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| CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND JACKIE COOGAN IN THE KID (1921) |
“Blazing Saddles,” “Annie Hall,” “Animal House” and “The Hangover” have more in common than simply being smash hit film comedies at the time they played in theaters.
The common denominator is simple: Those films – and, by extension, any and all successful film comedies – owe a large debt of gratitude to the brilliant, unsurpassed work of the screen’s first comic superstar, Charlie Chaplin.
Chaplin was an English comic actor and a silent film auteur, a man who wrote, directed and starred in a series of slapstick comedies in the early 1900s that remain as fresh and funny today as they were almost 100 years ago.
Best known for his endearing on-screen character, “The Tramp,” Chaplin created such timeless, feature-length, silent classics in the 1920s and 1930s as “The Kid,” “The Circus,” “The Gold Rush,” City Lights” and “Modern Times.”
From 1914 to 1923, Chaplin also starred in and sometimes directed more than 70 silent film short comedies that played in theaters sometimes before a main feature. Chaplin was so popular worldwide, however, that many people went to the movies just to watch his short comedies.
Did I mention these shorts were silent? That they have no spoken dialog? That the only sound is a musical score, often composed by Chaplin himself? And did I mention that these films – both the silent shorts and his full-length feature – still are laugh-out-loud funny, often touching and sometimes sentimental?
I saw my first Chaplin feature in fall 1979 while I was attending Loyola University in New Orleans and studying film. The movie was Chaplin’s 1928 film “The Circus.” I remember I how surprised I was that I found the film so charming and consistently funny – no, make that hilarious.
So I decided to explore Chaplin’s work a little more. Well, actually, a lot more. I watched just about anything I could find – including his classic two-reelers from his years with Essanay Films. Many of those short films are in the public domain and easily found on DVD, Netflix and even You Tube.
As Chaplin’s talent matured, he branched into feature films. And those motion pictures are among his best. Here are a few I recommend and that you can easily purchase, rent or stream to your television or computer. If you have children, chances are they will love these films as much as you will.
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| THE KID (1921) |
Chaplin’s first feature length film runs about an hour. Chaplin, as The Tramp, finds an abandoned baby on his stoop and spends much of the film raising the child as his own son. Jackie Coogan stars as The Kid.
The scenes featuring Chaplin and the infant are wonderfully staged with expert comic timing. Watching Chaplin struggle to feed the child without a bottle is flat-out hilarious.
Besides being the first feature-length comedy film, “The Kid” also is the first to combine laughs and serious drama. Or, in the case of Chaplin, combine laughs with scenes of maudlin, tear-inducing melodrama.
Sure, you cringe at Chaplin’s efforts to pry tears from your eyes. But just step back and remember this film is 90 years old – and what may seem a bit over-the-top today was commonly accepted back then. This still my favorite Chaplin film.
You can find “The Kid” for rent or purchase on DVD. Click here to purchase a two-disc special edition DVD of the film through Amazon.com. You also can stream the film to your computer or television through huluPLUS.
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| THE CIRCUS (1928) |
This is the film I first saw in 1979. I recently watched it again on huluPLUS and thought it was just as amusing. In “The Circus,” The Tramp joins a circus and falls in love with the ringmaster’s daughter.
Here, we also find Chaplin in an unfortunate situation of being a silent star at the beginning of the sound era. “The Circus” was fraught with production problems and delays, including bitter divorce and a studio fire.
The result: A film that began shooting in 1926 was eventually released in 1928 – a few months after “The Jazz Singer” stunned audiences by being the first talking motion picture.
“The Circus” still managed to be a sizeable hit film. You can find the film for sale or rent on DVD. Click here to purchase the film in a two-disc special edition DVD through Amazon.com. You also can stream the film to your computer or TV through huluPLUS.
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| MODERN TIMES (1936) |
With sound films firmly entrenched in Hollywood, Chaplin shot one more silent film – his last. “Modern Times” is considered by many Chaplin’s best film; it’s certainly his most political silent film (he parodied Hitler in the sound film “The Great Dictator” in 1940).
Chaplin sets his sights on big business and industry as The Tramp tries desperately to survive in the modern world. In a way, it’s the perfect analogy for the last film appearance by his character: The Tramp tries to survive in a modern film world.
Again, using strong sight gags and impeccable comic timing, Chaplin succeeds in satirizing what was “modern America.” He also takes an hilarious jab at sound films when, in one scene, he performs a song with lyrics that are complete gibberish – the only time The Tramp ever speaks on screen.
“Modern Times” is available for rent or purchase on DVD and Blu-ray high definition disc. Click here to purchase the film on Blu-ray high definition disc through Amazon.com or click here
to purchase it on DVD through Amazon.com. You also can stream the film to your computer or TV through huluPLUS.# # #
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