"Charlot At A Bullfight"

Illustration from Charlie's memoir "A Comedian Sees The World," A Woman's Home Companion, December 1933

During his world tour in 1931, Charlie attended a bullfight in San Sebastian, Spain. He had always wanted to see one and now he had the chance. “Several days before the corrida he practiced with me.” recalled May Reeves, Charlie's lover & companion during the trip. “He had learned all the passes and all the finesses from bullfighters passing through Hollywood. I was the bull, and, using my two index fingers for horns, I rushed at Charlie while he waved a red handcape, which was only a tablecloth, around his body. I admired his dancer’s svelteness, his feminine grace.”

But once the day of the bullfight arrived and he entered the arena, Charlie became agitated, according to May. “The first bullfighter bowed to him, made a fiery speech, and tossed him his hat and his mantle, which we displayed on the balustrade. Since the crowd was almost more interested in Chaplin than in the bullfight, he began to act in a film, ‘Charlot At A Bullfight’. Gradually the playacting became serious, however, for he can scarcely bear to see an animal suffer.”

A matador tosses his hat to Charlie.

Charlie waves to the crowd.

In A Comedian Sees The World, Charlie’s memoir of his 1931 tour, he wrote, “A most beautiful yet revolting afternoon was spent at a bull fight in San Sebastian. For thrills and drama it excels any sport I’ve seen. On the other hand it’s sanguine brutality disgusts one.”

May remembers Charlie’s reaction to this brutality, “As the picadors plunged their lances into the bull and tore out scraps of bleeding flesh, Charlie lost his composure and covered his eyes in horror. When the bull, attracted by the cape, lunged at his adversary, he cried, ‘Help, Help!’ Then he turned his face away and asked me, ‘Is he gored?’.  When two banderillas were lodged into the neck of the bull, Charlie cried, ‘Help, I’m going to faint!’"

“Finally the bullfighter exchanged his red cape for the muleta which concealed the sword of death. During some difficult passes, Charlie turned to me and asked in a pleading tone, ‘Is the bull finally dead? Is he still alive? May, why don’t they kill him?’”

Charlie observes the bulls before the fight

“That afternoon I saw a dramatic killing," Charlie remembered. "The beast had been courageous and had given a wonderful performance—a perfect foil for the artistry of the matador. The man had made the fatal plunge and everyone held his breath. But the animal did not fall immediately. He stood motionless, looking into the eyes of his slayer. There seemed to be an exchange, a questioning….An assistant attempted to go forward, but the matador stopped him with a gesture of authority knowing his thrust was fatal….The attitude of the matador seemed one of triumph, yet regret—a pity for the dying animal.

In the silence of the arena one heard a wagon passing outside. As the sound died away the beast crumpled to the ground and thirty thousand people broke spontaneously into wild enthusiasm and applause.”

Charlie saw eight bulls killed during the fight. Afterward he presented the matadors with a silver cigarette case.

When a reporter asked Charlie whether he had enjoyed the bullfight, he replied courteously, “I would rather say nothing.”

“All that night, [Charlie] couldn’t sleep peacefully," wrote May. "In his dreams he cried, ‘Help! Help!’”*


*May Reeves, The Intimate Charlie Chaplin, McFarland, 2001