On this day, 16 April, in 1889, Charlie Chaplin was born. I remember reading a quote from Woody Allen talking about how he preferred Chaplin’s films to Buster Keaton’s. And he admitted that Keaton made better films (as film). This is true. Chaplin’s films really do suck in terms of cinematic art. Basically, he just set up a camera and shot the whole scene in a long shot. In other words: he was filming plays.
But I’m with Allen. I admire Keaton. But I almost never watch his films anymore. But I own both The Gold Rush and Modern Times. And just recently, I watched The Kid. And City Lights is an outstanding film.
It’s not even that they are funny — even though they still make me laugh. They are just so sweet at the same time that they are subversive. The Little Tramp is not exactly a believer in the American Dream. He’s just trying to get by.
The Little Tramp Begins
Charlie Chaplin’s first film was made in 1914. Think how late that is: 1914! The Great Train Robbery was released in 1903. That was pretty much the first film that used the editing technique of cross-cutting: cutting between two locations to indicate that what is occurring is going on at the same time. (People claim it isn’t the first example, but no one has ever shown me anything earlier.)
Just one year after Chaplin’s start would come The Birth of a Nation — probably the first thoroughly modern film. So Chaplin’s career in film started pretty late, which probably explains partly why they live on.
I had always thought that Charlie Chaplin’s first film was, Kid Auto Races at Venice. It is a little six-minute film in which the Little Tramp keeps trying to get in the picture of some guys trying to film the races.
There really is nothing more too it. It’s funny for the same reason the Little Tramp was always funny: his arrogance despite his low stature in society.
The First Chaplin Film
But that was not Charlie Chaplin’s first film. That was the first film in which the little tramp starred. It came out a whole five days later than his first film, Making a Living.
Making a Living is a far more complex film. Kid Auto Races at Venice was just an improvised film. It has no real plot — just a single gag done over and over. The director pushes the tramp out of the scene at the end, but he’s done that several times before and there is every indication that it will continue on as it has.
In Making a Living, Charlie Chaplin pretends to be a gentleman, out and about. He stops a passer-by and they chat. But it is all a setup to ask for money.
Then, inexplicably, Chaplin gets a young woman to agree to marry him. While telling her mother, the same man comes by and proposes, but she refuses. Chaplin and the man fight. And so on. It actually has a very nice comedic narrative until it, like all Mack Sennett films, just stops.
My Favorite Charlie Chaplin Film
But let’s end this with my favorite Charlie Chaplin Film: Modern Times:
Other April 16th Anniversaries
People:
- Barry Nelson (1917-2007): The first James Bond in the 1954 made-for-TV Casino Royale, as well as the Overlook Hotel manager in The Shining.
- Peter Ustinov (1921-2004): Actor in Blackbeard’s Ghost, Logan’s Run, and other odd films.
- Edie Adams (1927-2008): Comedic actor in various films like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and Up in Smoke.
- George “The Animal” Steele (1937-2017): Pro wrestler who played Tor Johnson in Ed Wood.
- David Graf (1950-2001): Cadet and then Sgt Eugene Tackleberry in the Police Academy films.
- Billy West (1952-): Voice actor who works widely including as Philip J Fry and many other characters on Futurama.
- Ellen Barkin (1954-): Actor in Buckaroo Banzai, The Big Easy, and Switch.
- Jon Cryer (1965-): Actor in lots of zany comedies, but here because of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, where he plays Lex Luther’s nephew.
- Martin Lawrence (1965-): Actor in the Bad Boys franchise and much more.
- Lukas Haas (1976-): Actor in films like Johns and Brick, but I most like him in Mars Attacks!
- Claire Foy (1984-): More of a serious actor who was in Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal, which I really like.
Films:
- Horrors of Spider Island (1960): A dance troupe crashes on an island with a deadly spider that infects their manager.
- Beast in the Cellar (1970): Thoughtful horror film about army personnel being murdered by an abused young man.
- Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971): Children turn to witchcraft and grow fur for Satan, which is way better than it sounds.
- Killer Workout (1987): Slasher in a gym where it turns out it isn’t who you think it is; and then it is!
- Hard Boiled (1992): Chow Yun-fat is a badass who takes on a mobster.
- The Thirteenth Floor (1999): VR-based mystery similar to the other 1999 releases, eXistenZ and The Matrix.
Charlie Chaplin via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.
