Limelight and The Circus Triumph

Speaking of analysis George Shelps, last night the LACMA crowd went wild for THE CIRCUS. I Hadn't seen it for a long time. There is a scene where Chaplin, after entertaining in the big top, walks off and lays down in a cart almost in a fetal position with a scowl as if he's saying 'leave me alone now I've done my duty.' It is just a brief and rare unguarded glimpse of Chaplin himself. And certainly a portent of things to come.

LIMELIGHT on the other hand is an extended glimpse of Chaplin that becomes a narrative autobiography on film. There is a moment in LIMELIGHT after Clare Bloom dances and the theatrical entourage leaves. Chaplin is sitting in a corner and we have a close-up of his face as the lights are put out one by one leaving him in the darkness. How powerfully he conveys the message of becoming an anachronism. We weren't particularly kind to silent stars in this period. They were regarded as Wilder says in Sunset Boulevard as 'wax works.'

Throughout the film Chaplin has a way of looking at himself from the outside with an intense objectivity and humor and doesn't mind letting the audience in on the joke. When a theatrical agent asks Calvero why he likes working the streets as an entertainer, Chaplin smiles and says, 'It's the tramp in me.' The audience loved it last night.

This film IS Chaplin. Perhaps there are those that would say this is indulging ego. It's indulging genius. Today, I wish there were more genius's to indulge instead of the hyperbole of egos. LIMELIGHT gives us more of a look into the Chaplin persona than any autobiography or documentary will ever do.

Margarita P.S. I had an eight year old next to me during the Mutual shorts and I though he'd split a gut laughing. How gratifying for CC.

<snip>

The first time I saw _Limelight_ (last summer) that particular line nailed me

And guess which scene got the biggest and longest laughs!!! The HOT DOG stealing/eating scene!!!!! Sorry to bring it back up - but the crowd went wild!!!!! I'm glad it was a silent picture or we would've lost a lot of diaolog recovering from the gag........Like we did during Limelight.....when Terry says, 'To hear you talk, it's hard to beleive you're a comedian'....Calvero,'Yeah, I'm beginning to realize that.' Truly a well written script!!

Lori

Analysis, shmanalysis... ....THAT is what it is all about, ladies and gentlemen

Maybe so, maybe so ... but *why* did this eight year old almost split a gut laughing during the Mutuals?