Introduction to this website

If you've stumbled onto this website, you don't need me to tell you that Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977) is one of the all-time comedy greats in the history of cinema. So this intro is going to cover only the basics. If you need a thorough history, look up Chaplin at any library, or "Google" his name on the Internet, and you'll have no problem finding information about him.

This site's reason for being. I am a Florida free-lance movie reviewer, with an inclination towards the comedy "classics." I wish I could make the lofty claim that I came upon Chaplin's work while working on a master's in film at USC or something like that. Truth is, I was ten years old when I first saw some of Chaplin's silent shorts at Shakey's Pizza. From those humble origins came my lifelong admiration for Chaplin's immortal Tramp character and his seemingly endless sense of invention and innovation for gags and storylines. I pity those who find silent films unbearable; the secrets of a long-ago language can hold many pleasant surprises.

Chaplin's growth. It's long been held as a truth that Chaplin started out making gags for gags' sake and then gradually developed into a full-fledged filmmaker, fleshing out plausible storylines and meshing comedy and drama when critics said it couldn't be done. All of Chaplin's "periods," from his time at Keystone, to Essanay and Mutual and First National and United Artists, are worth watching. But if at all possible, watch Chaplin's work in chronological order, and you will indeed be surprised and gratified to view a movie artist's growth before your eyes. (The most convincing evidence that Chaplin and his on-screen character evolved and refined themselves is that the Charlie of, say, 1925 probably wouldn't have wanted a thing to do with the Charlie of 1914.)

Do I criticize Chaplin? Do I! As much as I adore Chaplin's work, not everything he did met his own high standard. I recommend that you watch any Chaplin you can get your hands on and draw your own conclusions, but see if eventually you don't agree with me. Some of my reviews might seem overly critical, but I think it does Chaplin a disservice to laud his weaker movies as much as his good ones. In his book Adventures in the Screen Trade, screenwriter William Goldman lambastes auteur theorists who believe that "any Chaplin film, even s**t Chaplin, is terrific. (I wish them all a very long life on a desert island with nothing but A Countess from Hong Kong for company.)"

My extremely selective bibliography. For me to name every Chaplin biography worthy of your time, I'd have to create a second Chaplin website. So let me recommend just two such books – not necessarily the all-time greatest, but certainly a good start to your Chaplin journey. Jeffrey Vance's Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema (Harry N. Abrams Inc., 2003) is a lavish coffee-table book that succinctly covers the highlights of Chaplin's movies and personal life, with a staggering and beautiful array of black-and-white photos as illustration. And Walter Kerr's The Silent Clowns (Alfred A. Knopf, 1975) is not devoted exclusively to Chaplin but covers his silent-film work (and that of several of Chaplin's contemporaries) exhaustively and most thoughtfully.

Chaplin vs. Keaton - Who cares?? Ever since I was a kid, I have been listening to the ridiculous debate about Charlie Chaplin versus Buster Keaton - which comic is funnier, less sentimental, more artistic, etc. - as though great movie comics are so plentiful that we must compare apples to oranges. For the final word on this subject, I have two quotes: One from Kerr's The Silent Clowns, the second a seemingly irrelevant quote about a completely different subject by Susan Sontag. (However, in Sontag's case, replace "The Doors and Dostoyevsky" with "Keaton and Chaplin," and you'll see what I mean.)

* "...[Keaton] has been hailed, here and there, not only as Chaplin's equal but as Chaplin's superior. This, I think, is waste effort, a misreading of Keaton's very values...Let Chaplin be king, and Keaton court jester. The king effectively rules, the jester tells the truth." - Walter Kerr, 1975

* "If I had to choose between the Doors and Dostoyevsky, then - of course - I'd choose Dostoyevsky. But do I have to choose?" - Susan Sontag, 1996

I adore feedback of any kind. I once heard another old-school-style comedian, Steve Martin, say that nobody who says he's doing any art just for himself should be believed – that we're all doing it for some kind of response. I totally agree, and I would welcome your response to this or any of my other comic-tribute websites, if only to know that I'm reaching somebody out there. Please feel free to E-mail me at TheLoveNest95@gmail.com with your thoughts and comments. I hope you enjoy your visit here!

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