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Cameraman Rollie Totheroh is on the right. Tom Wilson, who plays Charlie's boss, is on the left.
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Chaplin behind the camera on the set of SUNNYSIDE, 1919
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THE SALVATION HUNTERS (1925)
Here's a chance to see one of Chaplin's favorite films, Josef Von Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters. This was the film that brought Georgia Hale to the attention of Chaplin, who hired her to replace pregnant Lita Grey in The Gold Rush.
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Chaplin pleads not guilty to Mann Act charges, February 26th, 1944
Chaplin's attorney, Jerry Giesler, failed in two attempts to have the charges thrown out. First, he filed a demurrer to the indictment which stated that the law was intended only to prevent "commercialized vice & trafficking in women for gain" and did not apply to private acts. Giesler also filed a motion to quash the indictments charging that the federal grand jury which indicted Chaplin was not legally constituted because the list from which it was drawn contained the names of no women. Judge J.F.T. O'Connor denied both efforts. Chaplin was then called to the bench and asked to plead guilty or not guilty. In a loud voice, Chaplin stated: "not guilty." Afterward the judge announced that Chaplin's trial would begin on March 21st.
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| Chaplin in court February 26th, 1944 |
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THE PILGRIM, released February 26th, 1923
This was Chaplin's last film for First National and as per usual it has an "escape-from-prison" theme (see The Adventurer, his last film for Mutual, and Police, his last film for Essanay.)
"May be disguised. 30 to 35 years of age. About five feet four inches in height.1 Weight about 125 pounds. Pale face. Black bushy hair sometimes parted in the middle. Small black mustache. Blue eyes. Small hands, large feet. Extremely nervous. Walks with feet turned out."
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1In real life, Chaplin was closer to 5' 6 1/2." He occasionally underestimated his height as a means of reinforcing his image as “The Little Fellow."
"May be disguised. 30 to 35 years of age. About five feet four inches in height.1 Weight about 125 pounds. Pale face. Black bushy hair sometimes parted in the middle. Small black mustache. Blue eyes. Small hands, large feet. Extremely nervous. Walks with feet turned out."
Charlie (aka "Lefty Lombard" aka "Slippery Elm") grabs the bars at the train station as if they were a cell. There is a similar joke in The Adventurer where convict Charlie wakes up in a strange bed with bars on the headboard and wearing someone else's striped pajamas.
Syd Chaplin plays two roles in the film including one of the "elopers."
"Convict Makes Daring Escape"
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After Charlie passes around the collection boxes, he gives a thankful look to one side of the room and an accusatory look to the other side who apparently didn’t give as much.
"The sermon--the sermon!"
"Pass the Dutchie on the left hand side"
The brat shoves a piece of flypaper into his father's face.
In an interview years later, "Dinky" Dean Riesner said the fly paper was real.
Syd describes his missing hat to Charlie.
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That moment when you realize your missing hat is part of the pudding.
Charlie transforms himself into a riverboat gambler right in front of the camera.
"Mexico--a new life--peace at last"
(Note how there is no Rio Grande River separating the U.S. and Mexico)
_________________________________________________________________________________(Note how there is no Rio Grande River separating the U.S. and Mexico)
1In real life, Chaplin was closer to 5' 6 1/2." He occasionally underestimated his height as a means of reinforcing his image as “The Little Fellow."
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Photo from French film magazine, 1921
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| Cinemagazine, Dec. 1921 |
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Charlie, Douglas Fairbanks, & Al Jolson, c. 1919
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Charlie at home, c. 1947
Charlie is writing with natural left-hand, although he normally wrote with his right. In his day, left-handed children were forced to write with their right hands and because of this Charlie was ambidextrous, although he didn't write well with either hand (case in point).
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Charlie with his first wife, Mildred, and others at the Syd Chaplin Airfield, c. 1919
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| L-R: Marjorie Daw, Mary Pickford, Mildred Harris, CC, Douglas Fairbanks |
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BETWEEN SHOWERS, released 100 years ago today
Chaplin's fourth film for Keystone would mark the last time he would work with director Henry Lehrman with whom he did not get along. It was also Chaplin's first "park" comedy (portions were filmed at Echo Park). The film has a very basic plot: Rival mashers Charlie and Ford Sterling get in a dispute over a girl and her umbrella.
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| Between Showers was inspired by a series of torrential rainstorms that soaked Los Angeles, explaining the huge puddles in the street. |
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| Many of Charlie's familiar characteristics are already on display in this film: cocking a snook, rounding corners on one leg, etc. |
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| Charlie gives Ford Sterling a poke with an umbrella. (The Tramp's familiar cane doesn't make an appearance in this film, but the umbrella proves to be a useful substitute.) |
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| Charlie tips his hat to the buxom Emma Clifton. |
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| A Typical Keystone Charlie reaction. |
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Charlie & Paulette at the Hollywood premiere of MODERN TIMES, Grauman's Chinese Theater, February 12th, 1936
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| L-R: Constance Collier, Paulette, her mother Alta, CC |
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"I Thought They Might Hiss"
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Chaplin film montage from 1972 Academy Awards ceremony
This montage is slightly different and perhaps a bit longer than the one seen at the end of the 1992 Chaplin film. It was put together by Peter Bogdanovich & Richard Patterson (who directed the 1975 documentary, The Gentleman Tramp).
That's Academy president Daniel Taradash at the very beginning, I would have included more of his speech but this is quite long already.
That's Academy president Daniel Taradash at the very beginning, I would have included more of his speech but this is quite long already.
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Color photos of the Chaplin family in Cap Ferrat, 1956
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Tennis match, Pickford-Fairbanks Studio, August 1923
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| L-R: Bill Tilden, CC, a very tan Douglas Fairbanks, and Manuel Alonso |
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Directing A DOG'S LIFE, 1918
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Sir Charlie
After twenty years of being denied knighthood because of his political views and scandalous sex life, Chaplin was finally given the honor in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on March 4th, 1975.
The following description of the investiture is from The Washington Post, March 5th, 1975:
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| Sir Charles, wearing the insignia of the K.B.E., surrounded by his family in his suite at the Savoy Hotel following the ceremony. L-R: son-in-law Nicholas Sistovaris (Josephine's husband), Annette, Josephine, CC, Oona, Christopher, Geraldine, and Jane. |
The following description of the investiture is from The Washington Post, March 5th, 1975:
The 85-year-old maestro of films had been anxious to kneel before Queen Elizabeth II for his investiture and to follow her command afterward to "arise, Sir Charles Chaplin." He was not physically able to do either. He sat in a wheelchair in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace and merely bowed his head in acknowledgement of the taps of her ceremonial sword.
It was the queen who made the comedian smile. She complimented him and squeezed his hand, but Sir Charles, as he told reporters later, was "too dumbfoundcd to talk" to her. He said she had thanked him for his work and told him that she had seen many of his films.
After the tension of the ceremony, at which 172 people received royal honors, Sir Charles was able to stand up again and even to wave his cane in triumph at the gathered crowds outside. He also gave Lady Chaplin, the former Oona O'Neill, hearty kisses on both cheeks.
Then he was asked what he had planned for the rest of the memorable day. “Getting drunk,” said Sir Charles.
The hardships he had encountered as a London slum child, and the hatreds he had inspired as a Hollywood star for his sex life and his politics, seemed to have been formally stilled by the tap of the sword.
But Sir Charles bristled when it was suggested that his knighthood was the culmination of his long career. “l’ve got one more film to do," he declared. "lt will be entitled 'The Freak,' he said.
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Hollywood party for Max Linder's birthday, c. 1919
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| L-R: Bessie Love, Linder, Ruth Wightman, Patsy Ruth Miller. Back: Georges Jomier, Barbara Bedford, John Gilbert, Leatrice Joy, CC, Gouverneur Morris, Gaston Glass. |
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World Tour Revisited: Charlie returns to Italy--"Oy, oy!"
Sometime during their three-month stay in St. Moritz, Switzerland, May Reeves told Charlie she was pregnant. Whether this was a real pregnancy, a false alarm, or an entrapment ploy, we will never know. Needless to say, Charlie was less than thrilled by the news. Nevertheless, May's condition, whether real or invented, didn't change his travel plans. Arrangements were being made for City Lights to premiere in Japan and Charlie wanted to be there. His brother, Sydney, would accompany him.1 They would depart from Naples aboard the Suwa Maru on March 6th. It had been decided that May would not join Chaplin on this voyage. According to her version of the story, she would stay behind in Europe and reunite with Charlie two months later in Hollywood. She was content with this plan for "a separation seemed desirable to me. In my condition, I couldn't have borne the strain of such a voyage."2 Furthermore, she and Charlie were not getting along and she felt that it would be best "to put the sea between us for a while." Charlie's version of events is slightly different, however. There is no mention of May meeting him in Hollywood later (nor, not surprisingly, any mention of a pregnancy). Charlie felt that they had grown tired of each other and that May was "resigned and somewhat relieved" when they finally parted ways. "Since our sojourn in Switzerland, our alchemy of attraction was somewhat diluted, and we both knew it. So we parted good friends."3 Regardless of the promises or arrangements Charlie may or may not have made with May, their year-long romance was coming to an end.
On March 2nd, 1932, Charlie and May left St. Moritz with his friend, "Hungarian consul Plesch," 4 traveling by car to Rome where they would arrive late in the evening on March 4th (along the way, they visited Rimini, Gubbio, and Perugia). Awaiting Charlie's arrival were his brother Sydney, who had come from Nice, and a message saying that arrangements could be made for a meeting with Mussolini. But this did not materialize. "I could only stay in Rome for two days which was too short a notice for Il Duce to give me any of his valuable time."5 May remembered that Charlie was disappointed because "he lost a unique opportunity to discuss politics."6
This was Chaplin's second visit to Italy on his world tour. In March 1931, he spent a three days in Venice.
May recalled that her last evening with Charlie was spent having dinner at an old inn, "I joked to hide my sadness. Charlie laughed heartily when I imitated the Charlot of City Lights eating spaghetti." Afterward they visited a museum: Charlie "walked past the pictures and statues without looking at them. Occasionally he expressed his admiration by exclaiming, 'Oy, oy!' an expression he had adopted from a Jewish story someone told him. It was quite amusing to hear him exclaim 'Oy, oy!' in front of a Raphael."7
Coming up tomorrow: Charlie and May say their final goodbye at Naples.
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1It seems Sydney had to ask to be invited to Japan. According to Charlie Chaplin: King of Tragedy by Gerith Von Ulm: "Syd had urged Kono to arrange for him to accompany them to the Orient. Kono did suggest it to Charlie, who, after a few days hesitation, finally consented to take him along. Syd was informed by telegraph at Nice that he was to join them at Naples." This is confirmed in Lisa Stein Haven's bio of Syd which includes the actual text of the telegram: "When can you come? Leave here Thursday. Sailing from Naples six March. Charlie."
2May Reeves, The Intimate Charlie Chaplin
3Charles Chaplin, My Autobiography
4 Arpad Plesch (1889-1974). Hungarian Consulate in France before WWII. Chaplin may have met him c. 1929 when he visited the Chaplin Studios with the former president of the Hungarian Republic, Count Mihaly Karolyi, & Konrad Bercovici. (Many thanks to Dominique Dugros for this info).
5Charles Chaplin, "A Comedian Sees The World"
6Reeves, The Intimate CC
7Ibid
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| Syd (seated at left), May, and Charlie at the Exselsior Hotel in Rome, March 5th, 1932 |
On March 2nd, 1932, Charlie and May left St. Moritz with his friend, "Hungarian consul Plesch," 4 traveling by car to Rome where they would arrive late in the evening on March 4th (along the way, they visited Rimini, Gubbio, and Perugia). Awaiting Charlie's arrival were his brother Sydney, who had come from Nice, and a message saying that arrangements could be made for a meeting with Mussolini. But this did not materialize. "I could only stay in Rome for two days which was too short a notice for Il Duce to give me any of his valuable time."5 May remembered that Charlie was disappointed because "he lost a unique opportunity to discuss politics."6
This was Chaplin's second visit to Italy on his world tour. In March 1931, he spent a three days in Venice.
May recalled that her last evening with Charlie was spent having dinner at an old inn, "I joked to hide my sadness. Charlie laughed heartily when I imitated the Charlot of City Lights eating spaghetti." Afterward they visited a museum: Charlie "walked past the pictures and statues without looking at them. Occasionally he expressed his admiration by exclaiming, 'Oy, oy!' an expression he had adopted from a Jewish story someone told him. It was quite amusing to hear him exclaim 'Oy, oy!' in front of a Raphael."7
Coming up tomorrow: Charlie and May say their final goodbye at Naples.
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1It seems Sydney had to ask to be invited to Japan. According to Charlie Chaplin: King of Tragedy by Gerith Von Ulm: "Syd had urged Kono to arrange for him to accompany them to the Orient. Kono did suggest it to Charlie, who, after a few days hesitation, finally consented to take him along. Syd was informed by telegraph at Nice that he was to join them at Naples." This is confirmed in Lisa Stein Haven's bio of Syd which includes the actual text of the telegram: "When can you come? Leave here Thursday. Sailing from Naples six March. Charlie."
2May Reeves, The Intimate Charlie Chaplin
3Charles Chaplin, My Autobiography
4 Arpad Plesch (1889-1974). Hungarian Consulate in France before WWII. Chaplin may have met him c. 1929 when he visited the Chaplin Studios with the former president of the Hungarian Republic, Count Mihaly Karolyi, & Konrad Bercovici. (Many thanks to Dominique Dugros for this info).
5Charles Chaplin, "A Comedian Sees The World"
6Reeves, The Intimate CC
7Ibid
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World Tour Revisited: Chaplin talks into a sound camera, Rome, March 5th, 1932
Below is footage of Charlie and his brother, Sydney at the Exselsior Hotel in Rome. At the end of the video, Charlie faces the camera and says, "Mucho grazie" (although it sounds like"grazio") reminiscent of a year earlier in Austria when he said "Guten tag" into a camera. If you listen closely around the :44 mark, Charlie asks for the time and someone replies, "Here you are." Is it Sydney? I believe it might be. However it's hard to tell who's doing the talking at this point, plus it seems to me that the audio and video don't match up during this portion of the footage. Charlie asks for the time, but he doesn't appear to mouth the words until a few seconds later. The same goes for Sydney. This is my theory anyway. You will notice at the end of the video, Charlie is also holding a clock. When he asks for the time, he is hiding something under his jacket (the clock?) Then the video cuts to a closeup of him speaking to the camera. Did the clock have something to do with his asking for the time? Was it a joke? If so, the punchline was edited out.
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World Tour Revisited: Chaplin bids farewell to May Reeves and embarks for Japan, March 6th, 1932
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| Charlie, May, and Syd in Naples, March 6th, 1932. Boris Evelinoff, European representative for United Artists, is standing (I think) behind Charlie to his right. May was left in the care of Evelinoff after his departure. He eventually lost his position at UA because of his continual appeals to Chaplin on May's behalf. |
The Japanese ship, Suwa Maru, was set to embark from Naples at 5:30pm on Sunday, March 6th. In their hotel room in Rome that morning, Charlie was in such a rush to catch the train and the ship that May didn't have time to put on makeup or finish dressing. When they were alone in their compartment on the train, Charlie told her, "Dear, I want to thank you for all you've given me. You've made me very happy, and my only wish is that this should continue. This short separation is just a chance to prove yourself. Remember to keep me informed of everything you do. Only swear to me that you'll be faithful and that you won't look at other men." She remembered holding his "feverish hands.""Why were they so hot?" she wondered, "Was it the thought of separation, or of his departure." At Naples, they lunched at the Exselsior Hotel and then visited the poor section of town--something Charlie often did when he was in new city. May spent the afternoon going through the motions in a tearful haze. To keep his courage, Charlie would avoid looking at her.
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| May (far right) accompanies Charlie as he boards the ship. |
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| Charlie and Syd pose for photos aboard the Suwa Maru. May Reeves & Kono are standing behind them. |
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| Chaplin poses with crew members, March 6th, 1932 |
The captain of the ship invited them to his cabin to drink champagne with the other officers. Charlie looked at May and lifted his glass, "To our love, darling. To you forever. Be faithful to me. We'll see each other again soon."
A short time later an officer opened the door: "Return to the dock. We're leaving."
Here Charlie and May said their final farewells. Chaplin remembered that there were no tears. "As the boat pulled out, she was imitating my tramp walk along the quay. That was the last I saw of her."
May's recollection of their separation was more vivid:
Everything passed before me in a flash. Charlie took me in his arms: "Goodbye, dear, till we meet again." They led me to the dock. I can still see myself, lost in the middle of the crowd, watching the ship pull slowly away. Near the dock, in a small boat resting on the oily water, an accordionist played one of those Neapolitan songs that wring the heart.
All the passengers waved their handkerchiefs. Charlie leaned out from a spot on the bridge where there was no railing, which seemed so dangerous to me that I uttered a loud cry. I was afraid he would fall into the sea. Finally he stood alone at his post, his white hair waving in the wind. As long as he could see me, he held up two fingers to signify two months of separation, and then he pointed to the third to signify the clinching of an imaginary alliance.
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| May waving to Charlie from the dock. |
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| Charlie waving back. |
Those unfamiliar with May's story may wonder what ever became of her pregnancy (Spoiler Alert: the following is the last chapter of May's book, so if you haven't read it, you might want to skip this part):
Four weeks later, after atrocious suffering, Charlie's wish was granted. He wouldn't have a third child...For several weeks I struggled with death. I telegraphed the news to Charlie on several occasions and wrote long letters of explanation, but I never received a response. Only when I was convalescing did I receive a telegram: "Hope you are better--cheer up--Love Charlie." And as a last sign of life, Charlie's representative in Paris [Boris Evelinoff] received a cable asking him to send the doctor's bill.
Thus ended my romance with Charles Spencer Chaplin_________________________________________________________________________________
Sources:
Charles Chaplin, My Autobiography
May Reeves, The Intimate Charlie Chaplin
Lisa K. Stein, Syd Chaplin: A Biography
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