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Post by solgroupie on Jun 8, 2010 11:11:33 GMT -5
the great dictator, part IVafter we get a taste of what the jewish ghetto life is like for hannah, mr. jaeckel and their friends, we spend a little time with adnoid hynkel, dictator of tomania. hynkel and staff in the great dictatorhynkle is a tremendously busy man. he writes letters, yells at various members of his staff, barks on the phone to different people and inspects different inventions headed by field marshall herring (the helpless fat guy character), that never seem to work out. the guy wearing the bullet proof uniform is shot and killed during the test, and the guy who tries out the miraculous hat parachute falls to his death. between all these tasks, hynkel will duck into a room where a painter and sculptor sit at the ready and pose for ten seconds or so before leaving to meet another appointment. hynkel inspects a new parachute hat that ultimately needs more work in the great dictatorwhat i love about hynkle is his bratty temperament. he is like a six year old spoiled brat when something goes wrong or he doesn't get his way. after dictating a letter he throws a fit when he can't get a pen to work to sign it and even though a secretary offers to get him another one, he petulantly tears the letter up. he is terribly insecure and unsure of himself, never trusting his decisions and is easily swayed by the evil garbitsch. hynkel strikes a pose in the great dictatorit's the little things about hynkle that makes me laugh, though. as i've told calli, one of the funniest moments in the great dictator for me is when hynkel is alone, walking through an enormous room and he trips over his own feet. another thing that cracks me up is the hynkel salute, which is pretty much like the nazi salute of hitler's. but unless he is being viewed by his public, hynkel's return salute is very relaxed and quite effeminate. in a conversation with garbitsch, hynkel discusses the possibility of taking over the country of osterlich. garbitsch says they will need to build capitol to do so, and the only bank they can possibly borrow money from is run by a jewish man. so until they can secure the loan, hynkel decides they should ease up on the ghettos and give the jewish people there some peace until they are ready to make their move. meanwhile, the jewish barber is back to work. he quietly trims mr. jaeckels hair while the old man laments on how suspicious he is that things have been so peaceful as of late. he muses that if things get bad again they can all move to osterlich, which is still a free country. he comments that the barber was lucky to have been in a coma during most of the hard times they have endured. when the barber says business has been slow, mr. jaeckel suggests he learn how to do women's hair - urging hannah (who is scrubbing the floor) to let the barber practice on her. chaplin and goddard in the great dictatorwe watch hannah and the barber get to know each other a little better in the next scene. hannah is definitely the talker the barber is not, chattering about god, their current situation and her favorite activity, which is daydreaming. she comments on how they are both scatter-brained as the barber absentmindedly rubs shaving cream all over her face. they both break into laughter just as he begins to shave her face, realizing what he is doing. when the barber finishes, hannah is astonished to see what she looks like as an actual cleaned up girl. "gee...ain't i cute," she says in amazement. the barber watches her with admiration as she runs out to buy some potatoes. she fills her apron with some and as she is returning home, she trips and falls. the potatoes spill out everywhere, and to her amazement, two storm troopers help her up and help her pick up her potatoes. to the camera she gushes about how wonderful it would be if they could let them live their lives again without fear. she does not want to leave her home and move to osterlich. hannah, the after shotback at hynkel's palace, garbitsch informs the dictator that their request for a loan has been turned down, due to their treatment of the jews. hynkel is thrown into a rage, declaring revenge on the jewish people for this. commander schultz is called in, and when he hears of hynkel's plans, he tries to talk him out of it, in the name of humanity. hynkel, who cannot bear any type of criticism, blows up and sends commander schultz to a concentration camp for punishment. back in the ghetto (...in the ghetooo) the occupants of the small apartment house are in a flurry to get hannah ready in time for her first date with the barber. one of the best silent scenes chaplin did in the great dictator takes place here, when the barber shaves his customer in time to the hungarian dance #5.all dressed up, the couple depart arm in arm on their date. life is bustling and seemingly happy around them in the ghetto, and hannah comments on how nice hynkel has been to them and maybe he isn't such a bad person after all. "how amusing," the barber replies. just as they stop to buy two buttons that support hynkel, a radio address comes over the speakers from hynkel himself, now enraged at the jews again. hynkel is at his most furious, shouting and snorting in rage, promising doom to all jewish people who are listening. just as the barber changes his mind on buying the buttons, the whole ghetto closes up. people break down their fruit and vegetable stands and everyone hurries to hide indoors. within seconds, hannah and the barber are the only ones left on the once busy street. they decide to return home and even though it isn't really funny, it still is as it seems hynkel's voice is chasing them back to the safety of their home. first date, cut short in the great dictatora crowd of terrified jewish people push their way into the apartment's courtyard, where hannah becomes hysterical with fear - the storm troopers are approaching. they bust their way in, but before they can do any damage, one of the storm troopers reminds them that they have orders to leave this part of the ghetto alone, since the barber is under the protection of commander schultz. they reluctantly leave, but only minutes later it is learned that schultz has been arrested and taken to a concentration camp. the barber declares he will stay and fight, but mr. jaeckel and hannah persuade him to hide. chaplin cleverly avoids an ugly scene of violence by keeping the camera on a cage of songbirds as you hear the storm troopers invade the courtyard again, amidst crashing sounds and terrified screams. it's quite effective. don't cross the double crosshannah and the barber escape to the roof of the apartments just in time to see the barber shop explode into flames. they sink down and watch in horror as it burns. hannah tries to comfort the barber by telling him in a choked voice that they can go to osterlich, all of them, where they can maybe save up to buy a chicken farm. hours later, as they remain on the roof, mr. jaeckel comes up to tell them the storm troopers are gone, but commander schultz has escaped and is hiding with them. the next morning at breakfast, it is all over the papers that the storm troopers are searching houses for the missing schultz. when a neighbor knocks on the door to warn them, watch how quickly and how nimbly chaplin leaps into a trunk to hide. amazing. he was fifty years old and was just as quick as when he did it years before in the pawnshop. they gather up all of schultz's belongings (even his golf clubs) and he and the barber try to escape via the roof, but they are captured and taken to the concentration camp. one of the most memorable scenes in the great dictator is known simply as the globe dance which calli was referring to in his last post. it is indeed unique. as garbitch tries to soothe hynkel, assuring him that the purest race can only be a beautiful blond haired blue-eyed one, hynkel agrees. he wants to kill off all the brunettes too, for brunettes cannot be trusted. garbitsch predicts once he takes over osterlich he can kill off the brunettes after the jews and one day be emperor of the world, a god. hynkel freezes, telling garbitsch he will make him afraid of himself. he flees up the drapes to hide like a child and tells garbitsch he wants to be alone. as calli said, the most beautiful music begins as hynkel slowly slides back down the drapes and makes his way to a globe, eying it like prey. picking the globe up, he begins to toss it up in the air the way a child would play with a toy. it has been referred to as the "globe dance," "the dance of the globe," and "the globe ballet." hynkel lets the globe softly bounce off his head as he dances with it, moving to his desk where he kicks it high in the air to hover by the double cross. he lovingly plays with the globe until it pops like a balloon. hynkel is startled, and then outraged and begins to sob angrily. up next, part V - napoloni - dictator of bacteria and the conclusion of the great dictator
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Post by solgroupie on Jun 11, 2010 12:30:35 GMT -5
the great dictator, part V after the barber and commander schultz are taken to the concentration camp, mr. jaeckel, hannah and the others make their move to osterlich. it's beautiful country and they settle in happily there, working in the vineyards. hannah writes to the barber, telling him how much they look forward to his release so they can be together again, which the barber reads at the end of his grueling days. back at hynkel's palace, all the high ranking officers gather with hynkel to celebrate their plans to take over osterlich. hynkel awards herring with a medal for his hard work and makes a long speech to an emotional and blubbering herring. just then, garbitsch discovers that the dictator of bacteria, napoloni, has moved thousands of his soldiers to the osterlich border. billy gilbert as herringall poor herring says is, "i don't believe it," and hynkel turns his volatile temper upon him, snapping off all of his many medals, down to the buttons on his uniform. in a rage, he declares war on bacteria. garbitsch tries to talk him out of it, but hynkel won't listen. he signs a declaration of war in a fury. then the phone rings - it's napoloni himself, wanting to speak with hynkel. immediately, hynkel turns back into a child, terrified at the prospect of talking to him. he makes garbitsch do it for him. nervously, he tells garbitsch to "be nice." garbitsch chats with napoloni, discussing golf for a moment, before he tells hynkel that napoloni wants to discuss his latest move to osterlich. hynkel invites him to his palace, and tears up his declaration of war. a ceremony is set up at the train station to meet napoloni and his wife. it's a funny little scene as the train keeps rolling to a stop at the wrong platform where hynkel and his men are set up. they race to the platform just as the train backs up to where they were originally waiting. they do this back and forth a few times, upsetting napoloni, his wife and everyone else in the train. napoloni and his wife fighting in the train car sounds just like the stereotypical old italian couple - you can picture napoloni wearing a white undershirt, shaking his fists around as he yells at her to shaddup. right away, jack oakie begins to steal his first scene in the great dictator. oakie was in many, many movies and television shows, but he was quoted as saying, "i've appeared in hundreds of movies, but the only one people remember me for is napoloni in the great dictator." and you can see why if you watch him. jack oakieright away, hynkel and napoloni fight for control of their situation. napoloni is a big, loud guy who intimidates hynkel immediately. he'll hug hynkel and pat him on the back while making slightly snide remarks about his palace or army. hynkel is at a loss around him most of the time, relying on garbitsch to take the lead. garbitsch meets with hynkel after they return to the palace with napoloni about how their first meeting should go. garbitsch advises hynkel that they should not talk any business right away, but use the time to put napoloni in his place. they arranged a very low seated chair to sit in front of hynkel's desk so napoloni will always have to look up to hynkel. he will enter the front entrance of the huge office, having to walk the long length of the office to reach hynkel's desk. then the buzzer sounds and a secretary informs them that napoloni is on his way to speak to hynkel. instantly, hynkel becomes a nervous wreck and in one of my favorite moments in the film, whispers to garbitsch, "he's coming! get me a flower! a flower!" as hynkel tries to appear nonchalant at his desk, holding a flower, napoloni comes in the back door and slaps the unsuspecting hynkel on the back so hard he knocks him to the floor. "hello, hynkie!" napoloni barks. napoloni walks about the office, declaring how wonderful everything is, how "hynkie" is such a "nice little man," praising his recent bath, saying as soon as they got the plumbing fixed, it would be great. in another great moment in the film, garbitsch says the crowd at the train station seemed enthusiastic in napoloni's arrival. "sure, sure," napoloni agrees. "they lika to see new faces." he then thrusts his chin out, an almost perfect imitation of mussolini. it's hilarious. when napoloni sits on the chair in front of hynkel's desk, he is nonplussed that it is so low to the ground. after fidgeting around for a moment, the realization of what hynkel is trying to do comes across his face. he decides to sit on the desk, striking his match for his cigarette off hynkel's bust. it's decided that he will use the barber shop in the palace for a shave and, using one of the tramp's classic moves, grabs hynkel's head to turn it to face him, asking if he would like to join him. the barber scene that comes next is a favorite for many in the great dictator. hynkel seems more at ease, knowing they are there for a shave and not to discuss anything serious. he boasts of the opulence of his palace as they are seated side by side in barber chairs. as they talk, they both pump the chairs - hynkel's chair is higher than napoloni - then napoloni's is higher than hynkel's. they go almost all the way to the ceiling before the scene ends. then they review hynkel's army. napoloni behaves as if he is at a sporting event, eating peanuts and loudly commenting on how much better his army is. again, hynkel seems meek and totally intimidated. the grand ball follows. years after the great dictator was made, film was discovered that sydney chaplin took of the making of it - so there are many scenes (and behind the scenes) shots in color, which is really amazing (to me) to see. chaplin with grace hayle, who played madam napoloni in the great dictatorgarbitsch reassures hynkel of their plans in private. he tells him they will have their troops hidden along the border of osterlich, and to distract anyone from their plans, hynkel will go hunting to avoid suspicion. then he will meet the army in the town of pretzelburg before invading osterlich. hynkel and napoloni decide to finally talk over the buffet, one of the funniest scenes in the great dictator. as they ask for something to eat (strawberries and cream for hynkel, a sandwich with hot mustard for napoloni), napoloni suggests they both agree not to attack osterlich. after they sign the treaty, napoloni will remove his soldiers from the border. hynkel will not agree. he will only sign the treaty if napoloni removes his soldiers first. things get ugly after that. neither dictator will back down and they begin to yell at each other, despite the combined efforts of garbitsch and napoloni's ambassador to intercede. as it escalates, napoloni and hynkel begin to yell in the voices they use for their threatening speeches, bellowing and gesturing. distracted by it all, hynkel accidentally puts hot mustard on his strawberries and gasps for air as his mouth burns. at first napoloni laughs at him, but after taking a bite of his sandwich, he suffers the same fate. neither can speak, but they both still try to threaten each other in muffled yelps. chaplin, with henry daniell and jack oakieonce they can speak again, they start a food fight with each other. it's so ridiculous it's funny as hell - especially when hynkel takes a handful of spaghetti to pull in half to demonstrate his puny strength, but he can't even pull it apart. the look he gives it always makes me laugh. FOOD FIGHT!!!garbitsch urges hynkel to sign the treaty, saying they will already have their men on the border - who cares if he signs? hynkel agrees and tells napoloni he will sign. immediately, napoloni hugs hynkel, calling him his dictator brother. meanwhile, commander schultz and the barber escape the concentration camp. dressed in a uniform, the barber now looks identical to hynkel. he nervously walks with schultz, terrified of being caught. while this is occurring, we see hynkel sitting morosely in a boat with a gun, muttering about his plans. he sees a duck and fires his gun, which only knocks him right out of the boat and into the water. nearby storm troopers hear the shot and find hynkel swimming to the shore. mistaking him for the escaped barber, they knock him over the head and take him back to the concentration camp. that is the last we will see of hynkel. schultz and the barber walk to pretzelburg. schultz knows they must remain visible to fool everyone, despite how nervous the barber is. he flinches when soldiers salutes him, but no one notices, perhaps because hynkel could be just as jumpy. they meet the army and drive to where thousands of people are waiting for hynkel's speech. the barber nearly faints when he realizes what is going on. unfortunately, as the tanks and soldiers begin their attack on osterlich, it means an end to the short-lived peaceful life hannah and her friends have known. she runs screaming to mr. jaeckel to warn him of the storm troopers just before they arrive. they knock mr. jaeckel to the ground and one of the soldiers gives hannah a good slap to knock her down as well, but not before he casually helps himself to some of the grapes they have picked. hannah remains on the ground, crying. we at last are at the last scene of the great dictator. please, if you have not seen it yet, don't let me spoil it for you. it really is something you should see on your own, for it is something you will never forget. the massive crowd cheers, awaiting hynkel's arrival. when he and commander schultz do arrive, they are led to their seats (a very comical few seconds pass as they try to get seated comfortably). garbitsch speaks first, saying the rights of citizenship will be taken away from all jews, for they are inferior and enemies of the state. in disbelief, the jewish barber listens, growing more and more terrified. garbitsch introduces hynkel as the "emperor of the world," and everyone waits. and waits. commander schultz leans over to the barber and whispers, "you must speak." the barber says, "i can't." schultz says it is their only hope. "hope...," says the barber, before he slowly stands up and walks meekly to the microphone. what follows is a speech chaplin wrote that not only inspired many people worldwide, but eventually got him into trouble, which i will get into later. chaplin's daughter, geraldine, said in the schickel doc that at that moment, you do not see the barber or hynkel - you see chaplin. that is his face and his voice speaking words he wrote from his heart. this is the real message chaplin wanted to get out to the world. and every word he speaks is as relevant today as it was then. the passion he uses is not acting. chaplin never supported war of any kind and never apologized for not being a patriot. every word is his truest belief. all the people and the soldiers cheer the barber's words as he looks around in shock when he finishes. chaplin in the great dictatoras hannah cries on the ground, the sound of the speech from the radio reaches her. in amazement she hears her name. Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up Hannah! The clouds are lifting! The sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness into the light! We are coming into a new world; a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed, and brutality. Look up, Hannah! The soul of man has been given wings and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow! Into the light of hope, into the future! The glorious future, that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up, Hannah. Look up! paulette goddard in the great dictatoras she stands in disbelief, mr. jaeckel runs to her and asks if she has heard what he heard and she stops him. "listen," she says quietly. there is no more sounds of war - no more cannons and tanks and guns. only the wind and clouds passing overhead. this is another moment in the great dictator that always moves me - not only by what is happening, but the music is so beautiful there. and that is how it ends. the great dictator is as moving as it is funny. once again, chaplin did what he did best, blending comedy and pathos together - and this time he finally did it with sound. but more importantly, he did it on his own terms. i urge everyone to see this film, even if you aren't a fan of chaplin. it was his biggest money maker, though many want to believe it was his worst film. somehow it was shown in germany after it came out, and it was reported that german soldiers fired shots at the screen. in the movie chaplin, attenborough made it seem that america hated it, showing people throwing tomatoes at the screen, but it was his most popular film. and as i said before, even hitler watched it. twice. no one could resist it. up next: chaplin shocks the world with a new character in monsieur verdoux -
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Post by solgroupie on Jun 16, 2010 15:46:27 GMT -5
AWESOME little homage to something the tramp did very well - sleeping. perfect song.
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Post by callipygias on Jun 16, 2010 16:02:57 GMT -5
Man, that's awesome. Plus, a Beatles song I've never heard. Very cool.
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Post by solgroupie on Jun 17, 2010 15:08:22 GMT -5
the calm before the storm the period after the great dictator and before monsieur verdoux was a pivotal time in chaplin’s life. he had received what he called crank letters from people who threatened to throw stink bombs into the theaters showing dictator, or create riots. chaplin decided if he went to the police with this, the publicity might keep the public away. How times have changed - now, something like that would ensure a packed house. a friend suggested talking to harry bridges, the head of the longshoreman’s union. chaplin invited him to dinner, but the man said he doubted there would be trouble. He said there would be enough defenders in his own fans, and any nazis would be too afraid to show up. he was right. there were no riots or problems in any showings of the great dictator, which became chaplin’s highest grossing film up to date. opening of the great dictator - with jack oakie, paulette goddard and charlie chaplinsoon after, chaplin was invited to a luncheon given by arthur sulzberger, the owner of the new york times. it was a private lunch with ex-president of the united states, herbert hoover. hoover would cause quite a lot of problems for chaplin in years to come. he had an intense hatred for chaplin, and perhaps it was because of this get together. chaplin had met hoover years before, but they only exchanged a few pleasantries and that was all. chaplin was surrounded by a group of american businessmen that intimidated him greatly. he remembered the luncheon to have a formal atmosphere and conversation that was “difficult.” he thought hoover was addressed as “mr. president,” more than necessary. finally, hoover began to explain a proposed mission he had for europe. hoover said they were all aware of the deplorable state of europe at the moment and the rapid growth of famine since the war began. he said he had taken it upon himself to make washington aware of the situation. he spoke of a similar mission in the first world war, where “we fed the whole of europe.” “such a mission,” hoover continued, “would be non-partisan, purely for humanitarian purposes,” indicating that he knew chaplin might be interested in that. hoover said as soon as washington approved it, his mission would go into works. chaplin spoke up and said, “of course, the situation is not exactly the same as in the first world war. france is completely occupied as well as many other countries - naturally we don’t want this food to fall into the hands of the nazis.” chaplin said hoover frowned and there was a buzz all about the table. hoover said a non-partisan commission in cooperation with the american red cross would administer to the sick and needy of both sides. but chaplin said he agreed whole heartedly, as long as the food did not find its way into the hands of the nazis. hoover’s yes-men all began to defend the plan, saying it was an excellent idea, to which chaplin, again, agreed. but only if it was handled by jews only. hoover finally said curtly, “oh, that wouldn’t be possible.” chaplin at a press conference for the great dictator, 1940it saddened chaplin to see the changes in america due to the war. in his autobiography he described a nazi preaching to a small gathering on fifth avenue in new york city. a woman, both an american and a jew, said if she were a man she would “knock his block off.” at social gatherings chaplin became something of an oddity, always defending the jews - this is where the rumors began that he was jewish. “one doesn’t have to be a jew to be anti-nazi,” he said. “All one has to be is a normal decent human being.” it wasn’t until i became interested in chaplin that i was even aware of the huge percentage of anti-semitism in america back then. i just assumed everyone was on the same side, the humanitarian side. it shocked me to think of the number of people that supported the nazi beliefs back then - openly, too. before chaplin was to appear at the hall of the daughters of the american revolution in washington to recite his speech from the great dictator over the radio, he was called to meet with president roosevelt. when he was ushered in, roosevelt greeted him with saying, “sit down, charlie; your picture is giving us a lot of trouble in the argentine.” that was all roosevelt had to say about it. later, a friend told chaplin that he was received at the white house, but not embraced. during the forty minutes chaplin spent with the president, he drank the several dry martinis roosevelt offered him out of shyness. he said when it was time to leave, he literally reeled out of the white house, realizing he had a speech to do - a national hook-up which would enable over sixty million people to listen to his words and roosevelt had just gotten him smashed. after a few cold showers and several cups of black coffee, he managed to pull himself together. since america had not yet entered the war, chaplin said there were plenty of nazis in the hall that evening to hear his speech. just as he began to speak, loud coughing could be heard from different seats in the hall. chaplin said it was much too loud to be natural. it made him so nervous that his mouth dried out and he had to ask for a drink of water. he said, “of course, there was not a drop in the house; and here i was keeping sixty million listeners waiting. after an interminable two minutes, i was handed water in a small paper envelope. thus i was able to finish the speech.” during this time, chaplin and paulette’s marriage came to an end. paulette’s exposure in both modern times and the great dictator attracted the attention of several producers, and she had signed on with paramount to do a few films. while chaplin was still in new york, paulette packed her things and moved out. it was sad, but an amicable parting. paulette was a terribly good sport about everything. there were no long, drawn out court dramas to give chaplin more bad publicity, no astronomical settlements. in addition to everything else, paulette was responsible for forging a relationship between chaplin and his two young sons. though he loved them, chaplin was never comfortable when they would come to visit. paulette was a good buffer for them and made them feel like they were a part of a family. she and chaplin parted friends. chaplin with son, charles jr. once japan attacked pearl harbor, chaplin said he thought his real troubles began. he received a telephone call from the head of the american committee for russian war relief in san francisco, asking if he would take the place of a mr. joseph e. davies, the american ambassador to russia, who was to speak, but came down with laryngitis. the hall held ten thousand people and chaplin was expected to speak for an hour, which terrified him. but learning more of the need for russian war relief, he became fired up to the point he was pacing backstage, waiting to go on. when his name was called he went on stage and said one word: COMRADES! the house exploded in applause and laughter, though many were not amused by this. in his speech, chaplin said, “i am not a communist, i am a human being, and i think i know the reactions of human beings. the communists are no different from anyone else; whether they lose an arm or a leg, they suffer as all of us do, and die as all of us die. and the communist mother is the same as any other mother. when she receives the tragic news that her sons will not return, she weeps as other mothers weep. i don’t have to be a communist to know that. i have only to be a human being to know that. and at this moment russian mothers are doing a lot of weeping and their sons a lot of dying.” chaplin spoke for over forty minutes - he said he had no idea what he was going to say until he said it, but he was on a roll. he passionately pressed for a second front, emphasizing that the russians were our allies, not our enemies. he received wild applause at the end of his speech that lasted seven minutes. he wondered then, if he had gone too far as the people stamped their feet and threw their hats into the air. when they quieted down, he asked everyone to send a telegram to the president, asking for a second front to open. afterwards, he went to dinner with dudley field malone and john garfield, where garfield told chaplin he had a lot of courage. it stung chaplin, who had been speaking from his heart, not trying to stir any trouble up. perhaps it was chaplin’s ever present need to control an audience, his need for acceptance. maybe it was only because he truly believed in the cause he supported. but he continued to speak when asked - next he spoke over the phone for a mass meeting in madison square. some people referred to chaplin as a “parlor communist,” in that he really only went along with the communist crowd, but never put his neck out for it, which was wrong on two counts. i believe chaplin when he said he was not a communist. but he did stick his neck out, and damn near got it chopped off for his trouble. his troubles were not ending - they were only beginning. before we launch into monsieur verdoux, we will continue with chaplin’s life - including his disastrous relationship with actress joan barry.
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 1, 2010 15:00:21 GMT -5
chaplin, trials and tribulation part II chaplin met joan barry after a tennis game with actor tim durant. durant told chaplin he had a date with a young woman named joan barry, a friend of paul getty. evidently, she had just returned from mexico city with a letter of introduction from a friend named a.c. blumenthal. since durant was dining with both barry and another woman, he asked chaplin to join them, since joan had expressed a desire to meet chaplin. chaplin said she was pleasant and cheerful and after an evening out he never thought about seeing her again. one of chaplin's passions was tennis. he used his court at home almost every day, or every chance he got. it was a good way for him to work out his nervous energy and relax. his court became a who's who of hollywood's A list, and on sundays chaplin's court was considered open house. durant brought barry with him to chaplin's house the sunday following their dinner, and after an afternoon of tennis, the threesome went out to eat. the next morning joan called and asked chaplin to take her to lunch. they drove to santa barbara for lunch and they both attended an auction, then he drove her back to L.A.. bill tilden, chaplin, douglas fairbanks and i forget who the other guy is i love how chaplin describes joan in his autobiography. even richard attenborough couldn't resist mentioning in in the script of chaplin. miss barry was a big handsome woman of twenty-two, well built, with upper regional domes immensely expansive and made alluring by an extremely low decollete summer dress, which, on the drive home, evoked my libidinous curiosity. a very nice way of chaplin saying he wanted to get a closer look at miss barry's rack. joan barry chaplin should have paid attention to that first red flag on the drive home. she told him that she was returning to new york the next night, but if he wanted her to stay she would, and "give up everything." he told her not to remain on his account and dropped her off outside of her apartment. she phoned him a couple of days later, saying she had decided to stay after all and wanted to see him again. her persistence paid off and they became intimate. he didn't like the way she would suddenly show up at his house late at night, unannounced, then vanish for a week without a word. but he said she could be so charming that when they were together he would forget about it. this was around the time chaplin began interested in the idea of making the play shadow and substance into a film. one night when joan came to chaplin's for dinner, she said that she had seen the play and was interested in playing the female lead. chaplin didn't take her seriously until she read some of the part for him with an irish accent and he was impressed by her ability. he took some photographs of her and again was surprised how photogenic she was. any doubts chaplin had about barry evaporated as he thought he was on the cusp of making another discovery with an unknown actress. he sent her to acting school and bought the rights to shadow and substance for $25,000, then put joan under contract at a salary of $250 a week. barry began to really get out of control then. she began coming to chaplin's house late at night again without warning - only now she was usually drunk. one night she smashed her car up in his driveway. chaplin, worried that her name was now associated with chaplin studios, began ignoring her late night calls or visits, which only resulted in joan breaking some of his windows. chaplin discovered joan had not attended the max reinhardt's school of acting for several weeks, and when he confronted her about it she announced she no longer wanted to be an actress. she told chaplin that if he would pay the fare for both her mother and herself to get back to new york and give her $5,000, she would tear up her contract. he agreed and was glad to be rid of her - or so he thought. chaplin, forever the optimist, thought he had seen the last of joan barry and was nearly finished writing his script for shadow and substance. he received another request to speak in behalf of the russians and their need for a second front in the war, this time at carnegie hall. jack warner, playing tennis with chaplin before the event told him he shouldn't go, which only made chaplin want to do it more. orson welles spoke before chaplin, and chaplin said his speech was like a meal without salt. it made chaplin more determined to get the crowd fired up again, which he no doubt did. returning to the waldorf-astoria, chaplin found several messages from joan barry. tim durant, who had come along with chaplin, advised him to see her. he thought if he refused her again, she might come anyway and make a scene. chaplin said he would if durant promised not to leave him alone with her. when she called again, chaplin spoke to her. he said she seemed completely normal and friendly, only wanting to come say hello to him, which she did. chaplin lied and said he would try to fit a lunch in with her before returning to new york. joan didn't stay long, but insisted chaplin see her back to her hotel. chaplin didn't want to, but escorted her back and left her there, claiming it was all he saw of her while in new york. chaplin said his social life took quite a dive after his speech at carnegie hall. he no longer received numerous invitations to spend weekends in the country in lavish homes with illustrious friends. the crowds at his open house on his tennis court began to drop dramatically. he began to really worry about how this would affect his career. chaplin put shadow and substance aside when an idea for a dark comedy struck him about a celebrated historic french wife murderer named landru. orson welles originally came to him with the idea - though it was welles' idea to include landru in a series of documentaries he was thinking of creating. chaplin was not interested in co-writing a script with welles, but was interested in making a comedy out of the man's life, to be called monsieur verdoux. chaplin offered welles $5000 for the idea, which he took under the condition that he would get "idea suggested by orson welles" in the credits. in his autobiography, chaplin said, "had i foreseen the kudos he eventually tried to make out of it, i would have insisted on no screen credit at all." chaplin with orson welles it was about this time that chaplin was informed that joan barry was back in beverly hills. chaplin gave no real details in his autobiography, but it has been long since documented that joan showed up at his house with a gun one night. sydney junior was home at the time, and said when he saw his father he was told to immediately go to bed, which he did. he didn't learn until the next day that barry was there, armed and dangerous. it was said chaplin talked his way out of her using it, calling the greatest acting of his life. in his book he said she broke into his house, smashed windows and demanded money. he finally wised up and called the police. they told chaplin they would withhold the charges of vagrancy against her if he was willing to pay her fair (again) to new york. they also warned joan that if she was seen in the vicinity of beverly hills again, she would be charged with vagrancy. up next: chaplin's troubles are only beginning - yet he unexpectedly manages to find the peace he was always looking for in part III oona o'neill chaplin
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 4, 2010 11:11:04 GMT -5
here is a short video of chaplin with w.r. hearst and harold lloyd shooting off fireworks in 1928. it may have been taken from marion davies' beach house in santa monica. the music playing in the background is a little tune chaplin composed called "sing a song."
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Post by spackle on Jul 4, 2010 11:50:42 GMT -5
With Loud Report!
Happy 4th to you!
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 6, 2010 12:00:46 GMT -5
chaplin on trial - part III chaplin's truest love was born in 1926, a year after her future husband had created the film he once said he wanted to be known for, the gold rush. oona was the daughter of nobel and pulitzer prize-winning playwright, eugene o'neill and his second wife, a writer by the name of agnes boulton. oona's parents divorced when she was two, and it seemed she never did have a very good relationship with her father. she lost her two brothers, shane and eugene, to addiction and suicide. despite the bitterness that seemed to surround oona's existence, she grew to be a beautiful, charming girl who was named debutante of the year in 1942. fellow debutante and lifelong friend gloria vanderbilt once said of oona, "she possessed a wonderful quality of oriental objectivity about life." oona in 1942 - no i.d. on the soldiers carrying her two of oona's suitors before chaplin were orson welles and j.d. salinger. salinger was reportedly head over heels over oona and wrote her letters every day. after she married chaplin, salinger wrote, ""i can see them at home in the evenings. chaplin squatting grey and nude, atop his chiffonier, swinging his thyroid around his bamboo cane, like a dead rat. oona in an aquamarine gown, applauding madly from the bathroom. agnes [her mother] in a jantzen bathing suit, passing between them with cocktails. i'm facetious, but i'm sorry. sorry for anyone with a profile as young and lovely as oona's." sour grapes - j.d. salinger oona did a little acting in summer stock, but she made the move from the east coast to the west to not only try to salvage her relationship with her father, but to pursue an acting career. she was taken with chaplin's charm as he was by her beauty and gentleness. according the schickel documentary, within a month oona was living with him. i'm sure those closest to chaplin groaned and braced themselves for yet another scandal, which would have added to what he was already about to face. chaplin himself was not sure of their relationship, but in his autobiography he said it was as if oona had discovered a truth: she and chaplin were meant to be together and she stubbornly refused to leave him. though she was only 18 when they were married and he was 54, they were perfectly in tune with one another. from what i understand, this was one of the first photos taken of chaplin and oona when they were officially a coupleher father didn't share their optimism, however, and he cut her out of his will and his life. oona stayed in touch with her mother and her surviving brother until his death. it was good chaplin had found oona when he did. for he was facing multiple charges and a possible prison sentence of twenty years. not only was he hit with the paternity suit from joan barry, but after joan's daughter, carol ann, was born, the fbi finally found a ridiculous excuse to bring him to trial as well for his suspected anti-american activities - the outdated mann act, otherwise known as the white slavery traffic act that prohibits interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes." aside from chaplin, chuck berry, boxer jack johnson, sociologist william i. thomas and frank lloyd wright were all persecuted under the antiquated law, which many believe the fbi used to trap people under suspicion. eugene o'neill chaplin's life changed dramatically during the trial. instead of spending his days at his studio, writing, composing and creating, or with his new bride, he was expected to show up in court every day and undergo many vicious attacks from barry's attorney and spend long evenings pouring over notes with his lawyer. it was the closest chaplin ever came to having a regular job - wearing a suit and tie and having to be at a certain place he did not want to be every day. chaplin was strong in many ways, but could also be quite fragile, especially when it came to his ego and insecurities that plagued him. it was a definite test on the new marriage, especially when oona became pregnant for the first time. chaplin faces the humiliation of being fingerprinted before his trialbarry's attorney was joseph scott - a formidable, fire-breathing lawyer who made his appearances in court something of a performance. his speeches were often loud and dramatic. he went for blood with chaplin from the start. according to the january 8th edition of time magazine, scott said of chaplin in his summation: “Charles Spencer Chaplin, defendant in the paternity suit…brought by his onetime protegee Joan Berry, was conspicuously absent from the Los Angeles courtroom when Miss Berry’s bush-browed Lawyer Joseph Scott, 77, roared his final plea to the jury. Samples: ‘This pestiferous, lecherous hound....I’m sorry he isn’t here so I could...hand it to him right on the chin....Did you ever hear the story of Svengali and Trilby? This fellow is just a little runt of a Svengali. He’s not even a monster...just a little runt...This fellow doesn’t lie like a gentleman. He lies like a cheap Cockney cad....That man goes around fornicating...with the same aplomb that the average man orders bacon and eggs for breakfast. He is a hoary headed old buzzard...with the instincts of a young bull...a master mechanic in the art of seduction....’ ” joseph scott (left) with johnny stompanato in 1949 when it came up in court that chaplin spent two hours in a room with barry and it was chaplin's claim that nothing happened, scott said, "what was he doing in there for two hours? painting her toenails red?" scott was relentless. james woods played joseph scott in chaplin, and pretty much nailed him. it was, of course, designed to make chaplin lose his cool on the stand and ruin his chances. but he managed to hold himself together. he even still managed to get the crowd in the courtroom to laugh, despite the troubles he was facing with a photographer who kept trying to catch a photo of chaplin with his glasses on. when it was all said and done, chaplin felt positive he would not be found guilty. this was the first paternity suit in history that used blood tests to determine paternity, and the test proved chaplin could not be carol ann's father. even so, the jury remained locked away for several hours, making chaplin very nervous. he felt sure they wouldn't be gone longer than the time it took to take a vote. when they finally returned to the courtroom with their verdict, chaplin was found not guilty; he had been cleared on all charges brought against him. it was a huge relief and very emotional moment for him. oona, four months pregnant by this time, was sitting alone on the lawn of their home listening to the radio when the news about the verdict was announced - and she fainted dead away. however, even though it was proven he was not the father of joan's child, the paternity suit was re-opened and chaplin ended up having to pay child support to carol ann until she was 21 years old. by that time, chaplin was fed up with the legal system and the feeling of the whole world against him and agreed. he must have been reminded of his own father, who was forced to pay child support for sydney, even though he was not biologically sydney's father. chaplin paid the support without another word. after the madness of the trial, oona told chaplin she had no desire to be an actress anymore. she realized her most important role was to be a support to chaplin and a mother to his children. young as she was, oona must have realized the need chaplin had for her, and she willingly gave up her original plans to become an actress. chaplin was relieved not to have an actress for a wife for a change. he abandoned shadow and substance altogether and was ready to put all his concentration on his next film, monsieur verdoux.
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Post by callipygias on Jul 6, 2010 18:16:49 GMT -5
Ugh. This is where it gets so very depressing. It's hard to not feel shame for this point in our history.
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 7, 2010 14:32:08 GMT -5
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=835963333293318660#this is a video called oona's veil, made in 2000, made by brian l. frye. this is how he describes putting it together - "I know of only one film-record of Oona Chaplin (nee O'Neill), this screen-test made for a film in which she was cast and never appeared, having met and married Charlie Chaplin before shooting commenced. Hers was quite possibly the briefest ever film career, but brevity is no obstacle to greatness. Some say that Chaplin himself directed her screentest; history says otherwise. To hell with history. I rephotographed the original screentest, doing 20 frame (I think) lap dissolves from one from to the next. The idea was lifted wholesale from David Rimmer, though I've never seen the film(s?) in which he did it. I was interested in the brief transition from still to motion in Chris Marker's La Jetee, and wanted to extend it somehow. Anyway, I didn't like the result, as the image shifted a lot. So I made a duplicate negative and did damage to it, to obscure the hiccups. It was exposed to chemicals, buried, and left on the fire escape for a year. What was left over I untangled, spliced together into something approaching a continuous strip of film, and had printed. The result became the master positive. The sound consists of a 78 of Whispering Hope, played at 33 rpm." i might be the only person who really digs this video. mostly, it creeps people out. but for some reason, it fascinates me. it's haunting. if the video isn't there when you click on the link, hit refresh and it should come up.
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 21, 2010 10:29:55 GMT -5
BIG NEWS FOR CHAPLIN FANS!From Slapsticon's Facebook page: In past years, the International Film Festival Slapsticon has prided itself on recovering and presenting lost comedy treasures, even discovering previously undocumented films featuring the Great Clowns of early cinema, rewriting film history books and fil...mographies. This year, at SLAPSTICON 2010, motion picture historians will be updating the filmography of the Greatest Comic of All, Charles Chaplin, as SLAPSTICON presents for the first time since it’s original release, Chaplin’s 36th Keystone short subject, a heretofore unknown appearance Chaplin made at Mack Sennett’s legendary Fun Factory in the same year and at the same studio in which he made his film debut. Chaplin had recalled in his own autobiography that apart from his starring role Keystone Comedies, he had also played bit parts as a Keystone Kop in several pictures. Despite this information, the titles of these works remained elusive for over 90 years and no film prints have surfaced -- until now. SLAPSTICON 2010 proudly presents one of those previously thought lost Keystone comedies, A THIEF CATCHER, released by the Mutual Film Corporation on February 19, 1914. The short stars Ford Sterling, Mack Swain, Edgar Kennedy, and features Chaplin making an extended and very funny cameo as a policeman. The film was shot January 5th through January 26th, 1914, making it perhaps the second or third film Chaplin made at Keystone. The short was released following Chaplin’s third starring Keystone comedy MABELS STRANGE PREDICAMENT. Its importance as an early Chaplin appearance cannot be underestimated, and definitely adds another interesting chapter to Chaplin’s early film career. The print of A THIEF CATCHER was discovered earlier this year by Film Historian / Preservationist Paul E. Gierucki, current head of restorations for CineMuseum LLC, and one of the"Godfathers" of a group of Comedy Film Historians known as the “Silent Comedy Mafia” who help to organize the yearly Slapsticon festivals. A THIEF CATCHER will be part of a Chaplin Rarities Program at SLAPSTICON 2010 showing Saturday Evening, July 17th at 8:00 pm at the Spectrum Theater in Rosslyn, Va. Also featured in the Rarities program will be a newly recovered reel of Chaplin Outtakes from his Mutual Comedies, and a sparkling print of Chaplin’s Liberty War Loan propaganda short, THE BOND (1918) featuring outtakes from that film. These remarkable comedies are just a few of the rare treasures that will be screened in the four days of SLAPSTICON 2010, which runs Thursday through Sunday, July 15-18th at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater in Arlington, VA. For more information, a complete program schedule, registration and hotel information, go to www.slapsticon.org. ^from a thief catcher - i'd like to think the guy next to chaplin is albert austin, but i'm not positive it's him
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Post by callipygias on Jul 21, 2010 20:12:24 GMT -5
Wow, a lost Keystone with Chaplin surfacing after almost a hundred years is big news for Chaplin fans! Any more Keystone-related big news for Chaplin fans?...
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Post by solgroupie on Jul 21, 2010 20:37:06 GMT -5
why, yes!
i just found out today from silentcomedians.com that they have FINALLY set a release date for the restored keystones! october 26th. i have been waiting for this for six years - many others have been waiting much longer. i can't WAIT.
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Post by solgroupie on Aug 6, 2010 15:04:38 GMT -5
the making of monsieur verdouxas i have already said, chaplin was nothing if he was not an optimist. in his autobiography, he said, although i had gone through periodic qualms about my career, i never faltered in my belief that a good comedy would solve all my troubles. though the shooting of monsieur verdoux only took twelve weeks, it took chaplin two years to complete the script for his first and only black comedy. for years - if not decades, chaplin had been accused of being old fashioned. this applied to both his technique in movie making, but many yearned to see chaplin do something else besides the tramp. this was his first comedy where there would be no trace of his derby hatted, baggy pantsed counterpart. it wasn't like anything he had ever made before. it was almost like - okay, you want something different - how does this grab you? the public's affection was already wearing thin for chaplin, but instead doing something he was comfortable with, he tried something completely different. unfortunately, the timing was wrong and MV was not received well. today - well, it's a different time. i wish chaplin could have known how far ahead of his time he really was. monsieur verdoux was written while chaplin was going through one of the most difficult times of his life. some of the humor is as light and unencumbered as anything he had ever written. other times, it is dark and biting. it has some vicious social criticism in it that made some fans terminate their allegiance to chaplin forever. i love the part in charlie: the life and art of charles chaplin, when martin scorsese is discussing MV. like he did with a woman in paris, you can see that he paid very close attention to the film and was the perfect filmmaker to discuss it. but he cracks up at the end, saying " no one liked it!" chaplin had problems right from the start after completing the script. when he turned it in to the breen office, what chaplin said was a branch of the legion of decency, a "self-imposed censorship by the motion picture association," they had several problems right away. they said one of their reasons for the "unacceptability of this story" is - it lies in the fact that this is very largely a story of a type of confidence man who induces a number of women to turn over their finances to him by beguiling them into a series of mock marriages. this phase of the story has about it a distasteful flavor of illicit sex, which in our judgment is not good. chaplin had to make changes, like when one of his mock-marriage wives says to verdoux from her bedroom, " come to bed," he had to change it to " get to bed." even though it was pretty clear in her appearance and demeanor that the last thing she wanted from verdoux was sex, it had to be changed. during verdoux's first conversation with a young girl (who is resorting to prostitution to survive) he intends to test an untraceable poison on, the following lines had to be changed: "to be out on a night like this, you must be an optimist," as well as, "how long have you been at this game?" and, "an attractive girl like you would have done better." but an assistant to the breen office really came down on chaplin in person when he accused him of attacking the catholic church. in the final scene of MV, verdoux is having a conversation with a priest. chaplin was accused of being facetious when verdoux called the priest "a good man." chaplin said to the assistant, "well, isn't he a good man?" he was told you didn't call a priest "a good man," you call him " father." another line i never understood to be disrespectful was when the priest says, "may the lord have mercy on your soul," and verdoux says, "why not? after all it belongs to Him." i just can't see the problem in that. when chaplin tried to explain, the man said, "you impugn society and the whole state." eventually the film received the green light. still, the challenges mounted. while chaplin was re-editing verdoux, he received a message from a united states marshall, saying he had a summons for chaplin to appear in washington before the committee on the un-american activities. i hate to even think of those days and the suffering it caused. but shortly before he was due to appear, he received a telegram, postponing it. after getting postponed three times, chaplin sent them a telegram, saying, for your convenience i will tell you what i think you want to know. i am not a communist, neither have i ever joined any political party or organization in my life. i am what you call "a peace monger." i hope this will not offend you. so please state definitely when i am to be called to washington. yours truly, charles chaplin. he said he was surprised to receive a very courteous reply that said his appearance would not be necessary and he could consider the matter closed. after arriving in new york, chaplin read the following in the daily news - chaplin's in town for the opening of his picture. after his exploits as a "fellow-traveler," i dare him to show his face at a press conference, for i shall be there to ask him one or two embarrassing questions." what a jerk, whoever it was! but chaplin was not one to back down. he knew his reputation with the press had been tarnished over the last couple of years, but he had faith that the public still would be more interested in being entertained by his latest picture. so he held a press conference. the very first question was, "are you a communist?" then he was asked why he had never become an american citizen. and chaplin gave an awesome answer that i have seen on a tshirt: i consider myself to be a citizen of the world. then he was grilled about the money he had made in the states, how he seemed to like the communists and his friend, composer hanns eisler, who found himself on the infamous hollywood blacklist. eventually, chaplin gave up, saying he had intended the conference to be about his film, not turn into a political brawl. at the opening of monsieur verdoux, chaplin said he sensed an "uneasy atmosphere," and i am sure he was much more nervous than he usually was at his openings. among the nervous applause, he heard, for the first time in his career, hissing. he said the hissing hurt him more than all the antagonism of the press. the laughter, chaplin said, was there during the premiere of monsieur verdoux, but he said it was not the laughter of old - not the same as what he heard with the gold rush or city lights. the occasional hisses got to be too much for him, so he whispered to oona that he couldn't take and and spent the remainder of the evening in the lobby. it didn't help when a friend of chaplin's approached him after the movie ended, saying, "well, i liked it." monsieur verdoux did make money, but there was a big drop off in attendance in the theaters shortly after its release. despite everything, chaplin said he believed monsieur verdoux was the most clever and brilliant film he ever made. up next: monsieur verdoux - the story
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