Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) was an English internationally renownedAcademy Award-winning comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who was best known for his career inHollywood motion pictures from his debut in 1914 until 1952, he however subsequently appeared in two films in his native England. During his early years in the era ofsilent film, he rose to prominence as a worldwide cinematic idol renowned for histramp persona. In the 1910s and 1920s, he was considered the most famous person on the planet.[1]
Chaplin was born in Walworth, South London, and began acting on stage at the age of five when his mother's voice cracked.[2] In 1913, while on tour in the United States withFred Karno's comedy group, he accepted a contract to work forKeystone Film Company. During his time at Keystone, he began writing and directing some of the films in which he starred. Chaplin signed with theEssanay Film Manufacturing Company in 1915, and the year after with theMutual Film Corporation.
Chaplin by 1918, began producing his own films, initially releasing them throughFirst National Pictures and then throughUnited Artists, a corporation he co-founded withMary Pickford,Douglas Fairbanks, andD. W. Griffith.[3] In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Chaplin was accused of being a Communist sympathiser, which he denied.[4] He remained a British subject and, while travelling to England in 1952 to attend the premiere of his filmLimelight, his American re-entry permit was rescinded.[5] Chaplin eventually settled inSwitzerland, where he remained for the rest of his life. He made his last two films in England.
During his lifetime, Chaplin received three awards from theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. At the firstAcademy Awards ceremony, held on 16 May 1929, he was originally nominated for Best Actor and Best Director forThe Circus (1928). The Academy dropped his two nominations, and he won anhonorary award for writing, directing, producing, and acting.[6][7] In 1972, he returned to the United States after nearly two decades to receive another honorary award, this time for his overall achievements in cinema. The following year, Chaplin's score forLimelight received theAcademy Award for Best Music. Although 20 years old by this time,Limelight had not been released in the Los Angeles area until 1972, and had not been eligible for Academy Award consideration before then.[7] Chaplin also received Academy Award nominations in 1940 forBest Actor andBest Original Screenplay forThe Great Dictator. In 1942, Chaplin released a new version ofThe Gold Rush, taking the original silent 1925 film and composing and recording a musical score.The Gold Rush was nominated for Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture). Notwithstanding the belated nomination forLimelight, his final contemporary nomination was in 1947 for his screenplay ofMonsieur Verdoux.[7]
For his work in motion pictures, Chaplin has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame and theAmerican Film Institute has listed him among the best actors of theClassical Hollywood cinema era[8]
Seven of the films in which Chaplin starred have been added to theLibrary of CongressNational Film Registry:Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914),The Immigrant (1917),The Kid (1921),The Gold Rush (1925),City Lights (1931),Modern Times (1936) andThe Great Dictator (1940). Also selected wasShow People (1928), which featured Chaplin in acameo.[9]
In 1964, Chaplin established his officialfilmography with the publication of his book,My Autobiography. The filmography consisted of 80 motion pictures released since 1914. Further detail was added byDavid Robinson's 1985 biography,Chaplin: His Life and Art, which included Chaplin's last film,A Countess from Hong Kong (1967), as the 81st entry. In 2010 the 82nd film was added with the discovery ofA Thief Catcher, an early Keystone film hitherto thought lost, with Chaplin's involvement previously unconfirmed.[10]
All of Chaplin's films up to and includingThe Circus (1928) weresilent, although many were re-issued with soundtracks.City Lights (1931) andModern Times (1936) were essentially silent films, although they were made with soundtracks consisting of music and sound effects; the latter film also included talking sequences. All of Chaplin's last five films were talking pictures. Aside fromA Countess From Hong Kong, all of Chaplin's films were photographed in 35mmblack-and-white.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Chaplin's film canon substantially survives, with only a handful of his films considered lost (one,A Woman of the Sea, due to Chaplin's own actions).
Except where otherwise referenced, the release dates, character names, and annotations presented here are derived from Chaplin's autobiography, Robinson's book, andThe Films of Charlie Chaplin (1965) by Gerald D. McDonald, Michael Conway, and Mark Ricci.
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Chaplin appeared in 36 films forKeystone Studios, all produced byMack Sennett. Except where noted, all films were onereel in length.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 2 February 1914 | Making a Living | Swindler | |||||
| 7 February 1914 | Kid Auto Races at Venice | Tramp | Released on a split-reel (i.e. two films on one reel) with an education film,Olives and Trees. First released appearance of the Tramp, but see below. Added to theNational Film Registry in 2020. | ||||
| 9 February 1914 | Mabel's Strange Predicament | Tramp | Filmed before but released afterKid Auto Races at Venice, hence it was in this film that the Tramp costume was first used.[11] | ||||
| 19 February 1914 | A Thief Catcher | A Policeman | Print discovered in 2010.[10] | ||||
| 28 February 1914 | Between Showers | Masher (The Tramp) | |||||
| 2 March 1914 | A Film Johnnie | The Film Johnnie (The Tramp) | |||||
| 9 March 1914 | Tango Tangles | Tipsy Dancer | |||||
| 16 March 1914 | His Favorite Pastime | Drinker (The Tramp) | |||||
| 26 March 1914 | Cruel, Cruel Love | Lord Helpus | |||||
| 4 April 1914 | The Star Boarder | The Star boarder (The Tramp) | |||||
| 18 April 1914 | Mabel at the Wheel | Villain | Two reels | ||||
| 20 April 1914 | Twenty Minutes of Love | Yes | Yes | Pickpocket (The Tramp) | |||
| 27 April 1914 | Caught in a Cabaret | Waiter (The Tramp) | Two reels. Co-writer:Mabel Normand | ||||
| 4 May 1914 | Caught in the Rain | Yes | Yes | Tipsy Hotel Guest (The Tramp) | |||
| 7 May 1914 | A Busy Day | Yes | Yes | Wife | Released on a split-reel with an educational short,The Morning Papers. | ||
| 1 June 1914 | The Fatal Mallet | Suitor (The Tramp) | |||||
| 4 June 1914 | Her Friend the Bandit | Yes | Yes | Bandit | Lost film. Co-director: Mabel Normand.[12] | ||
| 11 June 1914 | The Knockout | Referee (Considered by some to beThe Tramp) | Two reels | ||||
| 13 June 1914 | Mabel's Busy Day | Tipsy Nuisance | |||||
| 20 June 1914 | Mabel's Married Life | Yes | Yes | Mabel's Husband (The Tramp) | Co-writer: Mabel Normand | ||
| 9 July 1914 | Laughing Gas | Yes | Yes | Dentist's Assistant (The Tramp) | |||
| 1 August 1914 | The Property Man | Yes | Yes | The Property Man (The Tramp) | Two reels | ||
| 10 August 1914 | The Face on the Barroom Floor | Yes | Yes | Artist (The Tramp) | Based on thepoem by Hugh Antoine d'Arcy. | ||
| 13 August 1914 | Recreation | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Released as a split-reel with a travel short,The Yosemite. | ||
| 27 August 1914 | The Masquerader | Yes | Yes | Film Actor (The Tramp) | |||
| 31 August 1914 | His New Profession | Yes | Yes | Charlie (The Tramp) | |||
| 7 September 1914 | The Rounders | Yes | Yes | Reveller | Co-starringRoscoe Arbuckle | ||
| 24 September 1914 | The New Janitor | Yes | Yes | Janitor (The Tramp) | |||
| 10 October 1914 | Those Love Pangs | Yes | Yes | Masher (The Tramp) | |||
| 26 October 1914 | Dough and Dynamite | Yes | Yes | Waiter (The Tramp) | Two reels. Co-writer:Mack Sennett | ||
| 29 October 1914 | Gentlemen of Nerve | Yes | Yes | Impecunious Track Enthusiast (The Tramp) | |||
| 7 November 1914 | His Musical Career | Yes | Yes | Piano Mover (The Tramp) | |||
| 9 November 1914 | His Trysting Place | Yes | Yes | Husband (The Tramp) | Two reels | ||
| 5 December 1914 | Getting Acquainted | Yes | Yes | Spouse (The Tramp) | |||
| 7 December 1914 | His Prehistoric Past | Yes | Yes | Weakchin (The Tramp) | Two reels | ||
| 21 December 1914 | Tillie's Punctured Romance | Charlie, a City Slicker | Six reels. From the play,Tillie's Nightmare, by A. Baldwin Sloane andEdgar Smith. | ||||
Chaplin wrote, directed, and starred in 15 films for theEssanay Film Manufacturing Company, all produced by Jesse T. Robbins. Except where noted all films aretwo-reelers.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 1 February 1915 | His New Job | Yes | Yes | Film Extra (The Tramp) | |||
| 15 February 1915 | A Night Out | Yes | Yes | Reveller (The Tramp) | Debut ofEdna Purviance | ||
| 11 March 1915 | The Champion | Yes | Yes | Aspiring Pugilist (The Tramp) | |||
| 18 March 1915 | In the Park | Yes | Yes | Charlie (The Tramp) | One reel | ||
| 1 April 1915 | A Jitney Elopement | Yes | Yes | Suitor, the Fake Count (The Tramp) | |||
| 11 April 1915 | The Tramp | Yes | Yes | The Tramp | |||
| 29 April 1915 | By the Sea | Yes | Yes | Stroller (The Tramp) | One reel | ||
| 21 June 1915 | Work | Yes | Yes | Decorator's Apprentice (The Tramp) | |||
| 12 July 1915 | A Woman | Yes | Yes | Charlie / "The Woman" (The Tramp) | |||
| 9 August 1915 | The Bank | Yes | Yes | Janitor (The Tramp) | |||
| 4 October 1915 | Shanghaied | Yes | Yes | Charlie (The Tramp) | |||
| 20 November 1915 | A Night in the Show | Yes | Yes | Mr. Pest and Mr. Rowdy | |||
| 18 December 1915 | A Burlesque on Carmen | Yes | Yes | Darn Hosiery | Re-issued on 22 April 1916, as an unauthorised four-reeler with new footage shot and assembled byLeo White. | ||
| 27 May 1916 | Police | Yes | Yes | Ex-Convict (The Tramp) | |||
| 11 August 1918 | Triple Trouble | Yes | Yes | Janitor (The Tramp) | Compilation assembled byLeo White with scenes fromPolice and an unfinished short,Life, along with new material shot by White. Chaplin includes this production in the filmography ofhis autobiography. | ||
Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 12 films for theMutual Film Corporation, which formed Lone Star Studios solely for Chaplin's films. All of the Mutual releases aretwo reels in length. In 1932,Amadee J. Van Beuren ofVan Beuren Studios purchased Chaplin's Mutual comedies for $10,000 each, added music byGene Rodemich andWinston Sharples and sound effects, and re-released them throughRKO Radio Pictures.[13]
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 15 May 1916 | The Floorwalker | Yes | Yes | Yes | Impecunious Customer (The Tramp) | Co-writer:Vincent Bryan | |
| 12 June 1916 | The Fireman | Yes | Yes | Yes | Fireman (The Tramp) | Co-writer: Vincent Bryan | |
| 10 July 1916 | The Vagabond | Yes | Yes | Yes | Street Musician (The Tramp) | Co-writer: Vincent Bryan | |
| 7 August 1916 | One A.M. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drunk | ||
| 4 September 1916 | The Count | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tailor's Apprentice (The Tramp) | ||
| 2 October 1916 | The Pawnshop | Yes | Yes | Yes | Pawnbroker's Assistant (The Tramp) | ||
| 13 November 1916 | Behind the Screen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Property Man's Assistant (The Tramp) | ||
| 4 December 1916 | The Rink | Yes | Yes | Yes | Waiter and Skating Enthusiast (The Tramp) | ||
| 22 January 1917 | Easy Street | Yes | Yes | Yes | Vagabond recruited to Police Force (The Tramp) | ||
| 16 April 1917 | The Cure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Alcoholic Gentleman at Spa (Considered by some to beThe Tramp) | ||
| 17 June 1917 | The Immigrant | Yes | Yes | Yes | Immigrant (The Tramp) | Added to theNational Film Registry in 1998.[14] | |
| 22 October 1917 | The Adventurer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Escaped Convict (The Tramp) | ||
Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, and starred in 9 films for his own production company between 1918 and 1923. These films were distributed byFirst National.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 14 April 1918 | A Dog's Life | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Three reels. Score composed for compilation,The Chaplin Revue |
| 29 September 1918 | The Bond | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Half-reel. Co stars brotherSydney Chaplin | |
| 20 October 1918 | Shoulder Arms | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Recruit (The Tramp) | Three reels. Score composed for compilation,The Chaplin Revue. |
| 15 May 1919 | Sunnyside | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Farm Handyman (The Tramp) | Three reels. Score composed for 1974 re-release. |
| 15 December 1919 | A Day's Pleasure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Father (The Tramp) | Two reels. First film with Jackie Coogan, future star ofThe Kid. Score composed for 1973 re-release. |
| 6 February 1921 | The Kid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Six reels. Score composed for 1971 re-release. Added to theNational Film Registry in 2011.[15] |
| 25 September 1921 | The Idle Class | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp / Husband | Two reels. Score composed for 1971 re-release. |
| 2 April 1922 | Pay Day | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Laborer (The Tramp) | Two reels. Score composed for 1972 re-release. Chaplin's final short (of less than 30 minutes running time). |
| 26 February 1923 | The Pilgrim | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Escaped Convict (Considered by some to beThe Tramp) | Four reels. Score composed for compilation,The Chaplin Revue. |
Chaplin began releasing his films throughUnited Artists in 1923. From this point on all of his films were of feature length. He produced, directed, and wrote these eight films and starred in all but the first. Beginning withCity Lights Chaplin wrote the musical scores for his films as well.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 26 September 1923 | A Woman of Paris | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Porter | Chaplin has a smallcameo role. Score composed for 1976 re-issue. |
| 26 June 1925 | The Gold Rush | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lone Prospector (The Tramp) | Score composed for 1942 re-issue. Added to theNational Film Registry in 1992.[16] |
| 6 January 1928 | The Circus | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Score composed for 1970 re-issue. The Academy Film Archive preservedThe Circus in 2002.[17] |
| 30 January 1931 | City Lights | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Added to the National Film Registry in 1991.[18] |
| 5 February 1936 | Modern Times | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | A factory worker (The Tramp) | Added to the National Film Registry in 1989.[19] |
| 15 October 1940 | The Great Dictator | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Adenoid Hynkel / The Barber (Considered by some to beThe Tramp) | Added to the National Film Registry in 1997.[20] Nominated forAcademy Award for Best Actor,Best Picture andBest Writing.[7] |
| 11 April 1947 | Monsieur Verdoux | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Monsieur Henri Verdoux | Based on an idea byOrson Welles.[21] Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay).[7] |
| 16 October 1952 | Limelight | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Calvero | Pulled from American screens shortly after its release when Chaplin became a political exile from the United States.[22]Academy Award for Best Music (Scoring). (Awarded in 1973 when the film became first eligible for Academy Award consideration via Los Angeles screenings.)[7] |
In 1952, while travelling to England to attend the première of his film,Limelight, Chaplin learned that his American re-entry permit was rescinded. As a result, his last two films were made in England.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 12 September 1957 | A King in New York | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | King Shahdov | Last starring role. An Attica-Archway production Not released in the United States until 1972. |
| 5 January 1967 | A Countess from Hong Kong | Yes | Yes | Yes | An Old Steward | AUniversal Production inPanavision andTechnicolor. Produced byJerome Epstein. Chaplin has a small cameo role. | |
In addition to his official 82 films, Chaplin has several unfinished productions in his body of work. He made several cameo appearances as himself and was featured in several compilation films.
| Year(s) | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 1915–1916 | Life | Yes | Yes | Yes | Uncompleted, although parts were used inThe Essanay-Chaplin Revue (see below). | ||
| 1918 | How to Make Movies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Himself | Never assembled, although parts were used inThe Chaplin Revue (see below). Reconstructed in 1981 byKevin Brownlow andDavid Gill.[23] | |
| (untitled film) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Himself | A charity film co-starringHarry Lauder. | ||
| 1919 | The Professor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Professor Bosco | Slated as a two-reeler, but never issued. | |
| c.1922 | Nice and Friendly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp | Improvised sketch. | |
| 1926 | A Woman of the Sea | Yes | Completed but never released. Chaplin had the negative burned on 24 June 1933, making it lost. | ||||
| 1933 | All at Sea | Himself | An 11-minute home film shot byAlistair Cooke onboard Chaplin's boat,Panacea, and featuring Cooke with Chaplin andPaulette Goddard.[24] | ||||
| 1966–1975 | The Freak | Yes | A production planned for Chaplin's daughter,Victoria. | ||||
Many Chaplin-unauthorized compilations of his Keystone, Essanay and Mutual films were released in the years following his departure from those companies. This is not an exhaustive list but does contain the most notable and widely released examples. Eventually Chaplin re-edited and scored his First National shorts for reissue in 1959 and 1975.
| Release date | Title | Credited as | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composer | Producer | Writer | Director | Role | |||
| 31 March 1915 | Introducing Charlie Chaplin | Promo film intended for exhibitors to show as a prologue to Chaplin films. | |||||
| 23 September 1916 | The Essanay-Chaplin Revue | Yes | Yes | Ex-convict | Compiled byLeo White from portions ofPolice andLife with new material directed by White. | ||
| 1916 | Zepped | A 7-minute reel of thisWWI propaganda short, was discovered in 2009,[25] with a second in 2011.[26] The first copy was bought on eBay and later put up for auction, but the only bid failed to reach thereserve price.[27] | |||||
| May 1918 | Chase Me Charlie | Yes | Yes | A seven-reel montage of Essanay films, edited by Langford Reed. Released in England. | |||
| Circa 1920 | Charlie Butts In | Yes | Yes | Essentially a one-reel version of the second Essanay short,A Night Out, incorporating alternate takes and footage of Chaplin conducting a band at Mer Island. | |||
| 1938 | The Charlie Chaplin Carnival | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Property Man's Assistant / Tailor's Apprentice / Fireman / Street Musician | Compiled fromBehind the Screen,The Count,The Fireman, andThe Vagabond, with additional music and added sound effects. |
| 1938 | The Charlie Chaplin Calvacade | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Drunk / Waiter and Skating Enthusiast / Pawnbroker's Assistant / Impecunious Customer | Compiled fromOne A.M.,The Rink,The Pawnshop, andThe Floorwalker, with additional music and added sound effects. |
| 1938 | The Charlie Chaplin Festival | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Immigrant / The Derelict / The Inebriate / The Convict | Compiled fromThe Adventurer,The Cure,Easy Street andThe Immigrant, with additional music and added sound effects. |
| 25 September 1959 | The Chaplin Revue | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Tramp / Recruit / Escaped Convict / Himself | Compiled fromA Dog's Life,Shoulder Arms,The Pilgrim, andHow to Make Movies. |
| 1975 | The Gentleman Tramp | A compilation documentary featuring new scenes of Chaplin at his home inSwitzerland. | |||||
In addition to his own productions ofA Woman of Paris (1923) andA Countess from Hong Kong (1967), Chaplin made cameo appearances as himself in the following films:
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1915 | His Regeneration | Charles Chaplin – Customer (uncredited) |
| 1923 | Souls for Sale | Shown on the set ofA Woman of Paris. |
| Hollywood | Lost film.[28] | |
| 1928 | Show People | Added to theNational Film Registry in 2003.[29] |