Films of Charlie Chaplin

by Gerald D. McDonald, Michael Conway, Mark Ricci

This book is a record in words and pictures of the work of one of the most famous men of the 20th century, the Little Tramp who brought the spark of genius to motion pictures and the great gift of laughter to his worldwide audience. From his debut in 1914 until publication of this book, Chaplin made eighty films. Each is separately considered here, with casts (often fuller than those previously published), credits, synopses, and quotations from reviews. Some of the reviews, written when the films were first shown, are remarkable in their perceptiveness, and others will now seem amazing because of what the critics failed to see. All of Chaplin's films are illustrated with pictures - some of which had never before been published. The many rare stills, assembled in this country and in Europe, from private collections and film archives, make a pictorial record of memorable and hilarious moments in a great career, tracing Chaplin's creative development from the pop-art simplicity of the Keystone slapstick comedies to the artistic perfections of such masterpieces as "Easy Street," "Shoulder Arms," "The Gold Rush," and "City Lights." A section called "Chapliniana" summarizes the various guest appearances Chaplin made, and tells about the strange mutations which some of his film footage underwent.

Genres: Nonfiction

223 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief guide to Chaplin’s films is somewhat dated (he was still alive when it was written), but useful nonetheless. It works as an attractive coffee-table-book, with lots of illustrations of Chaplin in his “little tramp” outfit, but also has some solid film history. It begins with two introductory essays, examining why and how Chaplin became a film icon, then gives way to the meat of the matter: a nice chronological guide to each of Chaplin’s films.

Where the datedness matters a bit is that some of the films have been rediscovered, remastered, or otherwise corrected since this book was printed. Since the video revolution, there also have just been more opportunities to see Chaplin: these writers were obviously familiar with his movies, but in some cases they may have had to work from memories of a film they saw years or decades earlier. In one case (“A Night Out”), the version they had seen reversed the reels, so the synopsis gets the sequence of events backward. In others, the only examples available had new intertitles imposed by people who thought they were funnier than the movies.

What redeems the book, however, is the inclusion of reviews from contemporary sources. Each movie has a couple of paragraphs giving the reactions of film critics at the time – from 1914 up to 1957. Some of the most interesting are the negative reviews – Sime Silverman at “Variety” hated Chaplin when he first discovered him, although he gradually warmed to his style. These reviews are not comprehensive enough for a serious researcher, however they are informative for the casual Chaplin fan or interested movie buff.

[P.J. MacNamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have, I think, SEVEN books on Chaplin. They all have their plusses and minuses. Like most of the Citadel Press books though, this one is hard to beat. If you want a no-nonsense, fact-packed retrospective of his work with some brilliant photographs, then this is just the job.

You know who I feel sorry for? The people who were still alive and making movies when this series of books ended. Woody Allen in particular. What wouldn't I give for a book this good on him. The book they did on Woody only goes up to 1990. 31 years later he's still working. This type of book has gone out of fashion now because everything is on the internet. But it's just not the same. You really know you're somebody when they're doing a book like this about you.

Actor, writer, director, producer, composer. Innovator. Rebel. Charlie Chaplin was the biggest star of the 20th Century. You owe it to yourself to find out more about him.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of a series of books from the 1960s, I believe, which have some biographical information on a famous actor followed by entries on every movie they appeared in, with plot information, photos, cast and production listings, and excerpts from contemporary reviews. Kind of like a low-tech imdb, but nice books. The reviews of the time they include are especially interesting.

[Emily Casella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad I have this full collection of Chaplin films. I was glad to see as his career went on more critical reviews came out. It was good to get a different perspective. It is a good book to have handy if I need to refresh on a particular film.