This evening's viewing: Modern Times. Been a long time since I last saw it, & while remembering the amazing & rightly famous sequence where Charlie is sucked into the cogs of the machine, I had totally forgotten about the equally amazing roller skate by the precipice scene, which still looks remarkable (the drop is in fact a glass matte painting, a clever bit of VFX for the era)
4/20/24 — Open 6-9p Mask recommended. No open drinks, please.
Happy Earth Day!
Here's a slightly sun-faded bio of silent-film star Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin's first film with sound was "The Great Dictator," a hilarious & damning satire of Hitler & fascism in WWII-era Europe. Fire up your 4/20 Saturday a enjoy a 'little tramp" film festival!
On April 2, 1972, Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States for the first time since the 1950s. He received an honorary Oscar days later where he received the longest standing ovation in Oscars history.
Mural by Karolina Łagodzińska-Mańkowska in Lipno (Poland) dedicated to Pola Negri and Charlie Chaplin
Na ścianie szczytowej kina Nawojka w Lipnie można zobaczyć wizerunki Poli Negri i Charliego Chaplina. Autorką powstałego w tym roku muralu jest Karolina Łagodzińska-Mańkowska. Fot. Tomek Falenta
This American comedy-drama film was written, produced, and directed by its star Charlie Chaplin, based on his own novella. Chaplin also composed the film score, with Buster Keaton appearing in their final musical number.
Released during the McCarthy era of political repression and fear campaigns, featuring the persecution of allegedly left-wing individuals, the film was picketed and heavily boycotted in the US.
Following the film’s re-release in the United States in 1972, and first screening in Los Angeles, Chaplin won his only Oscar for the film’s score at the 45th Academy Awards. ‘Limelight’ has since gained a cult following.
Recommended viewing (even if 10 minutes too long).
Just a head’s up #SilentSundayNights fans: this week has A LOT of #CharlieChaplin! “The Gold Rush” (1925) on Wednesday and the Thursday night theme is “Chaplin VS America” with “Modern Times” (1936), “The Great Dictator” (1940), “Monsieur Verdoux” (1947) & “Limelight” (1952) #TCMParty#SilentFilm
Today in Labor History September 19, 1952: The United States barred Charlie Chaplin from re-entering the country after a trip to England. In 1947, his black comedy, Monsieur Verdoux, was released. In the film, he criticized capitalism and its reliance on wars and weapons of mass destruction. The FBI launched a formal investigation of him 1947, after public accusations that he was a communist. Chaplin denied the charges, calling himself a “peace monger.” Nevertheless, he protested the HUAC hearings and the U.S. trials of Communist Party members. Representative John Rankin called Chaplin's presence in Hollywood “detrimental to the moral fabric of America.” Writer George Orwell prepared list of people he believed were communists, which he gave to British intelligence before he died in 1949. The list included Chaplin and Michael Redgrave, as well as Paul Robeson, Katherine Hepburn, John Steinbeck and Orson Welles.