FILM: Chaplin (1992)

Country:           USA

Director:           Richard Attenborough

When I was still on second grade, I usually get home from school at 1 PM just in time to sit or lie down on the couch and watch reruns of classic movies on broadcast TV.  One of the movies I remember watching was “The Gold Rush.”  I still remember bits and pieces of the movie but the storyline and most of the film has been lost to memory after a couple of decades since I saw it. But I definitely remember laughing out loud.  And that is why I want to devote the next blogs to Charlie Chaplin in what I consider a small tribute to one of the titans of the film industry. 

I “rediscovered” Chaplin several years ago when I watched this biopic by Richard Attenborough with Robert Downey, Jr. in the title role.  Learning about Chaplin’s life and the many hardships he had had to endure makes me wonder where he got the inspiration for his films.

Robert Downey, Jr. was perfect for the role.  Not only did he come up to the challenge of playing a real life character at different ages, Downey also had to imitate Charlie in his famous Tramp character.  Now, Downey really had to do good as moviegoers would definitely compare his acting with the real thing.  Towards the end of the film, a montage of the memorable scenes from several Chaplin films were played.  That was the part where one can definitely say that Downey did do a good job at playing The Tramp.  Downey was nominated but did not win the Academy Award.  He was up against Al Pacino who also played a memorable role in Scent of a Woman.  Downey got the BAFTA for Best Actor though.

The film was based on two books: “My Autobiography” by Charles Chaplin himself and “Chaplin: His Life and Art” by David Robinson.  I would like to read both books, especially the autobiography.  Perhaps later when I have the money and the time.  I have checked the local bookstores but did not find any copy so Amazon’s my best bet.

The film showed to some degree how Charles was helped and influenced by his half-brother Sydney, by introducing him to Fred Karno (played by John ‘Inspector Morse’ Thaw) with whose troupe they were able to come to the USA and by later becoming Charlie’s business manager and adviser.  It was only later that I learned that there was a third brother – Wheeler Dryden.  This brother came to the knowledge of the Chaplin brothers a bit late as Charlie had already found success in Hollywood, but Dryden did work with his two half-brothers from 1918 until Charlie’s exile in 1952.  I guess Dryden got the brunt of the FBI’s inquiries as he was the one who remained in Hollywood to take care of selling Charlie’s studio and other properties.  He became mentally ill (inherited from his mother?) and died a recluse in 1957.

The film Chaplin was probably too short a film to cover all the essential aspects of Charlie Chaplin’s life, not to mention his influences and the political turmoil he found himself in.  Still, I don’t expect anyone’s life can be fully captured by film or by any other media.  It is enough for me to get a glimpse of that wonderful life well lived by this artistic genius.