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Post by solgroupie on Mar 26, 2010 13:24:07 GMT -5
part IV chaplin and edward lesaint in modern timesafter the tramp is released from jail, he takes his letter of recommendation to a ship yard, hoping to find employment. the boss reads the letter and gives the tramp the job. unfortunately, the first task he is given to do ends in disaster and he is fired only minutes later. right then and there he decides the best option for him is to return to jail as soon possible. meanwhile, the gamin is alone and hungry. she pauses outside of a shop and stares longingly at the food displayed in the window. as a delivery man takes a tray of bread inside, she quickly snatches a loaf of bread from his truck and takes off. a nicely dressed woman turns the corner just in time to witness the theft and alerts the shopkeeper. the tramp is turning a corner just in time to have the gamin crash into him and they both fall to the ground. paulette goddard, up to no good in modern timesthe shopkeeper races over and grabs the gamin's arm, and she pleads with him to let her go. the tramp realizes what's going on and realizes this is his perfect opportunity to return to jail, so he tells the shopkeeper that he was the one who stole the bread. a policeman arrives and takes him away, much to the gamin's confusion. but the woman sees the mistake and tells the truth - it was the girl who took the bread, not the man. the policeman lets the tramp go (much to his irritation) and takes the gamin away. paulette goddard in modern timesthe tramp stops outside of a restaurant and figures out a rather clever way to return to the big house. he goes in the cafeteria style restaurant, eats an enormous meal and then innocently tells the cashier he does not have the money to pay for it. he very patiently waits to be arrested, even stealing a nice cigar and giving a kid some candy in the process to add to his crime. picking his teeth, he nonchalantly climbs into the crowded police wagon. at the next stop, the gamin is added to wagon. she's so despondent that she does not at first notice the tramp, who instantly notices her. he smiles at her and asks her if she remembers him. she nods vaguely and begins to cry. the tramp, on his way back to jail in modern timessuddenly determined to escape, the gamin leaps to her feet and attempts to jump from the wagon, despite the policeman blocking her way. at that moment, the wagon swerves to miss an oncoming car and the gamin, the tramp and the policeman are all thrown from the wagon. the tramp urges the gamin to make a run for it while the policeman is still knocked out, which she does. she hesitates at the corner and encourages the tramp to join her. paulette starred in the comedy the ghost breakers with bob hope in 1940the tramp takes a moment to decide his next move - go back to jail as planned, where he knows he will have a bed and meals provided for him? or take a chance and run off with a beautiful girl, running from the law? well, of course, the tramp runs to the gamin and together they run away. chaplin and pauletteonce safely out of sight of the policeman, they stop to rest near a little house. the tramp asks the gamin where she lives and she innocently replies, "no place - anywhere." looking directly at the camera, the tramp sighs. they watch a man leave the house with a briefcase, obviously headed off to work. he stops to kiss his adoring wife goodbye and cheerfully sets off while the wife - waaay too happy - skips back into the house. the tramp makes fun of them, making the gamin laugh, adding - we then see the picture the tramp describes to the gamin of a dream existence they both share - a lovely little comfortable home where they are well dressed and very well fed. one thing chaplin never forgets to put into his films is food. like an uncredited extra, he makes sure to show us the importance of it to his character(s). the house is a utopia of sorts - food literally offering itself wherever he turns. chaplin and paulette in the dream sequence in modern timesthe gamin agrees dreamily that would be wonderful, to live like that. the tramp, struck with sudden inspiration, claims he will do it. he get them a home, "even if i have to work for it." the pair discover there is a job opening for a night watchman at a department store, and the tramp, producing his letter of recommendation, gets the job. he arranges with the gamin to wait outside until after everyone but him leaves, so he can let her in. paulette goddard in modern timesonce inside, a paradise awaits them. they waste no time in going straight for the food, where they eat their fill. one of my favorite scenes follow when they invade the toy department. for the first time since the rink in 1916, we get to see chaplin on roller skates. and he is just as graceful, after twenty years. gamin on wheels in modern timesthe gamin tries on fur coats in the women's department, while the tramp sits nearby, behaving as a bored husband. he then settles her into one of the many beds for sale, where she falls asleep, still wearing the fur coat. i think chaplin was showing paulette off a little in this scene from modern times, or perhaps indulging her since she had to dress in rags for much of the filmwhile the gamin sleeps, the tramp discovers burglars have broken into the store. one of them chases him (chaplin uses an escalator in this scene as he did in the floor walker - he must have been nostalgic for the old days) and though the crook tries to shoot the tramp, he only shoots a barrel of rum - this store was the walmart of its time. the tramp unwillingly takes a few shots of rum since it shoots right into his mouth and ends up drunk. he then realizes one of the robbers was his co-worker from the factory he worked for until his nervous breakdown. he confesses they aren't burglars - they are simply hungry. they have an emotional reunion and end up having quite a party. chaplin and tiny stanford in modern timesthe gamin wakes the next morning, just before the store opens. though she has no idea what happened to the tramp, she quickly lets herself out of the store before she is discovered. later, we see a woman going through a table of women's apparel and she unknowingly tugs at something which turns out to be the tramp, passed out, buried in women's clothes. naturally, he loses his job and is taken away to jail, while the gamin helplessly watches. up next in part V - the tramp and the gamin struggle to overcome the odds
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Post by solgroupie on Mar 29, 2010 11:18:32 GMT -5
modern times, part V chaplin entertains a group of kids on the set of modern timesafter spending ten days in jail, the tramp is released. he hesitates outside, wondering if he has lost his friend. chaplin and paulette in modern timesbut she has been anxiously waiting for his release because she has good news for him. after they joyfully embrace, she tells him that she has found them a home. home sweet home in modern timesit was pretty common back during that time for people to take shelter in whatever structure they could endure. the gamin proudly shows it to the tramp, who sighs, "it's paradise," before a wooden beam over the front door falls and knocks him in the head. everywhere he turns, something happens to him - he leans against the table and it crashes to the floor. he moves a broom that is holding up part of the ceiling - he falls through another door and lands in a pool of water outside. "of course, it's not buckingham palace," the gamin tells him. but they are happy to finally have a place to call their own. i suppose the censors required modern times to show us that the gamin and the tramp did not sleep together in their new house - the tramp slept in a little shack outsidethey live a scaled down version of their dream home - as the tramp tries to take an early morning swim outside (too shallow he realizes too late after diving in), he enters the shack while the gamin is cheerfully preparing breakfast. as they are eating breakfast, the tramp reads the headline of the day's newspaper - FACTORIES RE OPEN. he excitedly tells the gamin that he will get his old job back and then will be able to buy them a real home. he races off to reclaim his job. she never paid for a loaf of bread in modern timesthe tramp fights his way through an enormous crowd of men, hoping for work at the factory. he makes his way through and his first job is to assist a crotchety old man in repairing the machines which have been idle for months. chaplin and chester conklin, who appeared in several keystone shorts and had a career that went into the 1960schaplin found many gags in this scene with conklin. at every opportunity the tramp somehow ruins whatever his partner is trying to do. he flattens the man's watch, destroying a family heirloom. he destroys his tools and nearly kills the poor man by getting him stuck in the very machinery they are trying to fix. but the funniest part is when it lunchtime. the tramp abandons his co-worker to eat his lunch, leaving the man stuck with only his head sticking out. he takes the man's lunch box and attempts to feed him, but that doesn't go very well, either - he nearly chokes him by popping a whole egg into his mouth - siphons his coffee through a cooked chicken, etc. conklin also had a small role in tillie's punctured romance in 1914 and even had another small role in the miracle of morgan's creek in 1944after lunch they are informed that the factor has gone on strike yet again, and the tramp is once again out of a job. outside the factory, it is chaos - the men are near rioting over this sudden change of events, and a policeman roughly shoves the tramp aside twice. the tramp is by no means happy about this, but does not fight back. unfortunately though, he steps on a plank of wood that flings a brick through the air and hits the policeman right in the head. he is once again arrested and spends another two weeks in jail. it wasn't his fault!while the tramp is in jail, the gamin is making the best of things on her own. she is near the docks, dancing in the street to the tune of a nearby carousel. the owner of a singing cafe stands outside his business and watches her, and before she knows it the gamin is hired to dance in his cafe. she cleans up good in modern timesthis time when the tramp is released from jail, the gamin is there to meet him in a nice dress, complete with hat and even gloves. he is knocked out at the change and she tells him she has a job for him at the cafe, too. she introduces the tramp to her boss, a stoic russian, played beautifully by the ever faithful henry bergman. though the tramp can't sing a lick, he agrees to not only wait on tables, but sing for the audiences, too. chaplin, with paulette goddard and henry bergman in modern timesup next: at last the tramp breaks his silence in the conclusion of modern times!
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Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 29, 2010 18:29:10 GMT -5
I can't wait, solgroupie. This is great. Wonderfully executed. The one thing I really like about Chaplin is that his women are presented beautifully. With a few exceptions, Buster's women are pretty stupid and are there just to add an extra frustration in his surreal, 'The Universe vs Buster' theme.
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Post by callipygias on Mar 30, 2010 0:41:34 GMT -5
The only thing it could use is a table of contents in the original post, for when I'm looking for a specific movie or short (or subject) rather than browsing. It takes so long to scroll through pages, searching, it'd be cool to have the OP say what page stuff is on. This is every bit as good as the Chaplin books out there -- better, probably.
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Post by solgroupie on Mar 30, 2010 11:47:50 GMT -5
thanks!
that's a good idea - i will get ON that.
and AFC, as i have said in the past, although i have tremendous respect for keaton, i have honestly never been able to sit through one of his films. i admire the amazing skills he had in comedy, but he just never captured my attention as chaplin did. but calli pointed out to me that it was true that keaton seemed to use his female costars as prizes to win at the end of the film, whereas chaplin used them in the story. but of course, it wasn't always that way. edna purviance really paved the way for chaplin's future female co-stars. she did plenty of fainting and simpering and fell into the tramp's arms at the end of the short more than once. but she proved herself many times over to be a capable actress that chaplin respected. then again, chaplin seems to be more famous for not winning the girl at the end. his relationships with women were complex, to say the least, in both his professional and personal life. it resulted in many a disastrous decision he had to suffer through, but also in many inspired moments in film.
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Post by callipygias on Mar 30, 2010 11:51:32 GMT -5
thanks! that's a good idea - i will get ON that. Really I just wanted to say "OP." It makes me feel cool like Fonzie.
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Post by solgroupie on Mar 30, 2010 15:57:26 GMT -5
"the kid," jackie coogan, visits chaplin on the set of modern timesmodern times, part VI just as life is beginning to look up for the gamin and the tramp, events are conspiring against them. evidently the crime of bread theft is one the city takes pretty seriously, for there are two detectives determined to capture the gamin for her theft and escape. the most unintentional funny moment from modern times has to be the gamin's "wanted" photo - they used this exact photo of the gamin, right before she stole the bread. it wasn't often a picture was taken of the criminal seconds before the crime is committed. that night there is a large crowd at the restaurant and the tramp is quite busy keeping up. this part of modern times always reminds me of something that might have been done during the days of chaplin's work with the mutual film company, or maybe first national. woody allen remarked in charlie: the life and art of charles chaplin that to him, modern times was just a collection of two reelers, and he is probably right. where's waldo chaplin?the tramp has a terrible time getting a roast duck to a hungry (and cranky) customer. he gets lost in the sea of dancers and temporarily loses the duck a number of times - once to a chandelier and once when a group of rambunctious young men steal it and use it for a football. you can't help but be once again reminded of the rink while watching this scene, remembering the funny bits chaplin employed in the kitchen and restaurant - getting the "in" and "out" doors mixed up, for example (hey, i used to wait tables and i had a hard time with that myself at times). once it is time for the entertainment, the tramp meets with the gamin to rehearse his song. but he can't seem to remember the words to the song he is supposed to sing, so the gamin writes the lyrics down on cuff of his shirt. he tries it again and it works. feeling somewhat reassured, he is still nervous as he goes out to face the audience. chaplin and goddard in modern timesthis is it - the moment the tramp will speak to the world. what a moment! imagine the audience who knew this was coming and had no idea what to expect. chaplin himself had to be quite anxious about it. he had speculated for so long on how to go about it - give the tramp an outrageous accent - have him mumble rather than speak clearly - he must do something distinct. and he ended up doing the most ingenious thing possible, in my opinion. i was just enthralled the first time i saw that. i've wondered how many times chaplin rehearsed that to make it so flawless - funny - and tell a story all at the same time. and what a perfect way to introduce the tramp to the world of sound without having him actually talk. ^that is a tribute to modern times and chaplin from j-five. some may not appreciate it, but i like it. it's a nice tribute if you listen to the lyrics and also features chaplin's granddaughter. i'm not sure which one it is - and for all i know it could be one of his great-granddaughters. but she is the one with the black hat and enormous teeth. the tramp is a huge hit and the boss tells him he has a permanent job. the gamin proudly follows the tramp's act and goes out to the floor to perform her number. unfortunately, the two detectives choose that moment to apprehend her. they go to the back room to show her and her boss the warrant they have for her arrest. chaplin and paulette at the opening of modern timesthe gamin tries to make a run for it and a wild chase follows as the tramp jumps in to help her escape. without her, the tramp might have found a promising job, but without the tramp, the gamin had no chance of escaping the two detectives. together, they outrun them and leave their promising careers behind. morning comes, and the pair are waking up and preparing to head off after another night of sleeping rough. as the tramp nonchalantly ties his shoes, the gamin breaks down in tears at the thought of how close they came to their dream of a perfect life together. buck up - never say die. we'll get along!the gamin finally agrees, and the tramp helps her to her feet. as they begin walking down the empty road, she looks so serious and fearful at the future. but the tramp stops her and reminds her to smile. realizing she won't be alone no matter what life throws at them, she does smile. and that is how modern times comes to an end. optimistically - for if anything, the tramp and his creator were nothing if not optimistic. together the tramp and the gamin set off to their future. it never fails to move me - watching the last movie we'll ever see featuring the tramp, walking down a lonely road to his next adventure without us. but this time he is not alone - he gets to make his grand exit with a pretty girl on his arm. but it almost didn't happen that way. chaplin wrote an alternate ending that he filmed with the gamin going into a convent while he is in jail instead of getting hired at the singing waiter cafe. an ending i'm glad chaplin didn't decide on for modern timesthe tramp, realizing that the gamin is much better off without him as a nun, heads off on his own once more, giving us one final shot of the tramp walking to his next adventure alone. i'll always be grateful chaplin didn't go that way with his ending for modern times. chaplin's fans followed the tramp from his first misadventure on screen with kid auto races at venice. we watched him evolve and grow as an individual - his achievements and his losses were ours as well. after all he went through, it was bittersweet but only right to send him off with a pretty girl who would follow him when we were no longer able to do so. up next: the great dictator, part I
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Post by solgroupie on Apr 6, 2010 11:33:26 GMT -5
chaplin's first all talking picture 1940 part I after wrapping up modern times, chaplin felt the need to escape. in his autobiography, he said before modern times opened that a few columnists wrote that they'd heard rumors the film was communistic. even though other, more liberal reviewers later wrote that modern times was neither for nor against communism. however, it worried chaplin that modern times broke all records of his previous films during the first week, but the numbers began to drop slightly afterward. he decided to take paulette and her mother to honolulu for a vacation (i wonder what edna thought of that - chaplin took her there after he built his studios). from honolulu, chaplin and paulette traveled to china. while at sea, chaplin met artist jean cocteau. though cocteau could not speak english and chaplin was always hopeless at french, they still managed to talk the night away with help from cocteau's interpreter. they talked until four in the morning about art, philosophy and life, embracing emotionally when they would agree on their theories. they planned to meet for lunch the next day, but neither showed up. chaplin felt they'd had a glut of each other and there was nothing left to discuss. he spent the remainder of the trip avoiding cocteau. at one point they saw each other on one of the ship's decks. chaplin panicked, realizing there was nowhere for him to escape to, but cocteau quickly darted around a corner and vanished. that always struck me funny - like a scene from one of chaplin's own films. jean cocteau while in china, chaplin claims in his autobiography that he and paulette were married. however, neither of them ever wore a wedding ring and no proof was every found of their nuptials. back in the states, chaplin began to try to think of an idea for his next picture. he felt he had been lucky up until then, managing to still use his genius at pantomime in a world that was quickly forgetting the original art of cinema. he said if he did make a talking picture, no matter how good he was he could never surpass the artistry of his pantomime. chaplin and paulette were married a year before he noticed they were beginning to grow apart. paulette's success with modern times led to a contract with paramount to make several pictures, but chaplin continued to brood over what his next move should be in film. in 1937, film director alexander korda suggested to chaplin an idea for a movie where chaplin plays two parts - the tramp and adolf hitler in a classic case of mistaken identity, as was such a favorite back in the days of keystone, essanay and the mutuals. with rumors of war everywhere, chaplin found it difficult to write a comedy. korda's suggestion came back to him and it all fell into place. he could satisfy the audience that wanted a talking picture with the hitler character, but keep the tramp almost silent. it still took another two years to develop the story. but it was worth the wait. the great dictator was one of chaplin's most successful films. up next: the great dictator, part II
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Post by solgroupie on Apr 16, 2010 11:53:41 GMT -5
happy birthday, charlie chaplin! today you're 121! par-TAY! since i have just started discussing the great dictator, i thought now would be a good opportunity to discuss some of the similarities between adolf hitler and charlie chaplin. much of what i learned about this came from the very interesting documentary, the tramp vs. the dictator, written, directed and narrated by kevin brownlow in 2002. it was strange to say chaplin and hitler shared much in common, when they were so very different. they were born within days of each other in 1889 - chaplin on this day, april 16th, and hitler on april 20th. they both were no strangers to poverty as children. chaplin in the circle, around the age of seven hitler, the little jerkboth were close to their mothers. both were artists - at least hitler started out that way. both lost their mothers at an early age and had to fend for themselves to survive. chaplin's mother, hannah, was in and out of institutions, often leaving charlie on his own, and hitler's mother died of cancer when he was still a teenager. of course the most visible similarity would be the famous mustache. but chaplin and hitler had amazing control over the masses for a period of time. hitler wanted to terrorize everyone - chaplin only wanted to make them laugh. but they both had that need of control. chaplin said if he had known the extend of hitler's cruelty, he would have not made the great dictator. he thought of hitler as a joke - something too laughable to take seriously. he said every time he saw him with hitler's arm sticking out, he wanted to put a platter of dirty dishes on it. i can see itengland was not happy with chaplin's latest film project and told him they would not release it, for they wanted to try and keep peace when things were getting more precarious by the day. but just before the great dictator was released, they were pressuring chaplin again - this time to release it. as it was so aptly put in the tramp vs. the dictator - hitler needed this. he deserved it. he needed to be laughed at, to be reduced to the ridiculous clown he was. it didn't stop him from killing millions of people, but it was the first time many who were suffering under his crushing weight could see him this way - where they could safely point and laugh at him. and yes, hitler did watch the great dictator. twice! no one knows what he thought of it. chaplin was heard to say he would have given anything to know his opinion. someone in the tramp vs. the dictator said they felt chaplin was trying to one-up hitler - like - I was here first - they loved me first. back off. in the 1934 book, the jews are looking at you, chaplin was described as "a disgusting jewish acrobat." chaplin was not jewish, but never broadcasted it. he made one of his most memorable quotes when someone asked if he was jewish - he said, "i do not have that honor." there have been many interpretations of hitler over the years - hitler, todaybut this one was created during a time when it was considered taboo to do such a thing. therefore, it was the best. (in my opinion, of course)
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Post by callipygias on Apr 16, 2010 12:02:28 GMT -5
happy birthday, charlie chaplin! today you're 121! par-TAY! Weird, it seems so impossibly long ago, yet Chaplin was only 19 1/2 years older than my grandfather, who as you know is still going strong, so really we're barely separated by one generation from Chaplin's birth.
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Post by solgroupie on Apr 16, 2010 12:59:27 GMT -5
that's only part of the reason why i am in such awe of your grandfather.
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Post by solgroupie on Apr 22, 2010 12:05:19 GMT -5
part II the great dictator, 1940 starring: charles chaplin - a jewish barber/hynkel: dictator of tomania paulette goddard - hannah jack oakie - napoloni - dictator of bacteria reginald gardiner - sChultz henry daniell - garbitch billy gilbert - herring maurice moscovitch - mr. jaeckel after the opening credits of the great dictator, the following comes up on the screen: note - any resemblance between hynkel the dictator and the jewish barber co-incidental. and then - this is a story of a period between two world wars - an interim in which Insanity cut loose. Liberty took a nose dive and Humanity was kicked around somewhat. the story opens with world war one in 1918. soldiers are running around in trenches, shooting guns while explosions go off left and right. already you can see the money chaplin spent on this film. it's kind of weird when i watch the great dictator - it is almost like an extension of shoulder arms when you see the tramp-like figure. only this time it is the little jewish barber, fighting for the tomanian army. chaplin gets plenty of opportunities for gags here - including the biggest prop he ever employed - a replica of a big bertha cannon which turns out to be defective. the barber gets into a number of comical close calls before he is instructed to follow a group of soldiers with rifles. he does so, but becomes separated from them when they march through a cloud of smoke from the firing cannons. when he thinks he's finally found his fellow soldiers, he realizes he has accidentally fallen in with the enemy. he throws his gun down, crying out, "excuse me!" and runs away. chaplin as the jewish barber, learning about grenades in the great dictatorhe takes shelter in a nearly destroyed house and is instructed to fire at the enemy, which he does. he responds to a call of help from a man outside, who has been wounded. what follows is a very funny scene that could have taken place in vaudeville decades before TGD. the barber helps the man into his plane, and together they take off just before the enemy can shoot them. the man is so weak, he can barely fly the plane, which because of his incessant whining and complaining, ends up flipping over and they fly upside down for a time before they eventually crash. the man, though grateful to the jewish barber for saving his life, is devastated to learn they lost the war when they are discovered by the wrecked plane. chaplin as the little jewish barber, defending his country, tomania, in the first world war the plane scene is one of the funniest (IMO). chaplin and reginald gardiner in the great dictatorthe man the little barber saves is a high ranking officer, commander sChultz. but the barber is taken to a hospital, where it is discovered he has amnesia. many years pass where the barber lives without memory of the war, unknowing that during the time of his convalescence, tomania has been taken over by a dictator named adenoid hynkel (chaplin came up with some great names in this film). you see the little barber strolling by the army hospital, dressed as our beloved tramp, oblivious of hynkel or the terrible changes that are taking place in his world. the double crosswe then get our first introduction to hynkel. he stands before an enormous crowd of followers who have come to hear his latest speech. this scene is funny on so many levels. just seeing chaplin imitate hitler - in 1940! - is funny enough. scary funny. for his hynkel voice, he uses a heavy accent with words like wiener schnitzel and cheeze 'n cracken. in the schickel documentary i go on and on about, charlie: the life and art of charles chaplin, chaplin's daughter, geraldine chaplin, talks about the great dictator. she said that she thought everything hynkel said in his speech would be scripted, but chaplin improvised all of it on the spot. in the globe scene (we'll get to that soon), she said every second of that - every move - was scripted - and she thought it would have been the other way around. chaplin in the great dictatorhynkel makes his impassioned speech, spreading his hatred of the jews to the thousands of admirers. among his staff who listen approvingly are garbitsch and the loathsome herring. and commander sChultz is there too. over the years he has been promoted as one of hynkel's high officers. hynkel works himself up into a fury. the crowd applauds and cheers wildly, but only when he allows it. he gets so worked up he pours himself a glass of water and takes a sip, then pours some down the front of his pants. after his speech, hynkel takes the time for a photo op with some of his followers. but not before the portly garbitsch knocks him down a flight of steps in front of everyone. garbitsch is immediately established as the fat funny guy who takes much abuse from hynkel's outbursts. hynkel receives flowers and takes a moment to have his picture taken with a baby. in true chaplin fashion, he cannot let this opportunity pass without wiping his hand that held the baby with his handkerchief as he walks away. herring rides in the car beside hynkel, which gives us the opportunity to see some of the changes that have been made since hynkel took power. the statues of venus and the thinker have been altered to have arms stretched out in the double cross salute to hynkel. hynkel, never sure of himself, asks herring his opinion on his speech. herring says that it was good, but he thought hynkel should have come down harder on the jews. hynkel seems surprised at this, and herring explains that violence against the jews would be a good way to take the public's minds off their troubles. hynkel, who is always easily led, agrees. we now see the jewish ghetto for the first time in the great dictator. it's a bustling community filled with people and tomanian soldiers, which are feared by everyone. a man walks into a room where another older man is reading the paper. this is mr. jaeckel, played by maurice moscovitch. his movie career only lasted four years, beginning in 1936 and ending in 1940 with the great dictator. he didn't have a very big part in TGD, but i thought he played it very well. he rents a few apartments in the ghetto and is not very optimistic about the future. his friend asks about the jewish barber, who is still in the hospital. mr. jaeckel is keeping the key to his shop while he is gone. then we are introduced to hannah, a young woman who is staying at the apartments. mr. jaeckel explains to his friend how hannah cannot find work. her father was killed in the war and her mother died last year. he can't throw her out in the streets, so she does laundry and cleans to earn her keep. as hannah walks down the street with her basket of clean laundry to deliver, she sees a group of rowdy tomanian soldiers begin picking on the owners of a vegetable and fruit stand. after they help themselves to what they want, they make their way down the street like a pack of bullies, which is precisely what they are. hannah looks at the shop owners and others who are watching helplessly, and declares someone should stand up to them. she says she wishes she were a man so she could. the soldiers laugh and tease her, which only makes her angrier, accusing them of picking on women and robbing defenseless people. she is the only one with the courage to stand up to the soldiers, but she pays for it - they begin to throw tomatoes at her as they drive away. humiliated and ignored, hannah looks through her laundry, realizing she will have to clean it all over again. paulette goddard as the plucky hannah (named for chaplin's mother) in the great dictatorup next: the barber returns to his shop to find a different world in part III of the great dictator
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Post by solgroupie on May 18, 2010 12:36:07 GMT -5
the great dictator, part III back at the army hospital, two doctors are discussing the jewish barber's case before he is released. they muse that he will have quite a lot to get used to, considering he thinks he has only been in the hospital for a few weeks, instead of a few years. but the barber leaves the hospital without learning this. the tramp jewish barber in the great dictatorwe see him, the jewish barber, who looks just like our beloved tramp, cheerfully open his shop. he very busily begins his day as if nothing has changed, unaware of anything amiss at first. slowly it dawns on him that something is very wrong as he looks about his shop. thick dust covers everything and cobwebs are everywhere. just as he is realizing something is not right, a tomanian storm trooper is outside, painting the word JEW on the barber's front window. the barber, just realizing all is not well in the great dictatorconfused, the barber goes outside and begins to wipe the window clean. the trooper grabs him roughly and begins to hassle him, for surely no one else would have the nerve to stand up to the storm troopers. when the barber is told to "salute and heil hynkel," the barber is even more confused and asks the trooper to identify himself. the trooper really begins to shove and push the barber, who bravely punches back (but then runs away). he sees another storm trooper at the entrance to his shop and asks if he is a policeman, and if he is, he asks him to arrest the other man for assault. the storm troopers grab the barber and begin to hit him. they are right beneath an apartment window, and that is when we see hannah again. she looks out the window and sees the trouble and doesn't hesitate. she slams a heavy frying pan down on the head of one of the troopers. he falls to the ground, and she slams the pan down on the second one. he stumbles around and when she tries to hit him again, she accidentally hits the barber instead. he never falls, but stumbles - gracefully - down the sidewalk and back in a daze. all that is missing are the little birds flying around in a circle above his head. HANNAH! hannah apologizes and then thanks the barber for standing up to the storm troopers, saying she needed that. but when she learns he intends to call the police, she wisely pulls him into the apartment's courtyard to hide as a group of more storm troopers come to find the men on the ground. they take them away as hannah and the barber wait silently a few feet away. terror in the ghetto in the great dictatorafter the men leave, hannah thanks the barber again, saying that is what they all need to do, is stand up to "them." the barber watches her leave, undoubtedly more confused than ever now. he has no idea who "them" is, or what is going on. he wanders back to his shop that is next door. hannah returns, realizing he is the barber she has heard so much about. she tells him he must hide in the basement, as the storm troopers will soon be back, looking for him. as he waits, two storm troopers enter his shop with a bucket of paint and a brush. when one says "heil hynkel," the barber softly asks, "who's that?" and gets slapped for his trouble. i liked the way chaplin had the barber speak. he didn't talk that much at all, but when he did, he was very soft spoken. it was such an easy transition from the totally silent tramp that you barely notice it. chaplin, directing the great dictatorthe storm troopers take the barber outside and demand he finish painting the word JEW on the window. after one slap to the face too many, the barber flings the paint in one of the storm trooper's face and makes a run for it. hannah tries to help again with the frying pan, but the barber is quickly outnumbered by a growing pack of troopers. they take a rope and run him up a lamp post. don't call it a comebackjust then, commander schultz pulls up and demands to know what is going on. they put the barber on his feet and the commander is stunned to see the man who saved his life. he tells the barber about the plane crash and it all comes back to the barber then - everything he had blocked out. very agreeably, he asks commander schultz how he has been. schultz refers to the barber as his friend and declares that he, nor any of his friends, will be bothered anymore. in part IV - a day in the life of hynkel paulette, on the set of the great dictator
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Post by callipygias on Jun 6, 2010 13:42:16 GMT -5
I just watched The Great Dictator for only the second time, and it has one of my new favorite soundtrack moments. You're not quite there yet, but it's the movie's most famous scene (another one of cinema's most famous scene's, too). The music Chaplin made for that scene could not possibly be better.
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Post by solgroupie on Jun 6, 2010 16:18:47 GMT -5
i totally agree. it's always been one of my favorite moments in any of chaplin's soundtracks. another great moment in music in TGD is in the final scene with hannah. it never fails to move me.
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