The Tramp (1914–1915)
Chaplin on the right in his film debut Making a Living (1914)
The Tramp debuted during the silent film era in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice (released on 7
February 1914). Chaplin, with his Little Tramp character, quickly became the most popular star in Keystone
director Mack Sennett's company of players. Chaplin continued to play the Tramp through dozens of short films
and, later, feature-length productions (in only a handful of other productions did he play characters other than
the Tramp). He portrayed a Keystone Kop in A Thief Catcher filmed Jan. 5–26, 1914.[25]
The Tramp was closely identified with the silent era, and was considered an international character; when the
sound era began in the late 1920s, Chaplin refused to make a talkie featuring the character. The 1931
production City Lights featured no dialogue. Chaplin officially retired the character in the film Modern Times
(released 5 February 1936), which appropriately ended with the Tramp walking down an endless highway
toward the horizon. The film was only a partial talkie and is often called the last silent film. The Tramp remains
silent until near the end of the film when, for the first time, his voice is finally heard, albeit only as part of a
French/Italian-derived gibberish song.
Two films Chaplin made in 1915, The Tramp and The Bank, created the characteristics of his screen persona.
While in the end the Tramp manages to shake off his disappointment and resume his carefree ways, “the
pathos lies in The Tramp's hope for a more permanent transformation through love, and his failure to achieve
this.”[citation needed]
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914): Chaplin's second film and the debut of his "tramp" costume
Chaplin's earliest films were made for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, where he developed his tramp
character and very quickly learned the art and craft of film making. The public first saw the tramp when
Chaplin, at age 24, appeared in his second film to be released (7 February 1914), Kid Auto Races at Venice.
However, he had devised the tramp costume for a film produced a few days earlier but released later (9
February 1914), Mabel's Strange Predicament. Mack Sennett had requested that Chaplin "get into a comedy
make-up".[26] As Chaplin recalled in his autobiography:
I had no idea what makeup to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter [in Making a Living].
However on the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat.
I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large. I
was undecided whether to look old or young, but remembering Sennett had expected me to be a much older
man, 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.[27]
"The Tramp" is a vagrant with the refined manners, clothes, and dignity of a gentleman. "Fatty" Arbuckle
contributed his father-in-law's derby and his own pants (of generous proportions). Chester Conklin provided the
little cutaway tailcoat, and Ford Sterling the size-14 shoes, which were so big, Chaplin had to wear each on
the wrong foot to keep them on. He devised the moustache from a bit of crepe hair belonging to Mack Swain.
The only thing Chaplin himself owned was the whangee cane.[26] Chaplin's tramp character would immediately
gain enormous popularity among cinema audiences. "The Tramp", Chaplin's principal character, was known as
"Charlot" in the French-speaking world, Italy, Spain, Andorra, Portugal, Greece, Romania and Turkey, "Carlitos"
in Brazil and Argentina, and "Der Vagabund" in Germany.
Chaplin in character in the 1910s
Chaplin's early Keystones use the standard Mack Sennett formula of extreme physical comedy and exaggerated
gestures. Chaplin's pantomime was subtler, more suitable to romantic and domestic farces than to the usual
Keystone chases and mob scenes. The visual gags were pure Keystone, however; the tramp character would
aggressively assault his enemies with kicks and bricks. Moviegoers loved this cheerfully earthy new comedian,
even though critics warned that his antics bordered on vulgarity. Chaplin was soon entrusted with directing and
editing his own films. He made 34 shorts for Sennett during his first year in pictures, as well as the landmark
comedy feature Tillie's Punctured Romance.
The Tramp character was featured in the first movie trailer to be exhibited in a U.S. movie theater, a slide
promotion developed by Nils Granlund, advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, and shown at
the Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.[28] In 1915, Chaplin signed a much more favorable
contract with Essanay Studios, and further developed his cinematic skills, adding new levels of depth and
pathos to the Keystone-style slapstick. Most of the Essanay films were more ambitious, running twice as long as
the average Keystone comedy. Chaplin also developed his own stock company, including ingénue Edna
Purviance and comic villains Leo White and Bud Jamison.
As new immigrant groups arrived in waves to America silent movies were able to cross all the barriers of
language, and spoke to every level of the American Tower of Babel, precisely because they were silent.
Chaplin was emerging as the supreme exponent of silent movies, an emigrant himself from London. Chaplin's
Tramp enacted the difficulties and humiliations of the immigrant underdog, the constant struggle at the bottom
of the American heap and yet he triumphed over adversity without ever rising to the top, and thereby stayed
in touch with his audience. Chaplin's films were also deliciously subversive. The bumbling officials enabled the
immigrants to laugh at those they feared.[29]
Chaplin on the right in his film debut Making a Living (1914)
The Tramp debuted during the silent film era in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice (released on 7
February 1914). Chaplin, with his Little Tramp character, quickly became the most popular star in Keystone
director Mack Sennett's company of players. Chaplin continued to play the Tramp through dozens of short films
and, later, feature-length productions (in only a handful of other productions did he play characters other than
the Tramp). He portrayed a Keystone Kop in A Thief Catcher filmed Jan. 5–26, 1914.[25]
The Tramp was closely identified with the silent era, and was considered an international character; when the
sound era began in the late 1920s, Chaplin refused to make a talkie featuring the character. The 1931
production City Lights featured no dialogue. Chaplin officially retired the character in the film Modern Times
(released 5 February 1936), which appropriately ended with the Tramp walking down an endless highway
toward the horizon. The film was only a partial talkie and is often called the last silent film. The Tramp remains
silent until near the end of the film when, for the first time, his voice is finally heard, albeit only as part of a
French/Italian-derived gibberish song.
Two films Chaplin made in 1915, The Tramp and The Bank, created the characteristics of his screen persona.
While in the end the Tramp manages to shake off his disappointment and resume his carefree ways, “the
pathos lies in The Tramp's hope for a more permanent transformation through love, and his failure to achieve
this.”[citation needed]
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914): Chaplin's second film and the debut of his "tramp" costume
Chaplin's earliest films were made for Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios, where he developed his tramp
character and very quickly learned the art and craft of film making. The public first saw the tramp when
Chaplin, at age 24, appeared in his second film to be released (7 February 1914), Kid Auto Races at Venice.
However, he had devised the tramp costume for a film produced a few days earlier but released later (9
February 1914), Mabel's Strange Predicament. Mack Sennett had requested that Chaplin "get into a comedy
make-up".[26] As Chaplin recalled in his autobiography:
I had no idea what makeup to put on. I did not like my get-up as the press reporter [in Making a Living].
However on the way to the wardrobe I thought I would dress in baggy pants, big shoes, a cane and a derby hat.
I wanted everything to be a contradiction: the pants baggy, the coat tight, the hat small and the shoes large. I
was undecided whether to look old or young, but remembering Sennett had expected me to be a much older
man, 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.[27]
"The Tramp" is a vagrant with the refined manners, clothes, and dignity of a gentleman. "Fatty" Arbuckle
contributed his father-in-law's derby and his own pants (of generous proportions). Chester Conklin provided the
little cutaway tailcoat, and Ford Sterling the size-14 shoes, which were so big, Chaplin had to wear each on
the wrong foot to keep them on. He devised the moustache from a bit of crepe hair belonging to Mack Swain.
The only thing Chaplin himself owned was the whangee cane.[26] Chaplin's tramp character would immediately
gain enormous popularity among cinema audiences. "The Tramp", Chaplin's principal character, was known as
"Charlot" in the French-speaking world, Italy, Spain, Andorra, Portugal, Greece, Romania and Turkey, "Carlitos"
in Brazil and Argentina, and "Der Vagabund" in Germany.
Chaplin in character in the 1910s
Chaplin's early Keystones use the standard Mack Sennett formula of extreme physical comedy and exaggerated
gestures. Chaplin's pantomime was subtler, more suitable to romantic and domestic farces than to the usual
Keystone chases and mob scenes. The visual gags were pure Keystone, however; the tramp character would
aggressively assault his enemies with kicks and bricks. Moviegoers loved this cheerfully earthy new comedian,
even though critics warned that his antics bordered on vulgarity. Chaplin was soon entrusted with directing and
editing his own films. He made 34 shorts for Sennett during his first year in pictures, as well as the landmark
comedy feature Tillie's Punctured Romance.
The Tramp character was featured in the first movie trailer to be exhibited in a U.S. movie theater, a slide
promotion developed by Nils Granlund, advertising manager for the Marcus Loew theater chain, and shown at
the Loew's Seventh Avenue Theatre in Harlem in 1914.[28] In 1915, Chaplin signed a much more favorable
contract with Essanay Studios, and further developed his cinematic skills, adding new levels of depth and
pathos to the Keystone-style slapstick. Most of the Essanay films were more ambitious, running twice as long as
the average Keystone comedy. Chaplin also developed his own stock company, including ingénue Edna
Purviance and comic villains Leo White and Bud Jamison.
As new immigrant groups arrived in waves to America silent movies were able to cross all the barriers of
language, and spoke to every level of the American Tower of Babel, precisely because they were silent.
Chaplin was emerging as the supreme exponent of silent movies, an emigrant himself from London. Chaplin's
Tramp enacted the difficulties and humiliations of the immigrant underdog, the constant struggle at the bottom
of the American heap and yet he triumphed over adversity without ever rising to the top, and thereby stayed
in touch with his audience. Chaplin's films were also deliciously subversive. The bumbling officials enabled the
immigrants to laugh at those they feared.[29]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25
December 1977) was an English comic actor and film director of
the silent film era.[2] He became one of the best-known film
stars in the world before the end of the First World War. Chaplin
used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and
continued well into the era of the talkies, though his films
decreased in frequency from the end of the 1920s. His most
famous role was that of The Tramp, which he first played in the
Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice in 1914.[3] From the
April 1914 one-reeler Twenty Minutes of Love onwards he was
writing and directing most of his films, by 1916 he was also
producing, and from 1918 composing the music. With Mary
Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith, he co-founded
United Artists in 1919.[4]
Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities
of the silent-film era. He was influenced by his predecessor, the
French silent movie comedian Max Linder, to whom he dedicated
one of his films.[5] His working life in entertainment spanned
over 75 years, from the Victorian stage and the Music Hall in the
United Kingdom as a child performer, until close to his death at
the age of 88. His high-profile public and private life
encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's
identification with the left ultimately forced him to resettle in
Europe during the McCarthy era in the early 1950s.
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Chaplin the 10th
greatest male screen legend of all time.[6] In 2008, Martin Sieff,
in a review of the book Chaplin: A Life, wrote: "Chaplin was not
just 'big', he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world
bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was
tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years,
through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he
stayed on the job. ... It is doubtful any individual has ever given
more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings
when they needed it the most".[7] George Bernard Shaw called
Chaplin "the only genius to come out of the movie industry".
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE (16 April 1889 – 25
December 1977) was an English comic actor and film director of
the silent film era.[2] He became one of the best-known film
stars in the world before the end of the First World War. Chaplin
used mime, slapstick and other visual comedy routines, and
continued well into the era of the talkies, though his films
decreased in frequency from the end of the 1920s. His most
famous role was that of The Tramp, which he first played in the
Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice in 1914.[3] From the
April 1914 one-reeler Twenty Minutes of Love onwards he was
writing and directing most of his films, by 1916 he was also
producing, and from 1918 composing the music. With Mary
Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith, he co-founded
United Artists in 1919.[4]
Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities
of the silent-film era. He was influenced by his predecessor, the
French silent movie comedian Max Linder, to whom he dedicated
one of his films.[5] His working life in entertainment spanned
over 75 years, from the Victorian stage and the Music Hall in the
United Kingdom as a child performer, until close to his death at
the age of 88. His high-profile public and private life
encompassed both adulation and controversy. Chaplin's
identification with the left ultimately forced him to resettle in
Europe during the McCarthy era in the early 1950s.
In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Chaplin the 10th
greatest male screen legend of all time.[6] In 2008, Martin Sieff,
in a review of the book Chaplin: A Life, wrote: "Chaplin was not
just 'big', he was gigantic. In 1915, he burst onto a war-torn world
bringing it the gift of comedy, laughter and relief while it was
tearing itself apart through World War I. Over the next 25 years,
through the Great Depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler, he
stayed on the job. ... It is doubtful any individual has ever given
more entertainment, pleasure and relief to so many human beings
when they needed it the most".[7] George Bernard Shaw called
Chaplin "the only genius to come out of the movie industry".
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Best of Charlie Chaplin
The Great Dictator- Globe Scene
The Great Dictator (1940)
Chaplin's first talking picture, The Great Dictator (1940), was an act of defiance against Nazism, filmed
and released in the United States one year before the U.S. abandoned its policy of neutrality to enter the
Second World War. Chaplin played the role of "Adenoid Hynkel",[31] Dictator of Tomania, modeled on
German dictator Adolf Hitler. The film also showcased comedian Jack Oakie as "Benzino Napaloni",
dictator of Bacteria, a jab at Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.[31]
Paulette Goddard filmed with Chaplin again, depicting a woman in the ghetto. The film was seen as an
act of courage in the political environment of the time, both for its ridicule of Nazism and for the
portrayal of overt Jewish characters and the depiction of their persecution. In addition to Hynkel,
Chaplin also played a look-alike Jewish barber persecuted by his regime, who physically resembled the
Tramp character.[31]
At the conclusion, the two characters Chaplin portrayed swapped positions through a complex plot, and
he dropped out of his comic character to address the audience directly in a speech.[32]
In the speech, Chaplain says ""I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't
want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible – Jew, Gentile – black man –
white. "We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's
happiness – not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world
there's room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone." [32]
He was nominated for Academy awards for Best Picture (producer), Best Original Screenplay (writer) and
Best Actor in The Great Dictator.
Chaplin's first talking picture, The Great Dictator (1940), was an act of defiance against Nazism, filmed
and released in the United States one year before the U.S. abandoned its policy of neutrality to enter the
Second World War. Chaplin played the role of "Adenoid Hynkel",[31] Dictator of Tomania, modeled on
German dictator Adolf Hitler. The film also showcased comedian Jack Oakie as "Benzino Napaloni",
dictator of Bacteria, a jab at Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.[31]
Paulette Goddard filmed with Chaplin again, depicting a woman in the ghetto. The film was seen as an
act of courage in the political environment of the time, both for its ridicule of Nazism and for the
portrayal of overt Jewish characters and the depiction of their persecution. In addition to Hynkel,
Chaplin also played a look-alike Jewish barber persecuted by his regime, who physically resembled the
Tramp character.[31]
At the conclusion, the two characters Chaplin portrayed swapped positions through a complex plot, and
he dropped out of his comic character to address the audience directly in a speech.[32]
In the speech, Chaplain says ""I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't
want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible – Jew, Gentile – black man –
white. "We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's
happiness – not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world
there's room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone." [32]
He was nominated for Academy awards for Best Picture (producer), Best Original Screenplay (writer) and
Best Actor in The Great Dictator.
