FUN FACTS ABOUT CHARLIE CHAPLIN... *Critics thought that this speech from The Great Dictator (1940) featured below was terrible. *Chaplins character of the Tramp and his misadventures were meant as social commentary, critical of the faults and excesses created by the laissez faire capitalist system as it was practiced in the United States up until the New Deal began to redress the balance. Keep in mind that Chaplin introduced this character in 1914 a mere three years before the First Red Scare (1917-1921) broke out, and would use him off and on until 1936 as a metaphor for class struggle. *Chaplin was born into poverty and spent much of his childhood in a workhouse. *Chaplin had his Green Card revoked in 1952, during the Second Red Scare (1947-1954) under suspicion of being a communist. Though he wasnt. He was just a radical progressive, with socialist and communist friends. He said at the time: Whether I re-entered that unhappy country or not was of little consequence to me. I would like to have told them that the sooner I was rid of that hate-beleaguered atmosphere the better, that I was fed up of Americas insults and moral pomposity. Later in a press release Chaplin stated: I have been the object of lies and propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who, by their influence and by the aid of Americas yellow press, have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted. Under these conditions I find it virtually impossible to continue my motion-picture work, and I have therefore given up my residence in the United States. *Chaplin never won an Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences realizing their error, and given that enough time had passed since the Second Red Scare, awarded Chaplin an Honorary Academy Award in 1972. Chaplin was granted a re-entry permit so that he could collect it. *Chaplin co-founded the production company United Artists to empower actors to break free of the indentured servitude that they suffered under the old Hollywood Studio system. *Chaplin wrote the musical score to nearly all his films. *Chaplin was undoubtedly a ephebophile. His first wife Mildred Harris was 17 when they married. Chaplin was 29. His second wife Lita Grey was 16 when they married. Chaplin was 35. His fourth wife Oona ONeill was 18 when they married. Chaplin was 54. *Chaplin was not Jewish. But deliberately allowed the rumor to spread that he was and never corrected the record. This was because Chaplin felt that to correct the assumption that he was Jewish would be to admit that there was something wrong with being Jewish to begin with. *In 1975 Chaplin was awarded a Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II, which he accepted. Thus putting to bed forever the idea that Charlie Chaplin was a communist, but as I stated before Chaplain was a radical progressive. https://youtube/watch?v=LBpX0pkWKDY
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 18:20:01 +0000
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