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The Search for Charlie Chaplin
In the world of film collecting, the claim "find of the century" may sound an unpardonable exaggeration. But what discovery can equal it? Collectors had hailed the discovery of the occasional lost Keystone comedy in which Chaplin played, but nobody had the slightest idea that somewhere in England, somewhere in France, and somewhere in the United States lay three separate treasure troves of silent film which would, for the first time, reveal the working methods of the greatest single figure of the cinema. It was a treasure hunt involving innocence and guile, accident and coincidence. A treasure hunt which took us to Switzerland, France and the United States. The treasure, when it was uncovered, revealed information as precious as the film itself. From the material, we compiled a television series called Unknown Chaplin, three hour-long documentaries produced for Thames Television. Apart from the experience of making the series, we learned so much about Chaplin we could not squeeze into the commentary we decided to preserve it in the form of a book.
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
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About the author
Kevin Brownlow
44 books55 followersKevin Brownlow, is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent documenting and restoring film. He has rescued many silent films and their history. His initiative in interviewing many largely forgotten, elderly film pioneers in the 1960s and 1970s preserved a legacy of cinema. Brownlow received an Academy Honorary Award at the 2nd Annual Governors Awards given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on November 13, 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 1, 2020
Per this book, American Masters "Unknown Chaplin" (Gill & Brownlow) was first televised in the US in 1986. I remember watching it totally enthralled. Since then I have tried to get my hands on every Chaplin short and feature available. It was an amazing program.
This book, written by Kevin Brownlow, including excerpts of interviews with many of the major players Chaplin worked with still alive, was a joy to read!
p. 15 "We entered the second vault. The same system, the stencilled labels, the gleaming cans. But suddenly my eyes fell on an unfamiliar title. 'What was The Professor?' I asked. 'Oh, that was a fun film,' she said dismissively. 'You can have that, but it isn't funny. It was made in the studio, just for fun, and I saw it and it isn't very good. I asked Charlie about it and he said, 'Oh that means nothing. ' ...
...Both David (Gill) and I (Brownlow) were stunned. You mean there are films here that were never released?' 'Oh yes,' said Miss (Rachel) Ford as if it were the most natural thing in the world."
Very understated British reaction to such an important find - no italics, no capitalization, no emphasis of any kind.
Find of the (previous) century? Take a look at the wikipedia list of discovered films previously thought lost films and you be the judge. If not the find of the century, pretty high up there.
This book, written by Kevin Brownlow, including excerpts of interviews with many of the major players Chaplin worked with still alive, was a joy to read!
p. 15 "We entered the second vault. The same system, the stencilled labels, the gleaming cans. But suddenly my eyes fell on an unfamiliar title. 'What was The Professor?' I asked. 'Oh, that was a fun film,' she said dismissively. 'You can have that, but it isn't funny. It was made in the studio, just for fun, and I saw it and it isn't very good. I asked Charlie about it and he said, 'Oh that means nothing. ' ...
...Both David (Gill) and I (Brownlow) were stunned. You mean there are films here that were never released?' 'Oh yes,' said Miss (Rachel) Ford as if it were the most natural thing in the world."
Very understated British reaction to such an important find - no italics, no capitalization, no emphasis of any kind.
Find of the (previous) century? Take a look at the wikipedia list of discovered films previously thought lost films and you be the judge. If not the find of the century, pretty high up there.
December 30, 2014
Kevin Brownlow's The Parade's Gone By..., The War, the West, and the Wilderness and Behind the Mask of Innocence are among the finest books ever written about the silent film. Their serious and detailed scholarship is neither dull nor drowned in theory: their author's genuine affection for the pictures and the people behind them shines through on every page.
As a slim volume in limited release from a minor publisher, The Search for Charlie Chaplin will never attain the same critical reputation as the trilogy. Even so, the labor that went into it was clearly just as great. It describes the late 1970s efforts of Brownlow and fellow historian David Gill to produce a documentary on the work habits of comic actor/director Charlie Chaplin. It was a subject the pair thought they knew well, and many of the men and women who had worked with Chaplin were still alive to tell their stories first-hand. But instead of straightforward editing together of existing film clips with brilliant new interviews, Brownlow and Gill found themselves faced with reclusive or money-hungry subjects, media strikes, massive egos, copyright battles dating back decades--and the tantalizing prospect of a secret archive of Chaplin outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage. Brownlow interweaves the filmmakers' growing anxiety and desperation with the joys of discovery as they learned little by little of the method behind "the Little Tramp's" working madness.
That the Unseen Chaplin documentary was eventually produced does not take away from the tension of the author's narrative. It is a fascinating account, beautifully told, and interleaved with transcriptions of interviews with Chaplin's actors, technicians, and friends. Any fan of early Hollywood, jigsaw puzzles, or slowly developing mystery stories will find The Search for Charlie Chaplin an utter delight.
As a slim volume in limited release from a minor publisher, The Search for Charlie Chaplin will never attain the same critical reputation as the trilogy. Even so, the labor that went into it was clearly just as great. It describes the late 1970s efforts of Brownlow and fellow historian David Gill to produce a documentary on the work habits of comic actor/director Charlie Chaplin. It was a subject the pair thought they knew well, and many of the men and women who had worked with Chaplin were still alive to tell their stories first-hand. But instead of straightforward editing together of existing film clips with brilliant new interviews, Brownlow and Gill found themselves faced with reclusive or money-hungry subjects, media strikes, massive egos, copyright battles dating back decades--and the tantalizing prospect of a secret archive of Chaplin outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage. Brownlow interweaves the filmmakers' growing anxiety and desperation with the joys of discovery as they learned little by little of the method behind "the Little Tramp's" working madness.
That the Unseen Chaplin documentary was eventually produced does not take away from the tension of the author's narrative. It is a fascinating account, beautifully told, and interleaved with transcriptions of interviews with Chaplin's actors, technicians, and friends. Any fan of early Hollywood, jigsaw puzzles, or slowly developing mystery stories will find The Search for Charlie Chaplin an utter delight.
July 9, 2023
Wonderful!
Remarkable companion to Unknown Chaplin. It does something unique and marvelous in that you feel lime you know Chaplin
And have an understanding of his work and like.
Remarkable companion to Unknown Chaplin. It does something unique and marvelous in that you feel lime you know Chaplin
And have an understanding of his work and like.
March 3, 2024
Truly dull for anyone who isn't a mad fan of Charlie Chaplin...
October 29, 2012
Brownlow describes the making of his great documentary "The Unknown Chaplin" which came out in the early 80s. Apparently companion volumes to the Keaton and Lloyd docs are planned as well.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews