

 File:Chaplin oscar.JPG
In 1972, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences offered Chaplin an Honorary Award, which Robinson sees as a sign that America "wanted to make amends". Chaplin was initially hesitant about accepting but decided to return to the US for the first time in 20 years.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The visit attracted a large amount of press coverage and, at the Academy Awards gala, he was given a 12-minute standing ovation, the longest in the Academy's history.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Visibly emotional, Chaplin accepted his award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Although Chaplin still had plans for future film projects, by the mid-1970s he was very frail.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He experienced several further strokes, which made it difficult for him to communicate, and he had to use a wheelchair.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** His final projects were compiling a pictorial autobiography, *My Life in Pictures* (1974) and scoring *A Woman of Paris* for re-release in 1976.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He also appeared in a documentary about his life, *The Gentleman Tramp* (1975), directed by Richard Patterson.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In the 1975 New Year Honours, Chaplin was awarded a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** though he was too weak to kneel and received the honour in his wheelchair.

#### Death

 File:Charles Chaplin Grave in Corsier-sur-Vevey.jpg
By October 1977, Chaplin's health had declined to the point that he needed constant care.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In the early morning of 25 December 1977, Chaplin died at home after suffering a stroke in his sleep. He was 88 years old. The funeral, on 27 December, was a small and private Anglican ceremony, according to his wishes.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin was interred in the Corsier-sur-Vevey cemetery.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Among the film industry's tributes, director René Clair wrote, "He was a monument of the cinema, of all countries and all times ... the most beautiful gift the cinema made to us."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Actor Bob Hope declared, "We were lucky to have lived in his time."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

On 1 March 1978, Chaplin's coffin was dug up and stolen from its grave by two unemployed immigrants, Roman Wardas, from Poland, and Gantcho Ganev, from Bulgaria. The body was held for ransom in an attempt to extort money from Oona Chaplin. The pair were caught in a large police operation in May, and Chaplin's coffin was found buried in a field in the nearby village of Noville. It was re-interred in the Corsier cemetery surrounded by reinforced concrete.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

## Filmmaking

### Influences

Chaplin believed his first influence to be his mother, who entertained him as a child by sitting at the window and mimicking passers-by: "it was through watching her that I learned not only how to express emotions with my hands and face, but also how to observe and study people."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's early years in music hall allowed him to see stage comedians at work; he also attended the Christmas pantomimes at Drury Lane, where he studied the art of clowning through performers like Dan Leno.Template:Sfnm Chaplin's years with the Fred Karno company had a formative effect on him as an actor and filmmaker. Simon Louvish writes that the company was his "training ground",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and it was here that Chaplin learned to vary the pace of his comedy.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The concept of mixing pathos with slapstick was learnt from Karno, who also used elements of absurdity that became familiar in Chaplin's gags.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** From the film industry, Chaplin drew upon the work of the French comedian Max Linder, whose films he greatly admired.Template:Sfnm In developing the Tramp costume and persona, he was likely inspired by the American vaudeville scene, where tramp characters were common.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### Method

 File:Chaplin Studios postcard.jpg
Chaplin never spoke more than cursorily about his filmmaking methods, claiming such a thing would be tantamount to a magician spoiling his own illusion.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Little was known about his working process throughout his lifetime,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** but research from film historians – particularly the findings of Kevin Brownlow and David Gill that were presented in the three-part documentary *Unknown Chaplin* (1983) – has since revealed his unique working method.Template:Sfnm

Until he began making spoken dialogue films with *The Great Dictator*, Chaplin never shot from a completed script.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Many of his early films began with only a vague premise – for example "Charlie enters a health spa" or "Charlie works in a pawn shop."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He then had sets constructed and worked with his stock company to improvise gags and "business" using them, almost always working the ideas out on film.Template:Sfnm As ideas were accepted and discarded, a narrative structure would emerge, frequently requiring Chaplin to reshoot an already-completed scene that might have otherwise contradicted the story.Template:Sfnm From *A Woman of Paris* onward Chaplin began the filming process with a prepared plot,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** but Robinson writes that every film up to *Modern Times* "went through many metamorphoses and permutations before the story took its final form."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Producing films in this manner meant Chaplin took longer to complete his pictures than almost any other filmmaker at the time.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** If he was out of ideas, he often took a break from the shoot, which could last for days, while keeping the studio ready for when inspiration returned.Template:Sfnm Delaying the process further was Chaplin's rigorous perfectionism.Template:Sfnm According to his friend Ivor Montagu, "nothing but perfection would be right" for the filmmaker.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Because he personally funded his films, Chaplin was at liberty to strive for this goal and shoot as many takes as he wished.Template:Sfnm The number was often excessive, for instance 53 takes for every finished take in *The Kid*.Template:Sfnm For *The Immigrant*, a 20-minute short, Chaplin shot 40,000 feet of film—enough for a feature-length.Template:Sfnm

Template:Rquote

Describing his working method as "sheer perseverance to the point of madness",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin would be completely consumed by the production of a picture.Template:Sfnm Robinson writes that even in Chaplin's later years, his work continued "to take precedence over everything and everyone else."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The combination of story improvisation and relentless perfectionism – which resulted in days of effort and thousands of feet of film being wasted, all at enormous expense – often proved taxing for Chaplin who, in frustration, would lash out at his actors and crew.Template:Sfnm

Chaplin exercised complete control over his pictures,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** to the extent that he would act out the other roles for his cast, expecting them to imitate him exactly.Template:Sfnm He personally edited all of his films, trawling through the large amounts of footage to create the exact picture he wanted.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As a result of his complete independence, he was identified by the film historian Andrew Sarris as one of the first auteur filmmakers.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin did receive help, notably from his long-time cinematographer Roland Totheroh, brother Sydney Chaplin, and various assistant directors such as Harry Crocker and Charles Reisner.

### Style and themes

 File:The Kid scenes.ogv
While Chaplin's comedic style is broadly defined as slapstick,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** it is considered restrained and intelligent,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** with the film historian Philip Kemp describing his work as a mix of "deft, balletic physical comedy and thoughtful, situation-based gags".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin diverged from conventional slapstick by slowing the pace and exhausting each scene of its comic potential, with more focus on developing the viewer's relationship to the characters.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.****Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Unlike conventional slapstick comedies, Robinson states that the comic moments in Chaplin's films centre on the Tramp's attitude to the things happening to him: the humour does not come from the Tramp bumping into a tree, but from his lifting his hat to the tree in apology.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Dan Kamin writes that Chaplin's "quirky mannerisms" and "serious demeanour in the midst of slapstick action" are other key aspects of his comedy,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** while the surreal transformation of objects and the employment of in-camera trickery are also common features.Template:Sfnm

Chaplin's silent films typically follow the Tramp's efforts to survive in a hostile world.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The character lives in poverty and is frequently treated badly, but remains kind and upbeat;Template:Sfnm defying his social position, he strives to be seen as a gentleman.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As Chaplin said in 1925, "The whole point of the Little Fellow is that no matter how down on his ass he is, no matter how well the jackals succeed in tearing him apart, he's still a man of dignity."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The Tramp defies authority figures**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and "gives as good as he gets",**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** leading Robinson and Louvish to see him as a representative for the underprivileged – an "everyman turned heroic saviour".Template:Sfnm Hansmeyer notes that several of Chaplin's films end with "the homeless and lonely Tramp [walking] optimistically ... into the sunset ... to continue his journey".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Template:Rquote

The infusion of pathos is a well-known aspect of Chaplin's work,Template:Sfnm and Larcher notes his reputation for "[inducing] laughter and tears".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Sentimentality in his films comes from a variety of sources, with Louvish pinpointing "personal failure, society's strictures, economic disaster, and the elements."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin sometimes drew on tragic events when creating his films, as in the case of *The Gold Rush* (1925), which was inspired by the fate of the Donner Party.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Constance B. Kuriyama has identified serious underlying themes in the early comedies, such as greed (*The Gold Rush*) and loss (*The Kid*).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin also touched on controversial issues: immigration (*The Immigrant*, 1917); illegitimacy (*The Kid*, 1921); and drug use (*Easy Street*, 1917).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He often explored these topics ironically, making comedy out of suffering.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Social commentary was a feature of Chaplin's films from early in his career, as he portrayed the underdog in a sympathetic light and highlighted the difficulties of the poor.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Later, as he developed a keen interest in economics and felt obliged to publicise his views,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin began incorporating overtly political messages into his films.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *Modern Times* (1936) depicted factory workers in dismal conditions, *The Great Dictator* (1940) parodied Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and ended in a speech against nationalism, *Monsieur Verdoux* (1947) criticised war and capitalism, and *A King in New York* (1957) attacked McCarthyism.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Several of Chaplin's films incorporate autobiographical elements, and the psychologist Sigmund Freud believed that Chaplin "always plays only himself as he was in his dismal youth".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** *The Kid* is thought to reflect Chaplin's childhood trauma of being sent into an orphanage,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** the main characters in *Limelight* (1952) contain elements from the lives of his parents,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and *A King in New York* references Chaplin's experiences of being shunned by the United States.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Many of his sets, especially in street scenes, bear a strong similarity to Kennington, where he grew up. Stephen M. Weissman has argued that Chaplin's problematic relationship with his mentally ill mother was often reflected in his female characters and the Tramp's desire to save them.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Regarding the structure of Chaplin's films, the scholar Gerald Mast sees them as consisting of sketches tied together by the same theme and setting, rather than having a tightly unified storyline.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Visually, his films are simple and economic,Template:Sfnm with scenes portrayed as if set on a stage.Template:Sfnm His approach to filming was described by the art director Eugène Lourié: "Chaplin did not think in 'artistic' images when he was shooting. He believed that action is the main thing. The camera is there to photograph the actors".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In his autobiography, Chaplin wrote, "Simplicity is best ... pompous effects slow up action, are boring and unpleasant ... The camera should not intrude."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** This approach has prompted criticism, since the 1940s, for being "old fashioned",Template:Sfnm while the film scholar Donald McCaffrey sees it as an indication that Chaplin never completely understood film as a medium.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Kamin, however, comments that Chaplin's comedic talent would not be enough to remain funny on screen if he did not have an "ability to conceive and direct scenes specifically for the film medium".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

### Composing

 File:Charlie Chaplin playing the cello 1915.jpg
Chaplin developed a passion for music as a child and taught himself to play the piano, violin, and cello.Template:Sfnm He considered the musical accompaniment of a film to be important,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and from *A Woman of Paris* onwards he took an increasing interest in this area.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** With the advent of sound technology, Chaplin began using a synchronised orchestral soundtrack – composed by himself – for *City Lights* (1931). He thereafter composed the scores for all of his films, and from the late 1950s to his death, he scored all of his silent features and some of his short films.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

As Chaplin was not a trained musician, he could not read sheet music and needed the help of professional composers, such as David Raksin, Raymond Rasch and Eric James, when creating his scores. Musical directors were employed to oversee the recording process, such as Alfred Newman for *City Lights*.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Although some critics have claimed that credit for his film music should be given to the composers who worked with him, Raksin – who worked with Chaplin on *Modern Times* – stressed Chaplin's creative position and active participation in the composing process.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** This process, which could take months, would start with Chaplin describing to the composer(s) exactly what he wanted and singing or playing tunes he had improvised on the piano.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** These tunes were then developed further in a close collaboration among the composer(s) and Chaplin.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** According to film historian Jeffrey Vance, "although he relied upon associates to arrange varied and complex instrumentation, the musical imperative is his, and not a note in a Chaplin musical score was placed there without his assent."

Chaplin's compositions produced three popular songs. "Smile", composed originally for *Modern Times* (1936) and later set to lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons, was a hit for Nat King Cole in 1954. For *Limelight*, Chaplin composed "Terry's Theme", which was popularised by Jimmy Young as "Eternally" (1952).**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Finally, "This Is My Song", performed by Petula Clark for *A Countess from Hong Kong* (1967), reached number one on the UK and other European charts. Chaplin also received his only competitive Oscar for his composition work, as the *Limelight* theme won an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 1973 following the film's re-release.

## Legacy

 File:The Tramp Essanay.jpg
In 1998, the film critic Andrew Sarris called Chaplin "arguably the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer and probably still its most universal icon".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He is described by the British Film Institute as "a towering figure in world culture", and was included in *Time* magazine's list of the "100 Most Important People of the 20th Century" for the "laughter [he brought] to millions" and because he "more or less invented global recognizability and helped turn an industry into an art".

The image of the Tramp has become a part of cultural history;**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** according to Simon Louvish, the character is recognisable to people who have never seen a Chaplin film, and in places where his films are never shown.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The critic Leonard Maltin has written of the "unique" and "indelible" nature of the Tramp, and argued that no other comedian matched his "worldwide impact". Praising the character, Richard Schickel suggests that Chaplin's films with the Tramp contain the most "eloquent, richly comedic expressions of the human spirit" in movie history.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Memorabilia connected to the character still fetches large sums in auctions: in 2006 a bowler hat and a bamboo cane that were part of the Tramp's costume were bought for $140,000 in a Los Angeles auction.

As a filmmaker, Chaplin is considered a pioneer and one of the most influential figures of the early twentieth century.Template:Sfnm He is often credited as one of the medium's first artists.Template:Sfnm Film historian Mark Cousins has written that Chaplin "changed not only the imagery of cinema, but also its sociology and grammar" and claims that Chaplin was as important to the development of comedy as a genre as D.W. Griffith was to drama.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** He was the first to popularise feature-length comedy and to slow down the pace of action, adding pathos and subtlety to it.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Although his work is mostly classified as slapstick, Chaplin's drama *A Woman of Paris* (1923) was a major influence on Ernst Lubitsch's film *The Marriage Circle* (1924) and thus played a part in the development of "sophisticated comedy".Template:Sfnm According to David Robinson, Chaplin's innovations were "rapidly assimilated to become part of the common practice of film craft."**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Filmmakers who cited Chaplin as an influence include Federico Fellini (who called Chaplin "a sort of Adam, from whom we are all descended"),**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Jacques Tati ("Without him I would never have made a film"),**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** René Clair ("He inspired practically every filmmaker"),**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Michael Powell,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Billy Wilder, Vittorio De Sica,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and Richard Attenborough. Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky praised Chaplin as "the only person to have gone down into cinematic history without any shadow of a doubt. The films he left behind can never grow old."

 File:Hombre disfrazado de Charlot delante del Gran Casino de San Sebastián (1 de 2) - Fondo Car-Kutxa Fototeka.jpg
Chaplin also strongly influenced the work of later comedians. Marcel Marceau said he was inspired to become a mime artist after watching Chaplin, while the actor Raj Kapoor based his screen persona on the Tramp. Mark Cousins has also detected Chaplin's comedic style in the French character Monsieur Hulot and the Italian character Totò. In other fields, Chaplin helped inspire the cartoon characters Felix the Cat**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and Mickey Mouse,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and was an influence on the Dada art movement.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** As one of the founding members of United Artists, Chaplin also had a role in the development of the film industry. Gerald Mast has written that although UA never became a major company like MGM or Paramount Pictures, the idea that directors could produce their own films was "years ahead of its time".**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

In the 21st century, several of Chaplin's films are still regarded as classics and among the greatest ever made. The 2012 *Sight & Sound* poll, which compiles "top ten" ballots from film critics and directors to determine each group's most acclaimed films,
saw *City Lights* rank among the critics' top 50, *Modern Times* inside the top 100, and *The Great Dictator* and *The Gold Rush* placed in the top 250. The top 100 films as voted on by directors included *Modern Times* at number 22, *City Lights* at number 30, and *The Gold Rush* at number 91. Every one of Chaplin's features received a vote. In 2007, the American Film Institute named *City Lights* the 11th greatest American film of all time, while *The Gold Rush* and *Modern Times* again ranked in the top 100. Books about Chaplin continue to be published regularly, and he is a popular subject for media scholars and film archivists.Template:Sfnm Many of Chaplin's film have had a DVD and Blu-ray release.

Chaplin's legacy is managed on behalf of his children by the Chaplin office, located in Paris. The office represents Association Chaplin, founded by some of his children "to protect the name, image and moral rights" to his body of work, Roy Export SAS, which owns the copyright to most of his films made after 1918, and Bubbles Incorporated S.A., which owns the copyrights to his image and name. Their central archive is held at the archives of Montreux, Switzerland and scanned versions of its contents, including 83,630 images, 118 scripts, 976 manuscripts, 7,756 letters, and thousands of other documents, are available for research purposes at the Chaplin Research Centre at the Cineteca di Bologna. The photographic archive, which includes approximately 10,000 photographs from Chaplin's life and career, is kept at the Musée de l'Elysée in Lausanne, Switzerland. The British Film Institute has also established the Charles Chaplin Research Foundation, and the first international Charles Chaplin Conference was held in London in July 2005. Elements for many of Chaplin's films are held by the Academy Film Archive as part of the Roy Export Chaplin Collection.

### Commemoration and tributes

Chaplin's final home, Manoir de Ban in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, has been converted into a museum named "Chaplin's World". It opened on 17 April 2016 after 15 years of development, and is described by Reuters as "an interactive museum showcasing the life and works of Charlie Chaplin". On the 128th anniversary of his birth, a record-setting 662 people dressed as the Tramp in an event organised by the museum. Previously, the Museum of the Moving Image in London held a permanent display on Chaplin, and hosted a dedicated exhibition to his life and career in 1988. The London Film Museum hosted an exhibition called *Charlie Chaplin – The Great Londoner*, from 2010 until 2013.

In London, a statue of Chaplin as the Tramp, sculpted by John Doubleday and unveiled in 1981, is located in Leicester Square.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** The city also includes a road named after him in central London, "Charlie Chaplin Walk", which is the location of the BFI IMAX. There are nine blue plaques memorialising Chaplin in London, Hampshire, and Yorkshire. The Swiss town of Vevey named a park in his honour in 1980 and erected a statue there in 1982.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In 2011, two large murals depicting Chaplin on two 14-storey buildings were also unveiled in Vevey. Chaplin has also been honoured by the Irish town of Waterville, where he spent several summers with his family in the 1960s. A statue was erected in 1998; since 2011, the town has been host to the annual Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival, which was founded to celebrate Chaplin's legacy and to showcase new comic talent.

In other tributes, a minor planet, 3623 Chaplin – discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Karachkina in 1981 – is named after Chaplin.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Throughout the 1980s, the Tramp image was used by IBM to advertise their personal computers.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** Chaplin's 100th birthday anniversary in 1989 was marked with several events around the world, and on 15 April 2011, a day before his 122nd birthday, Google celebrated him with a special Google Doodle video on its global and other country-wide homepages. Many countries, spanning six continents, have honoured Chaplin with a postal stamp.

Template:Wide image

### Characterisations

Chaplin is the subject of a biographical film, *Chaplin* (1992) directed by Richard Attenborough, and starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and Geraldine Chaplin playing Hannah Chaplin. He is also a character in the historical drama film *The Cat's Meow* (2001), played by Eddie Izzard, and in the made-for-television movie *The Scarlett O'Hara War* (1980), played by Clive Revill. A television series about Chaplin's childhood, *Young Charlie Chaplin*, ran on PBS in 1989, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. The French film *The Price of Fame* (2014) is a fictionalised account of the robbery of Chaplin's grave.

Chaplin's life has also been the subject of several stage productions. Two musicals, *Little Tramp* and *Chaplin*, were produced in the early 1990s. In 2006, Thomas Meehan and Christopher Curtis created another musical, *Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin*, which was first performed at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego in 2010. It was adapted for Broadway two years later, re-titled *Chaplin – A Musical*. Chaplin was portrayed by Robert McClure in both productions. In 2013, two plays about Chaplin premiered in Finland: *Chaplin* at the Svenska Teatern, and *Kulkuri* (*The Tramp*) at the Tampere Workers' Theatre.

Chaplin has also been characterised in literary fiction. He is the protagonist of Robert Coover's short story "Charlie in the House of Rue" (1980; reprinted in Coover's 1987 collection *A Night at the Movies*), and of Glen David Gold's *Sunnyside* (2009), a historical novel set in the First World War period. A day in Chaplin's life in 1909 is dramatised in the chapter titled "Modern Times" in Alan Moore's *Jerusalem* (2016), a novel set in the author's home town of Northampton, England.

## Awards and recognition

 File:Charlie Chaplin walk of fame.jpg
Chaplin received many awards and honours, especially later in life. In the 1975 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE). He was also awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degrees by the University of Oxford and the University of Durham in 1962.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** In 1965, he and Ingmar Bergman were joint winners of the Erasmus Prize**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and, in 1971, he was appointed a Commander of the National Order of the Legion of Honour by the French government.

From the film industry, Chaplin received a special Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1972,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lincoln Center Film Society the same year. The latter has since been presented annually to filmmakers as The Chaplin Award. Chaplin was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1972, having been previously excluded because of his political beliefs.**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.**

Chaplin received three Academy Awards: an Honorary Award for "versatility and genius in acting, writing, directing, and producing *The Circus*" in 1929, a second Honorary Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century" in 1972,**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor\_id\_list' not found.** and a Best Score award in 1973 for *Limelight* (shared with Ray Rasch and Larry Russell). He was further nominated in the Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture (as producer) categories for *The Great Dictator*, and received another Best Original Screenplay nomination for *Monsieur Verdoux*. In 1976, Chaplin was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).

Six of Chaplin's films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress: *The Immigrant* (1917), *The Kid* (1921), *The Gold Rush* (1925), *City Lights* (1931), *Modern Times* (1936), and *The Great Dictator* (1940).

## Filmography

*Main article: Charlie Chaplin filmography*
**Directed features:**

* *The Kid* (1921)
* *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)

## See also

Template:Wikipedia books

* Buster Keaton
* Harold Lloyd

Template:Portal bar

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ Whitehead, Tom (17 February 2012). "MI5 Files: Was Chaplin Really a Frenchman and Called Thornstein?". Retrieved on 11 April 2012. Archived from the original on 24 April 2012.
2. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin Was 'Born into a Midland Gipsy Family'" (18 February 2011). Retrieved on 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012.
3. ↑ Template:Cite book
4. ↑ Chaplin, C. (1964). *My Autobiography*. New York: Simon and Schuster.
5. ↑ Template:Cite journal
6. ↑ ""The Happiest Days of My Life": Mutual". *Charlie Chaplin*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121122054424/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog6. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
7. ↑ Template:Cite book
8. ↑ Chaplin "Charlie Chaplin meets Harry Lauder – Rare Archival Footage", Roy Export Company Ltd., Association Chaplin via YouTube. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Independence Won: First National". *Charlie Chaplin*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324095424/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog7. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Template:Cite encyclopedia
11. ↑ "Chaplin as a composer". CharlieChaplin.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110705021919/http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/205-Chaplin-as-a-composer.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "United Artists and the Great Features". *Charlie Chaplin*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120406094725/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog9. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
13. ↑ Tunzelmann, Alex von (22 November 2012). "Chaplin: a little tramp through Charlie's love affairs".
14. ↑ Template:Cite encyclopedia
15. ↑ Associated Press, "Tentative Jury in Chaplin Case – British Nationality Of Actor Made Issue", *The San Bernardino Daily Sun*, San Bernardino, California, 22 March 1944, Vol. 50, p. 1.
16. ↑ Associated Press, "Chaplin Acquitted Amid Cheers, Applause – Actor Chokes With Emotion as Court Fight Won", *The San Bernardino Daily Sun*, San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 5 April 1944, Volume 50, p. 1.
17. ↑ Norton-Taylor, Richard (17 February 2012). "MI5 Spied on Charlie Chaplin after the FBI Asked for Help to Banish Him from US". Retrieved on 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2 July 2010.
18. ↑ Dale Bechtel (2002). "Film Legend Found Peace on Lake Geneva". Vevey. Archived from the original on 9 December 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141209213503/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/film-legend-found-peace-on-lake-geneva/12814. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
19. ↑ Template:Cite book
20. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin Prepares for Return to United States after Two Decades". A&E Television Networks. Archived from the original on 5 December 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101205061522/http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charlie-chaplin-prepares-for-return-to-united-states-after-two-decades. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Thomas, David (26 December 2002). "When Chaplin Played Father". Retrieved on 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012.
22. ↑ Reynolds, Paul (21 July 2002). "Chaplin Knighthood Blocked", BBC. Retrieved on 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2006.
23. ↑ Template:London Gazette
24. ↑ "Little Tramp Becomes Sir Charles" (5 March 1975). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
25. ↑ "Yasser Arafat: 10 Other People Who Have Been Exhumed", BBC (27 November 2012). Retrieved on 27 November 2012. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012.
26. ↑ A round-table Chaplin Interview Template:Webarchive in 1952, first broadcast on BBC Radio on 15 October 1952. (In Norwegian)
27. ↑ "Chaplin's Writing and Directing Collaborators". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120214092650/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/programme/essays/collaborators.html. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 28.3 Vance, Jeffrey (4 August 2003). "Chaplin the Composer: An Excerpt from Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema". *Variety* Special Advertising Supplement, pp. 20–21.
29. ↑ Hennessy, Mike (22 April 1967). "Chaplin's 'Song' Catches Fire in Europe". *Billboard*, p. 60.
30. ↑ Weston, Jay (10 April 2012). "Charlie Chaplin's Limelight at the Academy After 60 Years", *HuffPost*. Retrieved on 2 February 2013. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013.
31. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120622161153/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
32. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
33. ↑ "Chaplin – First, Last, And Always", *Indiewire*. Retrieved on 7 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013.
34. ↑ "Record Price for Chaplin Hat Set", BBC. Retrieved on 7 October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012.
35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Template:Cite episode
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 Template:Cite episode
37. ↑ "Attenborough Introduction". *Charlie Chaplin*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105202221/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/programme/attenborough.html. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
38. ↑ Template:Cite journal
39. ↑ "The Greatest Films Poll: Critics Top 250 Films". *Sight & Sound*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 7 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160207035347/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/critics. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
40. ↑ "Directors' Top 100 Films". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160209010504/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/directors. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
41. ↑ "The Greatest Films Poll: All Films". *Sight & Sound*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160205070805/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/films. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
42. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150818175815/http://www.afi.com/100Years/movies10.aspx. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
43. ↑ "DVDs, United States". Charlie Chaplin. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131224103005/http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/us/dvds. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
"DVDs, United Kingdom". Charlie Chaplin. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140313013148/http://www.charliechaplin.com/en/uk/dvds. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
44. ↑ "Association Chaplin". Association Chaplin. Archived from the original on 11 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130911033016/http://charliechaplin.com/fr/contacts/articles/148-Association-Chaplin. Retrieved 13 July 2013. ; "Interview with Kate Guyonvarch". Lisa K. Stein. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130527070150/http://www.thelittlefellow.org/interview3.html. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
45. ↑ "Chaplin Archive". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120710003742/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/worldwide/chaplin-archive.html. Retrieved 11 December 2014. ;"Charlie Chaplin Archive". Cineteca Bologna. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151225224802/http://www.charliechaplinarchive.org/sito/cerca/596/. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
46. ↑ "Chaplin at the Musée de l'Elysée". Musée de l'Elysée. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105223440/http://www.elysee.ch/en/collections/chaplin-at-the-musee-de-lelysee/. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
47. ↑ "The BFI Charles Chaplin Conference July 2005". *Charlie Chaplin*. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131105205524/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/programme/conference/. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
48. ↑ "Roy Export Chaplin Collection". https://www.oscars.org/film-archive/collections/roy-export-chaplin-collection.
49. ↑ "Chaplin's World museum opens its doors in Switzerland", Reuters (18 April 2016).
50. ↑ "Charlie Chaplins gather in their hundreds to set world record – video" (17 April 2017).
51. ↑ "London Film Museum: About Us". London Film Museum. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120828174545/http://www.londonfilmmuseum.com/south-bank/about-us/. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
52. ↑ "Welcome to IMAX United Kingdom". IMAX. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150604110826/https://www.imax.com/countries/gb/. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
53. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin". http://www.blueplaqueplaces.co.uk/subject/sir-charlie-chaplin-2190. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
54. ↑ "Vevey: Les Tours "Chaplin" Ont Été Inaugurées". RTS.ch. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121028101229/http://www.rts.ch/info/suisse/3490412-vevey-les-tours-chaplin-ont-ete-inaugurees.html. Retrieved 22 July 2012.  (In French)
55. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin". VisitWaterville.ie. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150222040227/http://visitwaterville.ie/charlie-chaplin/. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
56. ↑ "The Story". Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120824040116/http://chaplinfilmfestival.com/the-story/. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
57. ↑ Kamin, Dan (17 April 1989). "Charlie Chaplin's 100th Birthday Gala a Royal Bash in London", *The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette* (US). Retrieved on 22 July 2012.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 "Chaplin's Back in The Big Time", *New Sunday Times* (16 April 1989). Retrieved on 22 July 2012.
59. ↑ "The Museum of Modern Art Honors Charles Chaplin's Contributions to Cinema". The Museum of Modern Art Press Release. March 1989. http://www.moma.org/docs/press\_archives/6653/releases/MOMA\_1989\_0020\_20.pdf?2010. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
60. ↑ "Google Doodles a Video Honouring Charlie Chaplin". CNN-News18. 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160509104424/http://www.news18.com/news/india/google-doodles-a-video-honouring-charlie-chaplin-366297.html. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
61. ↑ "Charlie Chaplin Stamps". Blogger. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102193256/http://chaplinstamps.blogspot.co.uk/. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
62. ↑ "Robert Downey, Jr. profile, Finding Your Roots". PBS. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151123205555/http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/profiles/robert-downey-jr/. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
63. ↑ "The Cat's Meow – Cast". Retrieved on 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015.
64. ↑ "The Scarlett O'Hara War – Cast". Retrieved on 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015.
65. ↑ "Young Charlie Chaplin Wonderworks". Emmys. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131109152052/http://www.emmys.com/shows/young-charlie-chaplin-wonderworks. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
66. ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (28 August 2014). "Charlie Chaplin's family see the funny side of film about his corpse being stolen", *The Independent*. Retrieved on 16 November 2018.
67. ↑ "Limelight – The Story of Charlie Chaplin". La Jolla Playhouse. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130721141919/http://www.lajollaplayhouse.org/the-season/2010-2011-season/limelight. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
68. ↑ "Chaplin – A Musical". Barrymore Theatre. Archived from the original on 15 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120615070714/http://www.chaplinbroadway.com/. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
69. ↑ "Ohjelmisto: Chaplin". Svenska Teatern. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130413030359/http://www.svenskateatern.fi/fi/ohjelmisto/ohjelmisto/chaplin/. Retrieved 8 February 2013.
70. ↑ "Kulkuri". Tampereen Työväen Teatteri. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131005002019/http://www.ttt-teatteri.fi/ohjelmisto/kulkuri. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
71. ↑ Ness, Patrick (27 June 2009). "Looking for the Little Tramp". Retrieved on 25 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013.
72. ↑ "Jerusalem by Alan Moore review – Midlands metaphysics" (17 January 2017). Archived from the original on 13 November 2016.
73. ↑ "Comic Genius Chaplin is Knighted", BBC (4 March 1975). Retrieved on 15 February 2010. Archived from the original on 23 December 2010.
74. ↑ "Tribute to Charlie Chaplin". Festival de Cannes. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121028025117/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/57899.html. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
75. ↑ E. Segal, Martin (30 March 2012). "40 Years Ago – The Birth of the Chaplin Award". Lincoln Center Film Society. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120502165257/http://www.filmlinc.com/blog/entry/the-birth-of-the-chaplin-award. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
76. ↑ "The 13th Academy Awards: Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120303110034/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/13th-winners.html. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
77. ↑ Hastings, Chris (18 April 2009). "Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders to be honoured by Bafta", *The Sunday Telegraph* (London). Retrieved on 10 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010.
78. ↑ "National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130328133050/http://www.loc.gov/film/registry\_titles.php. Retrieved 5 November 2013.

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