The iconic combination of a butterfly moustache and a top hat always makes us think of a man walking a little funny, tumbling across crowded streets. Chaplin always had that effect on his audience, even on his 136th year birthday. Charles Charlie Chaplin was born on 16 April 1889. Chaplin’s childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent, and his mother struggled financially; he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. Overcoming the loss of his father and his mother being sent away to an asylum, Chaplin started performing from a very young age, doing musicals, comedy and drama. The artist had been born even before he knew it. Chaplin believed his first influence was his mother, who used to entertain him as a child by sitting at the window and mimicking passers-by. “It was through watching her that I learned not only how to express emotions with my hands and face, but also how to observe and study people,” said Chaplin later. Chaplin directed and acted in a total of 81 films.

The Tramp

The recognisable common man, who would face various difficulties, was recognised as the tramp. It is still the most associated part of Chaplin, bringing him a familiarity with even the most serious of people. In a scene from Modern Times, the tramp wants to desperately be arrested and jailed, because jail provides free food. So, the only logical step he can think of is going into a fancy restaurant, ordering everything on the buffet, and going up to the counter to tell the owner he has no money. The owner inevitably calls the police, and as he is waiting for the cop car, he gives out free chocolate bars to street urchins, because what’s a chocolate bar more if he is already going to jail for being poor? The kids are elated, but the shopkeeper is obviously not.

Advertisement

Charlie Chaplin discusses the Tramp character in his autobiography, describing it as a multifaceted role that could be a tramp, a gentleman, a poet, a dreamer, and a lonely fellow, always hopeful of romance and adventure. The tramp was poor in money but never hopeless, never defeated by anything thrown his way. In Gold Rush, there is a scene where the tramp and his grizzly friend are trapped in a cabin because of deadly blizzards blowing outside, and they are hungry. So much so, that the burly friend starts seeing Chaplin as a giant chicken. What ensues is a hilarious chase scene inside the cabin; it eventually ends with them eating one of Chaplin’s shoes. They boil it, plate it, and even sprinkle salt for taste. The cabin doors are directly facing each other, so they cannot be opened simultaneously, or they would fly out into the wilderness.

Most of Chaplin’s comedy was shown as accidental. It forces you to think what you would do in that scenario, what would you do if you suddenly entered a circus arena and got thrown on stage? The magician is already performing his tricks, so you suddenly appear in one of his boxes rather than the assistant whom the magician was expecting. The audience roars out in laughter, but the tramp is oblivious to what he has done. This is how The Circus shows the journey of a man suddenly performing acrobatics for the first time in his life. There are animals, birds, and the freedom to go anywhere in the world with the circus, and Chaplin shows us how the circus is a world of its own.

The talking Chaplin

Chaplin not only made his audience laugh through slapstick comedy and physical humour but also gave his audience hope. Hope in times of desolation. Reading history in classrooms can sometimes become a grim experience because of war and violence, but Chaplin provides us with slice-of-life dramas such as The Great Dictator where by accident, Hitler has an identical twin as a Jewish barber. The real madman is captured, and the simple barber is placed on the stage in place to address the nation. Chaplin delivers a powerful speech, of love, hope, and of empathy. From school kids to adults, everyone who has heard that speech is bound to think of their fellow human being a little softer, a little warmer.

Timeline for his major movies:

The Kid- 1923
A woman in Paris- 1923
Gold Rush- 1925
The Circus- 1928
City Lights- 1931
Modern Times- 1936
The Great Dictator- 1940
Monsieur Verdoux- 1947
Limelight- 1952
A King in New York- 1957
A Countess from Hong Kong- 1967