The Gold Rush

Dir: Charlie Chaplin

1925

*****

Famous for being the film that Charlie Chaplin himself said he most wanted o be remembered for, The Gold Rush signified the beginning of a new high for the director/performer. It was the second of Chaplin's big feature-length films with United Artists and is full of classic scenes. There are two different versions of the film; the silent 1925 original and a re-released version that was shorter and had added music and narration by Chaplin himself. The shorter run time is mainly due to tighter editing but Chaplin also cut many of the romantic scenes between himself and Georgia Hale, the most significant being a long kiss they shared in the final scene. Chaplin's marriage collapsed during the filming of The Gold Rush and he and Hale embarked on a secret relationship. By 1945 Chaplin was married to his fourth and final wife and he didn't want any other declarations of real love to exist on film, particularly in the film he was fondest of. So much of The Gold Rush can be seen in films that have been made since in a cross-section of genres. The cabin on the edge of a cliff is the inspiration behind countless cartoons for starters, I'm not sure the great Hanna-Barbera studios would have even existed without it. Probably the famous and popular scene from the film is Chaplin's little 'Roll dance' whereby the little tramp entertains his dining guests by sticking two forks into two rolls and makes them dance like they are little legs. At the time, audiences around the world laughed so hard that many cinemas would repeat the scene again and again at the viewer's request. Personally it's not my favourite Chaplin movie. I like his more simplistic films, I felt that The Gold Rush had too many plots and an unnecessary romance. I've always favoured The Great Dictator and Modern Times over The Gold Rush but its key scenes do make is an enjoyable classic I'll never tire of watching. Credit is due also to Mack Swain and Tom Murray who are both awesome, it really is their film as much as it is Chaplin's. Genius slap-stick with a bigger budget, an absolute classic and probably one of the most influential comedies of all time.

The Great Dictator

Dir: Charlie Chaplin

1940

*****

The Great Dictator is one of the greatest films ever made. I know Chaplin said that it was The Gold Rush that he would most like to be remembered for (give me Modern Times over Gold Rush every day of the week) but for me, this is him at his very best. While he represented many a character, it is here where he portrays both Adolf Hitler and a persecuted Jew that he makes is biggest statement. He got so much of what was happening in politics and in society right, it is almost eerie watching it now. It should be remembered that America was still at peace with Germany at the time and Chaplin knew nothing of the horrors of the concentration camps, indeed, he stated in an interview in the 1960s that had have known, he probably wouldn't have made the film. It's amazing to see such slap-stick intertwined with such sharply understood satire. It is without doubt, the greatest satire of all time, especially considering when it was made. Chaplin's playful explanation of fascism and dictatorship that sees his version of Hitler bouncing a globe around his office is one of the greatest scenes of all time. To be fair, it is a film of great scenes, each memorable, subtle but as sharp as a knife, and of course hilarious. The greatest moment however is not for laughs. It's amazing that one of the funniest films ever made ends on such a beautiful, poignant and inspirational note as Chaplin delivers what is one of the greatest speeches ever written;

I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black men, white.... We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls; has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have bought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man; cries out for universal brotherhood; for the unity of us all.

Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say "Do not despair".

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you; who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, and use you as cannon fodder!

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men-machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have a love of humanity in your hearts! You don't hate! Only the unloved hate; the unloved and the unnatural.

Soldiers, don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!

In the seventeenth chapter of St. Luke it is written "the kingdom of god is within man", not one man or a group of men but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy, let us use that power.

Let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work that will unite youth future and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do no fulfil their promise. They never will!

Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world! To do away with national barriers! To do away with greed, with hate and intolerance! Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

A lesson from the past, written during desperate times that will always have relevance. Not something that most films can boast. The word masterpiece doesn’t really give it enough credit.

Modern Times
Dir: Charlie Chaplin
1936
*****
I recently rented the new BluRay release of Modern Times, "What's the point of that?" my Wife asked. I saw her point, a BluRay of an old silent black & white does seem like overkill but then we were both in awe of how beautifully well done the recent restoration has been produced. I remember watching it as a child but not well enough to write a review - now re-watching it I was taken back and taken aback, it really is something special. You don't need me to tell you who or how important Charlie Chaplin is but the cliched tags of 'Timeless classic' and 'Just as relevant today' are quite apt. In short, it's brilliant and funny and pretty unbeatable.

Monsieur Verdoux
Dir: Charles Chaplin
1947
*****
Monsieur Verdoux I suppose was a risk for Chaplin back in 1947, unfortunately it didn't pay off for him at the time as the mainstream audiences wanted only 'The Tramp' from him which was very unfair. It seems some people still don't appreciate it today which I don't quite understand. The British were making black comedies to great success at the time, I guess the American audiences just weren't ready for it and refused to let Chaplin move on from silent film into 'Talkies'. Personally I thought it was brilliant. It was a dark comedy, which I like, and it is very funny. People are wrong to say the 'Talkies' ruined Chaplin's career. He was more than capable in a talking role, in fact he excelled! As always, ahead of his time and a victim of his own success.