A celebrated British comedian of humble origins who earned a reputation for glamorising the genre of silent comedy, Charlie Chaplin gained global acclaim for his contribution to the cinematic arts. His iconic silent role in ‘The Tramp’ as a lovable vagrant with his signature mustache, hat and cane is not only a reflection of his own humble origins from the slums of Victoria’s Lambeth region but also signifies how he transformed silent commedy from its simple slapstick routine into a sophisticated form of art. His ‘Tramp’ character also glorified the ‘everyday man’ and represented the resilience of the underdog which became a theme adopted in many future Pixar production movies.
His ability to evoke humour without the use of dialogue not only set him apart from his peers but rather his unique commedic approach in an era of black and white film-making inspired many generation of filmmakers and audiences to come. His silent humour in ‘The Tramp’ largely influenced future actors like Rowan Atkinson with his ‘Mr Bean series’becoming a comedic household hit in a time when the life of the mundane was never valued and when 21st century art was only measured by the intensity of verbal dialogue over visual expressions.
Many of his signature silent feature works evoked universal themes of love, poverty, dignity, empathy, and all the wayward matters of common life. However, it did so in such a way that it achieved the perfect balance between comedy and life. His films like ‘The Kid’ influenced future film writers like Federico Fellini due to the depth of its commedy while ‘The Gold Rush’ became a household pop-culture favourite given the fame of scenes like ‘dance of the dinner rolls’. Similarly, he was no stranger to making grand political statements in his cinematic works as seen by his critique of industrialisation in the 1936 film ‘Modern Times’ and 1940s politcal satire against Adolf Hitler’s fascism in ‘The Great Dictator’.
Besides comedy, the heart wrenching ending of ‘City Lights’ featuring a timeless love between Chaplin’s character and a blind flower girl showcased Chaplin’s ability to inspire
emotions beyond dramady.
However, the dubious nature of some of his political statements created a rift in his cinematic journey as he was accused of communist sympathies during the cold war era and when Mcarthyism witchhunts were rampant. This not only forced him to go into self-exile as he left the US with his wife and twelve children to settle in Switzerland. However, he was greeted by Hollywood’s longest twelve-minute standing ovation after being given the lifetime honourary award upon returning to the US in 1972. This not only signified an end to his exile but paid tribute to his legacy and success as a silent comedian of all times
