Charlie Chaplin - Maestro of World Cinema - Laughter the Best Medicine - City Lights : A Silent Movie which Speaks...

Charlie Chaplin – Maestro of World Cinema – Laughter the Best Medicine - City Lights :  A Silent Movie which Speaks...  

                                 

 

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin  was a British comic actor and filmmaker of the 20^th Century who rose to fame in the silent film era.

Chaplin became a worldwide icon through his screen persona "the Tramp"and is considered one of  the most important figures of the film industry.

Charlie Chaplin was nicknamed as The Tramp. The Little Tramp  –  according to Chaplin, a tramp is a  gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure.

Funny acts are always a hit at talent shows, and the more absurd they are, the better. If you're holding a talent show, give prize for the funniest act to encourage more people to make the audience laugh.

Many of the celebrity actors of the Indian cinema found to be have  privileged to  mime  Charlie Chaplin.   Mime is the art or technique of portraying a character, mood, idea, or narration by gestures and bodily movements.

Charlie Chaplin made me to laugh my belly out since my childhood days.  One of the best feelings in the world is the deep-rooted belly laugh.  Chaplin undoubtedly tickled my funny bone more than any other comedians in the world cinema.

                         

Kamal Haasan                                                                                                                            
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                          Vidya Balan                                                                                          Raj Kapoor                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The versatile Indian actors  Kamal Haasan  and Sri Devi mimed Charlie Chaplin in movies with excellent results.  The recent photo shoot for the Filmfare magazine cover photo and feature of  Vidya  Balan as   Charlie Chaplin is remarkable.

The bollywood mogul Raj Kapoor was  famous for his Tramp act too.

Chaplin "arguably the single most important artist produced by the cinema, certainly its most extraordinary performer and probably still its most universal icon".

Glorious tribute is paid to the maestro of world cinema Charlie Chaplin by Indian film industry. Photo inset Amitabh Bachchan.

 Apart from the above mentioned Indian actors many others too found joy in depicting Charlie Chaplin on celluloid.

The sense of  humor by Indian English stand up comedians Vir Das and Kenneth Sebastian found me drooling for more and more.  The intelligent abstract humor in the duos’ comedy shows are priceless.  These two comedians drives you crazy in the real sense.

It is rightly said that the laughter increases one’s life span.  Also, the popular English magazine “Readers Digest” claim that the laughter is the best medicine has been proven correct.

Almost all the Indian Entertainment TV Channels have a special program of  “The Comedy Grid” or the funny sequences from movies which are finding popularity with television audiences in India.  After the dinner we have a sweet delicacy served, likewise comedy programs at dinner time is an icing on the cake. The Comedy Nights with Kapil Sharma is a popular laugh riot on Indian mini screen Colors TV. Many episodes feature celebrity guests who usually appear to promote their latest films in a comedy-focused talk show format.  The appetite for comedy has become a daily routine.

^{Now let us examine our patron saint Genesius or Charlie Chaplin’s biography –}

Charlie Chaplin Biography 

Comedian , film actor, film  producer (1889–1977)

                      

                           

Charlie Chaplin was a comedic British actor who became one of the biggest stars of the 20th century's silent-film era.   He was the funniest ever artist of on-screen comedy.

“I want to see the return of decency and kindness.”

                                           —Charlie Chaplin

Born on April 16, 1889, in Walworth, London, England, UK,  Charlie Chaplin worked with a children's dance troupe before making his mark on the big screen. His character "The Tramp" relied on pantomime and quirky movements to become an iconic figure of the silent-film era. Chaplin went on to become a director, making films such as City Lights and Modern Times, and co-founded the United Artists Corporation. He had a height of 5’5” (1.65 m). He died on a Christmas day  in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland, on December 25, 1977.

Famous for his character "The Tramp," the sweet little man with a bowler hat, mustache and cane, Charlie Chaplin was an iconic figure of the silent-film era and one of film's first superstars, elevating the industry in a way few could have ever imagined.

His father was a versatile vocalist and actor; and his mother, known under the stage name of Lily Harley, was an attractive actress and singer, who gained a reputation for her work in the light opera field.

Armed with his mother's love of the stage, Chaplin was determined to make it in show business himself, and in 1897, using his mother's contacts, landed with a clog-dancing troupe named the Eight Lancashire Lads. It was a short stint, and not a terribly profitable one, forcing the go-getter Chaplin to make ends meet any way he could.

"I (was) newsvendor, printer, toymaker, doctor's boy, etc., but during these occupational digressions, I never lost sight of my ultimate aim to become an actor," Chaplin later recounted. "So, between jobs I would polish my shoes, brush my clothes, put on a clean collar and make periodic calls at a theatrical agency."

Eventually other stage work did come his way. Chaplin made his acting debut as a pageboy in a production of Sherlock Holmes. From there he toured with a vaudeville outfit named Casey's Court Circus and in 1908 teamed up with the Fred Karno pantomime troupe, where Chaplin became one of its stars as the Drunk in the comedic sketch A Night in an English Music Hall.

With the Karno troupe, Chaplin got his first taste of the United States, where he caught the eye of film producer Mack Sennett, who signed Chaplin to a contract for a $150 a week.

                         
                                                              Charlie Chaplin’s Home

In 1914 Chaplin made his film debut in a somewhat forgettable one-reeler called Make a Living. To differentiate himself from the clad of other actors in Sennett films, Chaplin decided to play a single identifiable character, and "The Little Tramp" was born, with audiences getting their first taste of him in Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914).

Over the next year, Chaplin appeared in 35 movies, a lineup that included Tillie's Punctured Romance, film's first full-length comedy. In 1915 Chaplin left Sennett to join the Essanay Company, which agreed to pay him $1,250 a week. It is with Essanay that Chaplin, who by this time had hired his brother Sydney to be his business manager, rose to stardom.

During his first year with the company, Chaplin made 14 films, including The Tramp (1915). Generally regarded as the actor's first classic, the story establishes Chaplin's character as the unexpected hero when he saves the farmer's daughter from a gang of robbers.

 

Charlie Chaplin  studios

When his contract with Mutual expired in 1917, Chaplin decided to become an independent producer in a desire for more freedom and greater leisure in making his movies. To that end, he busied himself with the construction of his own studios. This plant was situated in the heart of the residential section of Hollywood at La Brea Avenue.

Early in 1918, Chaplin entered into an agreement with First National Exhibitors’ Circuit, a new organization specially formed to exploit his pictures. His first film under this new deal was "A Dog’s Life". After this production, he turned his attention to a national tour on behalf of the war effort, following which he made a film the US government used to popularize the Liberty Loan drive: "The Bond".

This proved a veritable mirthquake at the box office and added enormously to Chaplin’s popularity. This he followed with "Sunnyside" and "A Day’s Pleasure", both released in 1919.

During the 1920s Chaplin's career blossomed even more.

Then, feeling the need of a complete rest from his motion picture activities, Chaplin sailed for Europe in September 1921. London, Paris, Berlin and other capitals on the continent gave him tumultuous receptions.

After an extended vacation in Europe, Chaplin returned to Hollywood to resume his picture work and start his active association with United Artists.

During the decade he made some landmark films, including The Kid (1921), The Pilgrim (1923), A Woman in Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), a movie Chaplin would later say he wanted to be remembered by, and The Circus (1928). The latter three were released by United Artists, a company Chaplin co-founded in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, and D.W. Griffith.

Chaplin became equally famous for his life off-screen. His affairs with actresses who had roles in his movies were numerous. Some, however, ended better than others.

In 1918 he quickly married 16-year-old Mildred Harris. The marriage lasted just two years, and in 1924 he wed again, to another 16-year-old, actress Lita Grey, whom he'd cast in The Gold Rush. The marriage had been brought on by an unplanned pregnancy, and the resulting union, which produced two sons for Chaplin (Charles Jr. and Sydney) was an unhappy one for both partners. They divorced in 1927.

In 1936, Chaplin married again, this time to a chorus girl who went by the film name of Paulette Goddard. They lasted until 1942. That was followed by a nasty paternity suit with another actress, Joan Barry, in which tests proved Chaplin was not the father of her daughter, but a jury still ordered him to pay child support.

In 1943, Chaplin married 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill. Unexpectedly the two would go on to have a happy marriage, one that would result in eight children.

Chaplin kept creating interesting and engaging films in the 1930s. In 1931, he released City Lights, a critical and commercial success that incorporated music Chaplin scored himself. 
  

The premieres were among the most brilliant the cinema had ever seen. In Los Angeles, Chaplin’s guest was Albert Einstein; while in London Bernard Shaw sat beside him. "City Lights" was a critical triumph. All Chaplin’s struggles and anxieties, it seemed, were compensated by the film which still appears as the zenith of his achievement and reputation.

He was good friends with Winston Churchil as well.

SYNOPSIS   

City Lights is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire (Harry Myers).

The officials of a city unveil a new statue, only to find The Tramp(Charles Chaplin) sleeping on it. They shoo him away and he wanders the streets, destitute and homeless, and is soon tormented by two newsboys. He happens upon a beautiful Flower Girl (Virginia Cherrill), not realizing at first that she is blind, and buys a flower. Just when she is about to give him his change, a man gets into a nearby luxury car and is driven away, making her think that the Tramp has departed. The Tramp tiptoes away.

The Little Tramp first meets the Flower Girl, and discovers she is blind when she cannot find a dropped flower.

That evening, the Tramp runs into a drunken millionaire (Harry Myers) who is attempting suicide on the waterfront. (It is later mentioned that his wife has sent for her bags.) The Tramp eventually convinces The Millionaire he should live. He takes the Tramp back to his mansion and gives him a change of clothes. They go out for a night on the town, where the Tramp inadvertently causes much havoc. Early the next morning, they return to the mansion and encounter the Flower Girl en route to her vending spot. The Tramp asks The Millionaire for some money, which he uses to buy all the girl's flowers and then drives her home in the Millionaire's Rolls-Royce.

After he leaves, the Flower Girl tells her grandmother (Florence Lee) about her wealthy acquaintance. When the Tramp returns to the mansion, the Millionaire has sobered and does not remember him, so has the butler order him out. Later that day, the Millionaire meets the Tramp again while intoxicated, and invites him home for a lavish party. The next morning, having sobered again and planning to leave for a cruise, the Millionaire again has the Tramp tossed out.

Returning to the Flower Girl's apartment, the Tramp spies her being attended by a doctor. Deciding to take a job to earn money for her, he becomes a street sweeper. Meanwhile, the grandmother receives a notice that she and the girl will be evicted if they cannot pay their back rent by the next day, but hides it. The Tramp visits the girl on his lunch break, and sees a newspaper story about a Viennese doctor who has devised an operation that cures blindness. He then finds the eviction notice and reads it aloud at the girl's request. He reassures her that he will pay the rent. But he returns to work late and is fired.

As he is walking away, a boxer persuades him to stage a fake fight, promising to split the $50 prize money. Just before the bout, however, the man receives a telegram warning him that the police are after him. He flees, leaving the Tramp a no-nonsense replacement opponent. Despite a valiant effort, the Tramp is knocked out.

Some time later, he meets the drunken millionaire, who has just returned from Europe. The Millionaire takes him to the mansion and after he hears the girl's plight, gives the Tramp $1,000. Unbeknownst to the Millionaire and the Tramp, two burglars were hiding in the house when they entered. Upon hearing about the cash, they knock out the millionaire and take the rest of his money. The Tramp telephones for the police, but the robbers flee before they arrive, and the butler assumes he stole the money. The Millionaire cannot remember the Tramp or giving him the $1,000. The Tramp narrowly escapes and gives the money to the girl saying he will be going away for a while. Later, he is arrested in front of the newsboys who taunted him earlier, and jailed.

Months later, the Tramp is released. Searching for the girl, he returns to her customary street corner but does not find her. With her sight restored, the girl has opened up a flourishing flower shop with her grandmother. When a rich customer comes into the shop, the girl briefly wonders if he is her mysterious benefactor. But when he leaves with no acknowledgement, she realizes again she is wrong. While retrieving a flower from the gutter outside the shop, the Tramp is again tormented by the two newsboys. As he turns to leave, he finds himself staring at the girl through the window. His despair turns to elation and he forgets about the flower. Seeing that he has crushed the flower he retrieved, the girl kindly offers him a fresh one and a coin. The Tramp begins to leave, then reaches for the flower. When the girl takes hold of his hand to place the coin in it, she recognizes the touch of his hand and realizes he is no stranger. "You?" she says, and he nods, asking, "You can see now?" She replies, sobbing, "Yes, I can see now." The Tramp smiles shyly at the girl as the film ends.  – (End of Synopsis).

City Lights was immediately successful upon release on January 30, 1931, with positive reviews and box office receipts of $5 million. Today, critics consider it not only one of the highest accomplishments of Chaplin's career, but one of the greatest films ever made. In 1992, the Library of Congress selected City Lights for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2007, the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movies ranked City Lights as the 11th greatest American film of all time. In 1949, the critic James Agee referred to the final scene in the film as the "greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid".

He read books on economic theory; and devised his own Economic Solution, an intelligent exercise in utopian idealism, based on a more equitable distribution not just of wealth but of work.

Chaplin’s versatility extended to writing, music and sports. He was the author of at least four books, "My Trip Abroad", "A Comedian Sees the World", "My Autobiography", "My Life in Pictures" as well as all of his scripts. An accomplished musician, though self-taught, he played a variety of instruments with equal skill and facility (playing violin and cello left-handed).

He was also a composer, having written and published many songs, among them: "Sing a Song"; "With You Dear in Bombay"; and "There’s Always One You Can’t Forget","Smile", "Eternally", "You are My Song", as well as the soundtracks for all his films Charles Chaplin was one of the rare comedians who not only financed and produced all his films (with the exception of "A Countess from Hong Kong"), but was the author, actor, director and soundtrack composer of them as well.

 More acclaim came with Modern Times (1936), a biting commentary about the state of the world's economic and political infrastructures. The film, which did incorporate sound, was, in part, the result of an 18-month world tour Chaplin had taken between 1931 and 1932, a trip during which he'd witnessed severe economic angst and a sharp rise in nationalism in Europe and elsewhere.

Chaplin spoke even louder in The Great Dictator (1940), which pointedly ridiculed the governments of Hitler and Mussolini. "I want to see the return of decency and kindness," Chaplin said around the time of the film's release. "I'm just a human being who wants to see this country a real democracy . . ."

But Chaplin was not universally embraced. His romantic liaisons led to his rebuke by some women's groups, which in turn led to him being barred from entering some U.S. states. As the Cold War age settled into existence, Chaplin didn't withhold his fire from injustices he saw taking place in the name of fighting Communism in his adopted country of the United States.

Chaplin soon became a target of the right-wing conservatives. Representative John E. Rankin of Mississippi pushed for his deportation. In 1952, the Attorney General of the United States obliged when he announced that Chaplin, who was sailing to Britain on vacation, would not permitted to return to the United States unless he could prove "moral worth." The incensed Chaplin said good-bye to United States and took up residence on a small farm in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland.

Nearing the end of his life, Chaplin did make one last visit to the United States in 1972, when he was given an honorary Academy Award. The trip came just five years after Chaplin's final film, A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), the filmmaker's first and only color movie. Despite a cast that included Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando, the film did poorly at the box office. In 1975, Chaplin received further recognition when he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.

In the early morning hours of December 25, 1977, Charlie Chaplin died at his home in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. His wife, Oona, and seven of his children were at his bedside at the time of his passing. In a twist that might very well have come out of one of his films, Chaplin's body was stolen not long after he was buried from his grave near Lake Geneva in Switzerland by two men who demanded $400,000 for its return. The men were arrested and Chaplin's body was recovered 11 weeks later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filmography

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)

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, 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.

Some of the other comedy geniuses includes Mr.Bean and  Laurel Hardey.  The Carry on Doctor  movie series was also a huge hit with the audiences.

The mimicry shows by “Cochin Kalabhavan” , Kerala, a group of young talented artists who mime film artists and political figures are at its uproarious  and hilarious  best too.  Many artists from the group later made it to the “Mallu”  filmworld or Mollywood and became leading actors.

The likes of comedy stars  Robin Williams (Mrs. Doubtfire) and Dudley Moore (‘10’) made a mirth-quaking  presence in recent Hollywood.

Bollywood silent movie “Pushpak”  -

                                                            




The Indian modern era silent Bollywood movie “PUSHPAK” was a huge hit.  The critics and movie-goers both appreciated the film and the lead pair Kamal Haasan and Amala  stolen the heart of film lovers and the movie remains to be an all time classic in this genre.   The film was directed by Sangeetam Sreenivasrao. The movie “Pushpak” is a sophisticated classic silent film.      The background score by Vaidyanathan is excellent.  This was a silent movie which did speak and the director’s oeuvre was remarkable. The art direction was  praiseworthy too.

Dr.Kamal Haasan is a  versatile Indian actor, director and producer of movies who has also  done comedy based roles in film  like “Chachi 420” and “Appu Raja”.   Kamal  Haasan has unique talent of acting and has the knowledge of every aspects of film making. This is an actor whom I watched with curiosity and loved since my growing up years. He has done a sterling performance as a village idiot in the Tamil movie “16 Vayathinile”. He is an actor par excellence.  Kamal Haasan’s favorite actor being Hollywood legend “Robert De Niro”   the Martin Scorsese’ “Taxi Driver” fame.

Chaplinisque entertainment conquers one and all in the modern times as well.  Charles Chaplin was the king of comedy and ensures a firm place in the movie-goers’ hearts. 

My choice of “Charlie Chaplin” for my Golden Jubilee Blog post is justified as I would like to see my audiences hail and hearty with good laughter and cheers  to adorn their successful lives.  In other words, I wish my audiences all the success, good health and happiness in their lives in this world.