Professor David Peimer
Chaplin, Part 2: Global Icon, Comic Genius, Outsider
David Peimer - Chaplin, Part 2: Global Icon, Comic Genius, Outsider
- Okay, so today I’m going to dive into the part two of Charlie Chaplin, having looked at, obviously, first part last week, where I spoke quite a bit about his life, growing up in utter poverty and in effectively Dickensian-type workhouses in London. What happened to his mother, declared, well, sent to an asylum when he was very young, in his early teens. Father dying young. Just a nightmare of poverty and trauma for such a young kid. And perhaps the only saving grace was that he did some vaudeville, music hall revues, comedy sketches at a very young age with his parents, and then was taken up with some local little groups in his part of London. So, to go from there all the way across America at a pretty young age, and by the early 20th century, to have become such a remarkable, global, iconic figure and one of the greatest comedians, I think, certainly of the last century, if not of all time. And how he understood such an early art of film and how to use film in those, we have to imagine going right back. Film was only, you know, a decade or so old, if that. I mean, how he used it and took it so much further, combining the idea of sketches within a longer narrative. 50 minutes, 60 minutes, shorter pieces. But these are all basically sketches. And yet how to keep comedy going for a whole new type of audience, which obviously was film as opposed to live. How he then could, in addition, come up with such an incredible character as the tramp with, you know, as he consciously chose. The shoes had to be too big, the pants had to be too baggy, the jacket too tight, little bowler hat had to be too big. And then the moustache to add some age for him. You know, developing the walk, the cane, everything.
Developing this whole remarkable comic character, which of course is global. And I think in addition, as I said last week, this ability to understand in a sense what would’ve been for him English humour at the time and American humour and how to bridge both. And I think that’s, it’s just a fantastic achievement. And then, of course, able to, you know, spread globally all over and remain so popular. So, and a lot comes from Charlie Chaplin himself, writing later, you know, as he said, the humour did not come from him necessarily, where the character of the tramp bumps into a tree and falls over, but bumping into a tree and then falling and then getting up, but taking his hat and lifting his hat to the tree as an apology to the tree. It’s that extra bit of dignity and humour that I think sets him apart from many others. How he took short scenes from everyday life, going to the pawn shop, working in a barber scene, a lion cage, some I’m going to show today, a boxing, you know. So many ordinary, in a way, ordinary moments of life, certainly in America, England, and elsewhere, and yet he could milk it literally and find so much comedy in tiny detail. And we’ll see that in a couple of clips I show today. And then, of course, the tramp’s effort to survive. He’s got to survive, and he’s ultimately the outsider, as I was suggesting last week. He’s the outsider survivor in a hostile world. And he’s treated badly, but he can remain upbeat and kind. He can defy his social position because he strives to be seen as a gentleman nevertheless. He gives the character dignity.
And Chaplin writes a lot about that in his autobiography. And this is, I’m quoting him, “The whole point of the little fellow is that no matter "how down on his ass he is, no matter how well the jackals "succeed in tearing him apart, "the little fellow is still a man of dignity.” He’s like an everyman almost turned heroic saviour. And he gives as good as he gets. Authority figures come in, and he gives as good as he gets back to them. You know, he’s not this weak little character who is resigned to fate. He fights back, he knows how to survive. And in a way, this is the tragedy turned into ridicule, which is an act of defiance, but it enables us to laugh at tragic circumstances and tragic situations to a degree. He’s a loser who refuses to admit that he’s lost. That’s the tramp. He gives the classic example, which everybody who has ever studied first-year acting knows. How do you act a drunk person? But this is Chaplin writing, you know, a century ago. How do you act a drunk person? Well, the worst way is to act drunk. The best way is to act as if you’re convinced you’re not drunk, and actually convinced that he’s quite sober. And it’s much funnier than trying to act like a drunken idiot. And Chaplin understood it over a century ago. So the pictures of, and he wrote this, “Are all built around the idea "of my character getting into trouble. "So it gives me the chance to be desperately serious "and attempt to feel like a normal little gentleman "trying to outwit those who cause me trouble "or put authority over me. "So no matter how desperate the predicament "my character is in,” this is Chaplin writing. “I’m always earnest, clutching my cane, "straighten my hat, fix my tie, "even though I’ve just landed on my head.” Okay, so all of this is dignity as a human being.
And then of course, the other part that I mentioned last week, which I do want to say, there are so many emerging movie stars of Chaplin’s era, going from the beginning of the 20th century, you know, to post the Second World War. But he chooses to add what I would call loosely social commentary. In “Modern Times,” “The Great Dictator,” “The Gold rush.” He doesn’t have to have that. He could easily just make slapstick knock-about comedy, as we call it, simple vaudeville-type sketches, put into the movies. He doesn’t have to make a movie called “Modern Times” and appeal to so many, you know, millions, if not more, over around the world. It’s “The Great Dictator,” “The Gold Rush.” All of it is a critique of or comments at least on the times that he’s living in. And of course, speak to our times. And he certainly doesn’t have to. He could easily made as much money and be as famous just doing simple, quick, fun sketches, knock-about comedy, emerging from theatrical vaudeville endeavours. But he does. And I think that also marks him out as a constantly evolving artist in his field. Hugely. In my respect huge. Lastly, many have accused him of being sentimental. Well, of course, there’s sentimentality, but I would say sentimentality with a huge, huge plus. And of course, there’s sentiment and sentimentality because, of course, somebody in this kind of poverty, this situation, is not going to necessarily react in these comic ways, but we have to accept that’s the basis of it. And then accept that it’s not a binary, sentimental or not, or meaningful, if you like. I think that there’s fluidity between the two, and I think that’s what he offers.
And so many artists to follow. You know, so many artists to follow. One can see it in Groucho. One can see it, so many of the others afterwards, of course. Okay, I want to devote today to having a feast for everybody on some of the great scenes from Charlie Chaplin. And we are going to look at a whole lot of scenes today, clips from different films. So the first one is from “The Great Dictator,” what became known as the pudding scene. If we can show that, please, Jess.
Each man will receive a pudding. Concealed in one of these is a coin. Whoever gets that coin must give up his life for the liberation of his people. But he will join the long line of history’s noble martyrs. And will rid his country of a tyrant.
Ooh!
Evening.
I know that it is the wish of all of us to be chosen this night to die for Tomainia. Much as I should like to participate in this ordeal, I cannot,
Why?
Don’t you understand? He’s too well known. Must be done by somebody like us.
I can see it like that.
Gentleman, if this is a question of my honour, it’s very embarrassing.
Commander Schultz, I apologise for my friend. And let me say on behalf of myself and the others that we consider it a great privilege to die for our country.
Very well then. Gentlemen, I shall now retire until fate has chosen the liberator. Until then, Heil Hit… Oh, what am I saying?
Gentlemen, we have pledged our honour. Proceed. Gentlemen, the coin is here. What’s the meaning of all this? Somebody made a fool of us!
You’re quite right, I did.
What?
I put a coin in every pudding.
So, for me, it’s how to take such a simple, banal situation and turn it into wit and humour. You know, who’s going to die for your country with a coin in a little cake? It’s complete satire, dolce et decorum est. It is good and fitting to die for your country. You know, the irony of Wilfrid Owen’s great poem. Of course it’s not from the First World War. But you know, it turns everything about dying for this kind of patriotism. And I stress that. Certain kinds are obviously totally different, but this kind of patriotism, it’s insane. It’s crazy. This kind of fascist extreme society that, you know, die. And how you do it? By having coins. And how do you, all the little details of who has the coin, who hasn’t. The next clip is from the fantastic Attenborough film with Robert Downey, Jr. playing Chaplin. I’m sure we all saw it. And this is the moment where it’s the actor, Robert Downey, Jr. playing Chaplin, comes up with the idea of creating the tramp character. Okay, if we can show it please, Jess.
[Charlie] Oh, that magical moment as I walked through the wardrobe door. I felt possessed. I could feel him calling out to me. The tramp.
[George] Bullshit and you know it.
[George] But the truth was so boring, George.
Psst. Jesus.
You told him to get changed, remember?
What’s he putting on, a suit of armour? Chaplin! Chaplin! Get your ass onto the stage right now! Ah, forget the little limey. Get cranking, Holly. Okay, here again. Very formal, everybody. What the hell? Crazy.
What do I do, what do I do?
Cut it. No, wait, wait, hold it. Keep it going. Maybe he’s not so crazy after all. Photographer, Henry, chase him around the camera! Okay, put him in line! Big reaction, big reaction! Who is this? Stay down, Henry, stay down! Groom, look jealous, jealous! You can do better than that, can’t ya? Right, now, Mabel. Yeah, give the tramp the eye. That’s right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Matron, you’re real hoity toity. Who is this Bob? Good, very good. Groom, get mad. He’s trying to spoon your lovely bride! Matron, take a swing at him! All right, domino falls, domino falls! Into the chase, into the chase! Punched up, keep it punched up! Go, go, terrific! Look at the camera. Henry, nothing. Watch the birdy. That’s enough, cut! God damn you, Chaplin, what are you trying to do to me? I mean, you could say what I’ve always liked in the way that Attenborough does it with Downey Jr. is first with a little fantasy, which of course is not true, but you know, how he came up with it, with a costume, et cetera. And then he’s just, Downey Jr. captures it for me of just trying, he’s inventing everything as he goes along to try and not only create the tramp character, but get comedy out, you know, through a physical comedy, but never forgetting the glances, the looks, the touch, the tiniest of details. And, you know, discovering the walk, everything that we talk about. A moment of discovery, obviously fictionalised in the Attenborough film, but I think it’s enchanting as just a moment of sheer, of creativity and fun. Okay, if we can go to the next one, please.
This is from “The Pawn Shop” scene. One of the greats of all time of his scenes for me. The detail, the attention to detail is extraordinary. The music will start soon, as you’ll see. But he’s, very, very early on in his career, with Chaplin, he’s developing the character more and more. And watch what he does with just tiny, simple little banal everyday objects. Duster. Okay. Just to show this tiny little thing of, you know, the obvious gags of the ladder and the feather duster. But these were all originating with Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy and others, of course, as well, and how to make it into film to make it funny, not just, you know, on stage. And obviously not dangerous. So they’re not risking, you know, their bodies in any way. And yet he’s keeping with the walk. He’s keeping with the movement. And of course, later composing the music for it as well. Okay, the next one is from the barber scene from “The Great Dictator,” where, as you all know, in “The Great Dictator” Chaplin plays both the Jewish barber and he plays the satire of Hitler, you know, the great leader Hynkel. But here he’s the Jewish barber in “The Great Dictator.”
[Radio Announcer] This is the Happy Hour programme. Make your work a pleasure, move with the rhythm of music. Our next selection, Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance Number Five.”
15 cents, please.
So this is, for me, one of the great comic little scenes in “The Great Dictator.” And just how, again, he takes an ordinary situation, a pawn shop, cleaning a hat, the ladder, whatever. Here it’s just a barber, which could be absolutely boring and banal, but turns it into a choreographed dance. And the wit and the attitude to it remains, you know, not only cheerful, but relishing doing the job. Buster Keaton said that he, Buster Keaton, was much more an exponent of physical comedy. Whereas Charlie, he said, would choreograph dance routines almost. And that was one of the main differences between the two. Okay, as we see, obviously in the barber scene. Now, the next one is also from “The Great Dictator,” and this shows the young Hynkel who becomes the fuhrer in the First World War as an ordinary little corporal in the First World War. And some really, I think, fantastic little scenes, little snippets in this next clip. If we can show it please.
[Narrator] Was this day to make its first appearance on the Western front. Was this day to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy. 75 miles away was her target, the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
[Officer] Range 95,452!
Range, 95,452.
Yes, sir!
And clear!
[Officer] Fire!
Hey. Stand ready.
Range 95,455.
[Officer] Yes, sir!
Breach secured!
And clear!
[Officer] Aim, fire!
It’s another clip. From the First World War in “The Great Dictator.”
[Officer] Hey, are you going crazy? Come down out of there!
Come along, hurry up.
Pardon me, sir. But to work this, how do you–
Pull the pin, count 10, and throw it! Let ‘em have it! Hey, come on!
Hey, this is no time to stretch! Here, pull yourself together. Take this.
There you are.
Huh?
Oh, excuse me.
The enemy! Come on, fellas, let’s get him!
So those are just some. If we can hold it there, Jess. Thanks. Just a couple of short, brief clips put together, which are from “The Great Dictator,” and where of course it’s satirising, you know, this Corporal Hitler, Corporal Hynkel, who, you know, we all know the stories, obviously. Satirising not only war, but satirising Hitler’s glorification and many, many others. Absolutely glorifying it afterwards. Okay, then the next one I want to show is just a little bit of a boxing match between Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Thanks, if you can show it, Jess. I’m sure everyone recognises the music. Okay, if we can end it here. Thanks. So I just wanted to show you a clip. One of the very few that I know of, for in fact, of any one I know of, between Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Again, and I think Keaton was spot on, that he was much more physical comedy. Charlie Chaplin turning many things into a dance or a kind of choreographed movement. Okay, and how do you turn a boxing match into comedy? Not easy. Okay, the next one is one of the great, famous lion cage scene. Lion in the cage scenes. If we can show it, please. The circus performer. I love the waw he way sets up immediately the dramatic tension between obviously the lion and the tramp being caught. Here it comes. Jess, if you can hold it there. Okay, so I mean, what, for me it’s just, it’s so simple and so obvious, but the moments of danger and then the release of dramatic tension where the danger becomes less, and the danger suddenly arises again.
And how he turns all those moments into comedy and in a sudden moment of serious danger. It’s just the sense of comic timing is so brilliant for me in that little clip. Okay, the next one is from “Modern Times,” where the tramp is the factory worker, but he’s been instructed to come and be the guinea pig for the feeding machine. Okay, if we can show it please. Okay. I mean, it’s one of the great classic scenes of all time and from “Modern Times” of Chaplin. Obviously, consumerism, mass consumerism, all of that being satirised. But you know, also the idea feed, feed, feed. But the simple idea is, yeah, on the one hand, you know, feeding people can have that much food, et cetera. But when the machine goes out of control and starts to go haywire and crazy, whether it’s in “2001 Space Odyssey,” Hal, the computer or AI today, all the talk about it, and so many other things, of course, to do with technology. You know, the dual side of it. On the one hand, it’s brilliant, and the other hand, when it goes out of control, takes over. So this is Chaplin, so many decades ago, in the early part of last century, getting an instinct of it or understanding it and able to play with it and satirise this. And of course the ordinary person just becoming an automaton to be, you know, fooled with junk, whatever it is. Junk food. Okay, the next one is one of the really, really good scenes, I think as well, which is back to “The Great Dictator.” And this is where the Hynkel character, together with the Goebbels character of course. And they arranged to meet Mussolini, who is called Napaloni in “The Great Dictator.” And Napaloni comes to visit Hynkel in, obviously, in the Reich stadt. In his Reich capital.
At all costs Napaloni shall not invade Austerlitz. That country belongs to me.
At this meeting, we shall not discuss the Austerlitz situation. This interview is solely to impress upon him the force of your personality.
Hmm.
To make him feel your superiority. Here, this man Napaloni is aggressive, domineering. Before we make our demands, we must put him in his place.
Precisely, but how?
By means of applied psychology. In other words, by making him feel inferior. This can be done in many subtle ways. For instance, at this interview I have so arranged that he will always be looking up at you. You looking down at him. At all times, his position will be inferior.
[Hynkel] Mm, excellent.
Then again, we shall seat him here beside your bust. So that if you relax, that will always be glaring at him.
Huh? Oh.
Where is he now?
Resting. When he arrives, I have arranged that he shall enter from the far end of the room, another psychological triumph. He will have the embarrassment of walking the entire length of the floor toward you.
Very good. Yes.
[Secretary] His excellency, Signore Napaloni, is now leaving his room.
He’s coming, he’s coming. Quick, give me a flower, a flower!
Remember at all times you must be above and before him. Entering or leaving, you must be first. Hello, Hinky! Be good, big hands! How are you feel? Wait a minute, what else? Ah, my brother dictator. You are a nice little man, Hinky. I’m so glad to see you again. Ah, my friend, the garbage. Hello! Oh, this is a lovely place. I feel fine. I just had a nice cold shower. And that bathtub, as soon as you get the plumbing fixed, it’ll be in a good shape.
Your Excellency, won’t you sit down?
Oh, sure, sure. Well, Hinky, my dictator friend, you… I must be a growing. What did they give me? A baby stool? This stool is not for me. I like it better up stands here. You know, something, garbage. This is a lovely country, very nice people.
I thought the public extremely enthusiastic on your arrival.
Sure, they like to see new faces.
I’m sorry for the mishap that occurred to Madame Napaloni at the railroad station.
What’s that, what’s that?
I’m sorry for the Napaloni that occurred at the… The rail.
[Garbitsch] Madame Napaloni at the railway station.
Oh, she’s not used to public life. She can’t take it. Match.
Oh. I’m sorry, I thought, I–
No, it’s all right, don’t apologise. I find one.
Yeah, what I’ve always liked here is how, obviously the two dictators, and we know only to well from watching, you know, when you look at the so-called supreme leader of Iran or Putin or whoever, you know, with pretensions to be a dictator or being a real dictator. And the position of the chair, the table, the seat, it’s all thought through and choreographed in any set of politics. But it’s so extreme. And he understood it all these decades ago and how to satirise and play with it. And then invert the relationship. So the Hynkel character is actually the low status, and the Mussolini character, of course, Napaloni, is very high. So, you know, and how they’re constantly juggling snakes and ladders even just in their little interactions. Who’s going to put more power and who hasn’t? In the pathetic image of, you know, the size of the chair, the height, all that little obsessive detail, as opposed to what they’re going to do and how they’re going to destroy the world. But I think he’s understanding something profound about the fascist mindset, going to that kind of petty detail, not just policies in a way. Okay, this is, the second to last one I want to show is an interesting one from an award, which Chaplin was given, but he filmed it and made it into a satire later. “Star Spangled Banner.” And it’s meant to be a little ceremony for peace and prosperity in the States. And you’ll see what Chaplin does with it.
We can show it, please. It’s just a little clip to show that he would take anything of authority. 'Cause I think Chaplin really had a dislike, to put it mildly, of major authority figures. And as he said, the idea of a, you know, was always no matter how much authority kicked the little tramp down, the little tramp would always find a way to kick back and fight back. And just taking something as an award ceremony and the importance of statues in so many cultures’ lives. And then how do you satirise it? How do you set it up for ridicule and yet make people laugh? Not only feel upset or whatever. Because it’s the little tramp who’s caught up in all these hostile situations and trying to figure a way out. He doesn’t come in with the intention to bash it down, the statue. He comes in and it’s as if he’s trying to do his best to work with the statue in the event, with the anthem. But things happen to the tramp all the time that constantly pull him down. And that’s the brilliant part for me, part of the brilliance for me with Chaplin. It’s a hostile world, but he’s trying to make it work all the time. And it’s not his fault that his trousers get caught in the sword or that he’s looking at something and suddenly there’s a big hand with a nose, you know, and other things happening here. So it’s that idea which he was so aware of, Chaplin. Things happen to the little tramp, and he’s got to quickly figure out a way to outwit it and overcome it. And that is such a human characteristic, I think. And what he sussed brilliantly. It’s not just a naive, angry attack on the statue.
Okay, the last one I want to show a little bit of, something very, very different, but one of the great comic scenes of all time, from Groucho. And this is the great mirror scene in Groucho, where Harpo as the burglar comes in, but dressed as Groucho. And you’ll see what happens. But look at the similar physical comedy. Not quite the same balletic dance choreography that Chaplin uses, but the same idea of how to make every moment into a moment of physical comedy. With glances, looks, the body. With a few very simple objects. Okay. You can show that please, Jess. So, for me, I mean, I wanted to especially make today a little bit different. A feast of comedy, a feast of celebrating some of the great scenes of Chaplin. And just to show for me his brilliance with vaudeville, with physical comedy, with balletic dance. His commitment to social commentary, social ideas on a whole range of levels. From obviously, you know, like in “Modern Times,” “The Great Dictator,” other things. How he emerged from the ordinary, simple world of vaudeville and music hall comedy review sketches from the Dickensian background of workhouse. And you know, it’s really no hope at all. Very little help. And yet achieved such incredible things on his own. And as a comic artist, for me, quite brilliant. As did Groucho and many others. And there’s a celebration, a relishing of filmmaking itself that finally there’s a media where you can feel they’re discovering how to make the media work for them, how to celebrate it, make it come alive, make it so different. It’s all so fresh and new for them. I guess almost like the internet is for us today. Or the telephone was, you know, many, many years ago. So it’s just something new, and they’re trying to make it work. And yet the comic timing remains as powerful as ever. And the attempt to make wit is so strong, as always. Okay, so that’s going to hold it on Chaplin and comedy, and going to get something very different next week. And yeah, I’ll take, we can do the questions now.
Q&A and Comments:
Okay. Mina. The music of the first scene shown comes from Verdi’s “Macbeth.” Ah, maybe. I’m not sure, I’ve got to check that, but that’s really, it’d be really interesting if it does. Thanks, Mina.
Q: Jean, what was Chaplin’s film experience while in Chicago in the early 20th century?
A: Not sure exactly what you mean here. I don’t think he had that much experience in Chicago. A little bit maybe with Mack Sennett, but then going on to LA as soon as possible.
Rita. The name of the music, Chaplin is a barber. Oh, I’ve got to check that again. It slipped my mind. Sorry.
It’s Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance.” That’s what it is. Thanks, Daniela. It’s Brahms, of course it’s Brahms “Hungarian Dance.” That’s the one. I’m just thinking of so many that we’ve seen today. Yeah.
That’s great, thanks, Nicky.
Elaine. The music during the fight scene is “Zorba the Greek.” Yes. It’s “Zorba the Greek” between Buster Keaton and him. Monique, my feeling about hypocrisy, exactly. Well, he turns it into ridicule and become ridicule of, you know, two little boys almost, you know, like flailing around.
Elda. I grew up in Joburg, ah, watching Chaplin films at home. My late father, beloved memory, Dr. Oscar Norwich, had some of them. We watched on the movie projector. So much fun. Ah, that’s right, Chaplin was a genius in my opinion. Absolutely. Chaplin, the Marx Brothers, obviously Groucho. Buster Keaton, a whole lot of them. You know, extraordinary explosion in the early part of the century in America. And also because it’s where the film world is taking off so well. Hollywood is becoming something. Film is becoming the technology of entertainment of our times and art.
Francine. The choice of classical music. Yes, and the timing, it’s stunning. I agree, Francine. The timing with the music and his skits is brilliant. And that also he’s taking, such early days of filmmaking, he’s taking the idea of how to make a film with music so much further. Classical music and those that inhabit. Exactly, later with cartoons. Spot on, Francine.
Miriam. The lion shown beside Chaplin without any text. Special effects is incredible. Yeah, absolutely. Obviously an extremely well-fed lion before, but he’s trying to interact with it.
Yes. Joel, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree with you, Joel. We could watch these again and again, together with some of the others that I mentioned. From those very early days. The Marx brothers, Groucho, Buster Keaton. You know, a whole lot of them. And I don’t think we have anything like as many today with this kind of understanding of comedy. Obviously, we have Woody Allen’s brilliance, the one-liner and the character in the situation, but the ability to combine so many things. Physicality, the words. The editing, the filming, the characters, the acting. The ability to create persona, like the tramp.
Okay. Miriam. The feeding machine could’ve been a precursor for creating apparatus that would assist. Yeah, it could have been actually. It’s a very interesting idea for quadriplegic patients. Carol as well. Miriam, it’s a fascinating idea. Brilliant, thank you.
Q: Stan. Do you have a colleague who can contact the Chaplin organisation to request they re-release “The Great Dictator”?
A: Well, I think it’s available on the internet so anybody can watch it on YouTube, the internet, anytime. Or you know the site IMDB? Independent film, independent movie database, IMDB. You can watch it there or on YouTube. You can watch it anytime. But I think it’s become one of the great, especially for our times, one of the really great films. And we see its greatness now nearly a century later.
Oh, thanks, Stuart. Thanks for sharing. It’s amazing about lockdown. You know, that we can share all these things together. Thank you.
Q: What made Chaplin a genius? Rita.
A: Well, I think, you know, genius for me is not only, you’re right, Rita, it’s a much bandied word. I don’t think it’s just intelligence. I think it’s… Obviously, it’s intelligence, but it’s also talent. Tenacity, perseverance. And I think the ability to put together previously unrelated things, seemingly unrelated. So how do you combine, how do you come up with an idea of a car, an aeroplane? How do you come up with an idea of a watch or whatever? How do you put together previously disparate objects and find something new? How do you find the extraordinary in the ordinary? In this case, how do you make it comic as well and comedy? It is very rooted in vaudeville and vaudeville sketches and music hall review sketches. So where actors would get onto the stage in late 19th century and early 20th, and perform little sketches. And you’d have lots of little actors getting up, lots of actors performing short sketches. So that is the root of it. That’s why his films are basically a series of sketches put together in one narrative. Then of course he adds the music. And he acts, and he writes, and he directs, and he edits, and he composes most of the music. All of that together is not just a workaholic, which he was, but is an extraordinary ability to combine talent, sheer hard work, and also being something of a perfectionist, I think. Maybe the word genius. Never stopping until he feels he’s really got it right. It’s a hell of a long answer for a very, very great short question.
Q: Carol, did Chaplin ever say he’d have been even more ruthless had he known the monster Hitler would turn out to be?
A: No, I don’t think so. He said that he made “The Great Dictator,” he made it in honour of Jewish people. And he wanted to make it. And that was his main aim. Because I’m showing mostly the satirization of the Hitler character and Mussolini and others. But the barber is the Jewish character. And the two of them, you know, you see the two characters that he creates and makes, you know, who makes the narrative of the film in a way.
Do I have a colleague, “The Great Dictator.” Okay, Stuart, it may be there. Oh, Stuart, thanks so much. It’s fantastic how everybody together. It really is a community, you know, as Wendy always and Trudy always say, that we have created, which is amazing. You’ve created.
Q: Rita. Oh, the question there. Did Chaplin ever say he’d be more ruthless?
A: Oh, that I don’t know. It’s a good question, I don’t know. If he’d made it after the war, would he have made a different kind of Hitler? I don’t know. What’s also interesting, we can only speculate, is how Mel Brooks is influenced, you can see in the physical comedy, in “The Producers” and other things, you know, “Springtime for Hitler” and all those things that he… It comes from Chaplin, from “The Great Dictator.”
Rita. Harpo did the mirror scene with Lucille Ball on “I Love Lucy.” Yeah, exactly. One of the great scenes of the Marx Brothers. Monty. About Oona Chaplin podcast about how her grandfather was forced out of Hollywood. Yes, well, he was hunted. I mean, I’m sure many of us have seen the movie “Oppenheimer,” the recent Christopher Nolan film, and how Oppenheimer was hunted after the war for being communist, you know. And the FBI and all the rest of it. And Chaplin was as well. I mean, insane, crazy. Nothing ever close to it, you know, but he felt it safer to leave Hollywood because of the McCarthy era, and you know. And later in the America series, I’m going to give a couple of talks on, or I’m going to do a little bit later on Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible,” you know, and what the meaning of contemporary witch hunt is. The meaning of mass hysteria, fake news, and the rituals around scapegoating, which is really what the witch hunt, what they did to him, what they did to many others. And of course, I’m going to do it when I talk about Arthur Miller’s play, “The Crucible.” But they forced him out. He felt he better go, yes.
Great point, Monty. Susan, thanks. Yeah, well, we’re living in I think in such really dark times. I agree, Susan, and we need humour. We need to understand how satire can not only help us laugh, but understand the deeper, you know, horror of some of the dark times that we live in.
Q: Yolanda. How’d he get the lion to remain so calm?
A: I don’t know. I don’t know if it was drugged or sedated as Yolanda, as you say. I don’t know if it was so well fed before that couldn’t do anything but not move. You know, it’s difficult to find the truth. One can find many speculative answers.
David. Now we do not make fun of statues. We just take them down. Exactly. And I think that here’s a huge amount lost in the profound art of satire. You know, where you can make fun of statues. You can make fun of leaders. You can make fun of celebrity, whoever you can make fun of. Because it’s in, I think, confident societies understand satire and not only let it be, but encourage it. It’s the unconfident, anxiety-riddled societies and individuals and groups who cannot accept satire and force a binary view of the world. This is good, this is bad. This is right, this is wrong. You know, and you cannot laugh at so many things. And I’ve spoken often about the Ancient Greeks, but the Ancient Greeks insisted on satire. And they in fact almost invented it. You know, you’d have for three weeks, or two or three weeks the Festival of Dionysus. And you’d have these thousands of Greeks going to the amphitheatre. And you’d watch, you know, a couple of comedies a day, couple of tragedies. They’d get drunk as hell. And they’d vote on the best comedy and the best tragedy of the day. But the idea was that the comedian, the satirists, could write about anything. They could satirise any leader, anything about Greek society. Greek religion, Greek beliefs, Greek statues. It was regarded as necessary. In fact, if you didn’t, you weren’t a good comic writer. And often the leaders, what we’d call the political leaders or the celebrities or whatever of those times would sit in the front row of the amphitheatres and would laugh. Confident society will do it, I think. A society that has lost its inner belief of confidence or is riding the fault lines in its society doesn’t. You know, that’s why the satirists are so often the first to be banned or killed in societies. I’ve gone way off your question, David, your point, but okay.
Q: Sandy, what about “Limelight”?
A: Yeah, the great music. Well, as I have to limit it somewhere, Sandy. I wanted to show you some more of the clips, but the great music, of course. And so many other clips and films that he made.
Barbara, thank you. That’s very kind. Nima, thank you, very kind. Claire. The mirror scene reminds me of Lucy who did the scene, yeah. As mentioned. Lucille Ball who did it, yeah. That’s it, Rita, thank you.
Q: Francine. In the last video, was Charlie Chaplin closest to the screen?
A: No, that was Groucho. That’s a totally different, that was from Groucho playing with Harpo on the screen.
Okay, thanks, Rita. That was very kind. George.
Olga. I seem to recall having seen the balloon scene. Yeah, I showed the balloon scene last week. Not in colour, in black and white. The great, you know, I mean, that’s Chaplin’s invention. Has been used by so many filmmakers since, that kind of idea, but he invented it, he created it from nothing, Chaplin. Yep, it’s digit. I think some of these have been digitised into colour. And you can certainly see it in Attenborough’s version of Chaplin with Robert Downey, Jr. Ron, IMDB. IMDB, internet movie database.
That’s it, thanks, Ron. Hope you’re well, Ron. There’s so many films available on that, on the internet and on YouTube. Rose, that’s it, yeah. For film fanatics, exactly. Gene.
Carol named the studio, Essanay Studios, Chaplin in Chicago. Ah, ‘15, '16. He made 14 short. Thank you, I hadn’t researched that. So thanks, that’s a big help. Thank you. Rita, that’s great.
Jillian, Morecambe and Wise. Obviously inspired. Fantastic scene in the kitchen, the music to the stripper. Yep. There’s a lovely, fairly new film made about Morecambe and Wise. It’s a fiction, I mean, it’s actors, contemporary actors, doing, you know, how Morecambe and Wise started, which I watched about a year ago, I think, in the UK. It’s a fantastic, wonderful film. How they came together, Morecambe and Wise. And yeah, they were obviously hugely influenced by not only Chaplin, but the whole world of vaudeville and music hall. The sketches, the comedy, physical comedy, slapstick, sometimes social commentary. You know, and putting together, you know, witty sketches.
Barbara. Chaplin’s wife who married, yeah. She was 18, he was around, he was 53, 54, I think. That was Oona O'Neill, one of my favourite great playwrights. Eugene O'Neill’s daughter, Oona, who married, who Chaplin married. And as I mentioned last week, Eugene O'Neill disowned her because she married somebody so much older than him. Than her, but they had a really good marriage, as far as we know. As you’re saying, for over 30 years. A really good marriage that lasted. That’s it.
Danielle has mentioned to you, exactly.
Monty, father wasn’t too happy, to put it mildly. Laughter is the best medicine, always. Okay, Lorna, thank you, very kind. Claire, Monty Python without a doubt. And we will get onto Monty Python at some point. Again, no question. All of these are influenced by these people coming earlier. Chaplin himself would say of course he was influenced by the vaudeville music hall from the late 19th century into the 20th as well.
Okay, so thank you, everybody, and hope you all in these very dark, terrible times, scary times, but real. Thank you all so much. And we move on to something very, very different next week, Hollywood and fiction and film. So hope you have a great rest of the weekend. Take care, everyone.