Charlie Chaplin

by Chaplin, Charlie

• ISBN13: 9781578067022
• ISBN10: 1578067022
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-02-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Mississippi

Summary

In late 1914, Charlie Chaplin's name first began appearing on marquees. By the end of the following year, moviegoers couldn't get enough of him and his iconic persona, the Little Tramp. Perpetually outfitted with baggy pants, a limp cane, and a dusty bowler hat, the character became so beloved that Chaplin was mobbed by fans, journalists, and critics at every turn.Although he never particularly liked giving interviews, he accepted the demands of his stardom, giving detailed responses about his methods of making movies. He quickly progressed from making two-reel shorts to feature-length masterpieces such asThe Gold Rush,City Lights, andModern Times.Charlie Chaplin: Interviewsoffers a complex portrait of perhaps the world's greatest cinematic comedian and a man who is considered to be one of the most influential screen artists in movie history. The interviews he granted, performances in and of themselves, are often as well crafted as his films. Unlike the Little Tramp, Chaplin the interviewee comes across as melancholy and serious, as the titles of some early interviews-"Beneath the Mask: Witty, Wistful, Serious Is the Real Charlie" or "The Hamlet-Like Nature of Charlie Chaplin"-make abundantly clear.His first sound feature,The Great Dictator, is a direct condemnation of Hitler. His later films such asMonsieur VerdouxandLimelightobliquely criticize American policy and consequently generated mixed reactions from critics and little response from moviegoers. During this late period of his filmmaking, Chaplin granted interviews less often. The three later interviews included here are thus extremely valuable, offering long, contemplative analyses of the man's life and work.Kevin J. Hayes is a professor of English at the University of Central Oklahoma. His previous books includePoe and the Printed Word,Folklore and Book Culture, andAn American Cycling Odyssey, 1887, among others. He has been published inFilm Criticism,Literature/Film Quarterly,Cinema Journal, and other periodicals.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Chronology	xix
Filmography	xxiii
The Funniest Man on the Screen	3	(4)
Victor Eubank
Charlie Chaplin, Cheerful Comedian	7	(6)
Mary E. Porter
Charlie Chaplin: A Tragedian Would Be	13	(4)
Miriam Teichner
Beneath the Mask: Witty, Wistful, Serious Is the Real Charlie Chaplin	17	(5)
Grace Kingsley
In Chaplin's House of Glass	22	(5)
Mabel Condon
Charlie Chaplin: Rather a Quiet Little Guy Who Takes His Pantomimic Art Seriously	27	(6)
Walter Vogdes
Charles, Not Charlie	33	(5)
Julian Johnson
Charlie Chaplin	38	(8)
Ray W. Frohman
The Hamlet-Like Nature of Charlie Chaplin	46	(5)
Benjamin De Casseres
Charlie Chaplin, Philosopher, Has Serious Side	51	(13)
Frank Vreeland
[Chaplin's] Hope to See Much of England	64	(3)
Anonymous
Absolutely, Mr. Chaplin! Positively, Mr. Freud!: Psychoanalysis Comes to the Movies	67	(4)
Ted Le Berthon
What Chaplin Thinks	71	(4)
Anonymous
Shy Charlie Chaplin Opens His Heart	75	(5)
Mordaunt Hall
Future of the Cinema: Mr. Charles Chaplin	80	(4)
Robert Nichols
Chaplin Explains Chaplin	84	(4)
Harry Carr
Charles Chaplin: Film Comedian's Welcome	88	(3)
Anonymous
Chaplin Draws a Keen Weapon	91	(7)
Robert Van Gelder
From Rags to Riches	98	(5)
Philip K. Scheuer
Charlie Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux Press Conference	103	(16)
George Wallach
But It's Sad, Says Chaplin, It's Me	119	(3)
Ella Winter
The Modern---Mellower---Times of Mr. Chaplin	122	(7)
Bosley Crowther
Ageless Master's Anatomy of Comedy: Chaplin, An Interview	129	(13)
Richard Meryman
Chaplin on the Critics, the Beatles, the Mood of London	142	(5)
Francis Wyndham
Index	147