Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" at 80: Dreamers and Doers

This is my entry in the Classic Movie Blog Association's Politics in Film Blogathon. For more examples of how this red hot topic is handled on the silver screen, click here.

Spoiler alert: this is going to get political. Typically, I try (sometimes not always successfully) to keep politics off this site, but since politics is the topic, I'm going all in.

Did Hitler steal Chaplin's mustache?

Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" is 80 years old this month. All these years later, after all of our history that came after, it still stands as a work of passion, of vision, of courage and humanity. And as a lesson that, in so many ways, we have learned so very little while hoping for so much.

For Chaplin's first true and total sound film he made the courageous choice of skewering Hitler, the Nazis, Mussolini and fascism with his 2 greatest tools, humor and humanity. When filming began in September 1939, Hitler had invaded Poland and Great Britain had declared war. Upon the film's release in October 1940, the United States was still at peace with Nazi Germany. Then, as now, the public was sharply divided over America's position on the world stage. Chaplin came firmly down on the side of global humanity, leaving an audience whose country was on the brink of war to view the choice through a moral lens.

Trouble in the ghetto of Tomania

Have you seen this great film? You should. Really. Briefly, Chaplin plays 2 parts: that of a WWI veteran Jewish barber who, as a result of a war explosion, lost his memory, and his exact double, dictator Adenoid Hynkel, the dear Phooey of Tomania, who looks so very much like Adolph Hitler, the dear Fuhrer of Germany. (Chaplin's hilarity with Hitler would be repeated - brilliantly - decades later by Mel Brooks in "The Producers." )

Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel. The infamous swastika
is now the sign of the double cross in Tomania.

Chaplin has a lot of fun mangling and ridiculing Hynkel's henchmen. The Goebbels character, the Secretary of Propaganda, is called Garbitsch. Goring becomes Herring, and most memorable of all, Mussolini becomes Benzino Napoloni, Dictator of Bacteria, brilliantly played by Jack Oakie.

Jack Oakie as Napolini. Remind you of anyone?

The power-mad Hynkel has only one dream: to rule the world.

Conversely, the little Barber is a kind and gentle soul. Despite the persecution he and his fellow Jews suffer in the ghetto, he does get to enjoy a love affair with Hannah, his beautiful and spirited comrade in arms played by Chaplin's then-wife, Paulette Goddard.

Hannah and the Barber on the run from persecution

As the Barber, Chaplin even gets to update an old barber shop joke (deleted from the final version of his 1919 short film, "Sunnyside") with one-time Keystone co-star, Chester Conklin. Chaplin, like so many great comedians, was always ready to recycle a good joke.

The Barber is not exactly The Little Tramp, but he retains so much of him that the character becomes a gentle farewell to an iconic character. The Tramp could not really live in a world of sound, nor should he have had to live in a world of fear and hatred.

While there are many moments of humor, the actual story is quite terrifying and sadly prescient. The barber is saved from hanging and death in a concentration camp by the disgraced Commander Schultz, who, in gratitude to the Barber for saving his life so many years ago, refuses to kill him and defies Hynkel's orders. A series of events lead to the Barber having to stand in for Hynkel, who was mistaken for the Jewish Barber and hauled off to a concentration camp by the authorities (karma!). The Barber must speak to the people of Tomania, and, through he has never spoken to so many in such a public way, he finds his voice:

Chaplin added this speech* after Hitler had invaded France.

Today, we are hearing this speech more and more. It has been part of a Lavazza Coffee commercial called "Good Morning Humanity," and it has been popping up all over the internet. 

For those who always insist on getting in the pointless Keaton vs. Chaplin debate, or give the knee-jerk reaction to Chaplin of "he liked young girls," I say this to you: Chaplin was a human being, a man of flaws and foibles. But he had a gift, and, at a terrible time in human history, he chose to go all in on a message of hope and humanity and to firmly and bravely come down on the side of right. Like most artists, he was a dreamer. But, by using his voice in such a powerful way, he was also a doer.

Be a dreamer. Be a doer. Vote.

* Here is the full text of Chaplin's speech at the end of "The Great Dictator."

We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.

We want to live by each other's happiness.

Not by each other's misery.

We don't want to hate and despise one another.

 

And this world has room for everyone,

and the good Earth is rich can provide for everyone.

You have the love of humanity in your hearts.

You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful,

to make this life a wonderful adventure.

Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work -

that will give youth a future and old age a security.

Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers -

to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance.

Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

 

Let us all unite!

Then and Now: If Walls Could Talk

Have you ever walked into an old house and wondered about the stories the walls could tell if they could talk? Or imagine the tales the trees in a forest could spin we spoke their language? Or, better yet, the locations in Hollywood that were silent witnesses to genius?

In my previous post I challenged myself to keep my eye out for Chaplin sightings and...voila! John Bengston of silentlocations.com has created this amazing video of this very unassuming little Hollywood alley. Take a look: 

Not just Chaplin's "The Kid," not just Keaton's "Cops," but Lloyd's "Safety Last"! Oh, if only that little alley could talk.

And just for some added fun, imagine if the ground could tell you about this wild car chase!

Well, here's a then-and-now of almost every shot of his amazing ride:

https://silentlocations.com/2017/12/29/the-never-give-a-sucker-an-even-break-car-chase-part-1/

https://silentlocations.com/2018/01/20/the-never-give-a-sucker-an-even-break-car-chase-part-2/

Thank you, John, for this fascinating look at Hollywood history that is still there if you know where to look.

Charlie Chaplin Sightings....Will You Join Me?

 So, here's the thing. I am endlessly fascinated with and amazed by Charlie Chaplin.

For all you Buster folks, this is not a comparison. I really love Buster, too. What amazes me about Charlie (we are on a first name basis, just so you know), is how he remains relevant even 100 years after his first film.

I have been casually amazed at 1) how enduring his image is, and 2) how his face or his words or some subtle reference to him sneaks into our every day life if we pay attention. This growing awareness has been rattling around my brain for a while now (okay, for years now), but this latest commercial by, of all things, Lavazza Coffee, made me think that I had better start paying attention.

His remarkable words from 1940's "The Great Dictator" are as relevant and true as they were then, and his remarkable life and work has never faded from our collective consciousness. Ask a young person to look at his image and see if they can identify them. Chances are, they can, even if they have never seen a snipet of his films. I tried this little experiment the other day on a younger friend of mine and she answered without hesitation that it was Charlie, admitting that she had never seem a complete Chaplin film. 

So, I was thinking of embarking on a little experiment - looking for clues of Chaplin in my daily life in ways great and small. It could be a quote, an image, a subtle reference... all to remind me of the endless well of brilliance and deep feeling he had for humanity and how mysteriously prevalent he remains after so many decades. I'm starting (and hoping to maintain) a weekly journal. If you have any Charlie sightings in every day real life, please feel free to share them with my Facebook group (FlickChick's Movie Playground) and I will include them on my Sunday roundup of Chaplin sightings right here. I have a tendency to poop out on these things, so any extra nudges are always appreciated! 

Street art spied in France

And now, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for signs from the Master!

Charlie ♥s Edna

Charlie & Edna share a smooch in "Behind the Screen"

Of all the Chaplins I love, I confess to loving Keystone Chaplin (1913-1914) the least. Engaging, revolutionary, amusing – yes. Knowing what is to come, we see all of the ingredients of greatness there… all except one. This nasty, pushy, funny little Tramp has no soulfulness. He is not yet “Chaplinesque.” But soon, the Tramp would grow.

Keystone Charlie - the Tramp sans romance

When Chaplin moved from Keystone to Essanay in late 1914, he needed a new leading lady. As he would do throughout most of his career, he sought an actress with no experience, hoping to mold her into his vision of the perfect object of the Tramp’s attention. What he found was the perfect object for the Tramp’s affection.

Edna

While scouting out his muse, Chaplin met Edna Purviance in San Francisco.  Edna, 19 at the time, hailed from Lovelock, Nevada and was working as a stenographer. Legend has it that they were introduced by the owner of a café.  Edna was not a professional actress, but Charlie saw something there and, for the next 8 years and over 30 films, from Essanay to Mutual to First National, Edna Purviance became Charlie Chaplin’s exclusive leading lady and provided the missing ingredient that helped change the common comedian to a great artist. With Edna as the object of his affection, the Tramp became pathetic and sympathetic. We knew he had a heart, because it ached beautifully for the beautiful Edna.

More smooching in "The Champion"

Not surprisingly, for a time, Charlie and Edna were real-life lovers, as well as on-screen sweethearts. They were adorably happy for a time, witness this love note from Charlie to his Edna:

My Own Darling Edna,My heart throbbed this morning when I received your sweet letter. It could be nobody else in the world that could have given me so much joy. Your language, your sweet thoughts and the style of your love note only tends to make me crazy over you. I can picture your darling self sitting down and looking up wondering what to say, that pert little mouth and those bewitching eyes so thoughtful. If I only had the power to express my sentiments, I would be afraid you’d get vain…

But, by the time Edna attained the ripe old age of 28, Chaplin had had 1 ex-wife and was on the way to marrying 16 year old and pregnant Lita Grey, and he deemed her too matronly to continue in the role of his romantic muse. But Charlie was loyal and tried to help Edna continue a career independent of him, first as the star of 1923’s “Woman of Paris”, and later in the Josef Von Sternberg directed (but never released) “Woman of the Sea”. Von Sternberg remembered Edna as sweet and obedient, but unbelievably timid in front of the camera. Without Charlie, there would be no more Edna on the screen.

While both held a life-long affection for one another, Charlie went on to quite a few more loves while Edna, after being involved in an unfortunate New Year’s Day shooting scandal and as a peripheral witness in the William Desmond Taylor murder, finally found lasting love in her marriage to a pilot and airline executive.

But Charlie was never far from her mind. In 1956, Edna, now a widow and suffering from the throat cancer that would eventually take her life, wrote this little note to her old boss and ex-flame:

Dear Charlie,Here I am again with a heart full of thanks, and back in the hospital (Cedars of Lebanon) taking cobalt x-ray treatment on my neck. There cannot be a hell hereafter!... Am thankful my innards are O.K., this is purely and simply local, so they say. All of which reminds me of the fellow standing on the corner of Seventh and Broadway tearing up little bits of paper and throwing them to the four winds. A cop comes along and asks him what was the big idea. He answers, “Just keeping the elephants away.” The cop says, “There aren’t any elephants in this district.” The fellow answers: “Well, it works, doesn’t it?” This is my silly for the day, so forgive me.Hope you and the family are well and enjoying everything you have worked for.Love always,Edna

And Charlie, who famously kept Edna on his studio payroll until her death in 1958, wrote in his 1964 autobiography that the time they worked together at Mutual was the happiest of his life. Commenting on her death, he wrote: "And so the world grows young. And youth takes over. And we who have lived a little longer become more estranged as we journey on our way." 

Real love can be fleeting, but the heart of the reel love of Charlie and Edna still beats upon the screen.

This is my entry in the Charlie Chaplin Blogathon hosted by Little Bits of Classics and Christina Wehner. Check out their sites for more about the great man.

National Classic Movie Day: 5 Favorite Movie Stars

In honor of National Classic Movie Day (May 16th), The Classic Film and TV Cafe is hosting the Five Stars Blogathon. 

Okay, it's really hard to confine this to 5, but here goes (in no particular order): 

James Cagney

Notice how I managed to insert Ms. Sheridan here?

5 reasons why:

He was the first movie star I fell in love with.

He has more charisma than any other star. Ever.

A tough guy who dances? Talk about having it all.

That bad-boy smile

New York to the core

5 favorite Cagney films:

Love Me or Leave Me

Angels With Dirty Faces

City For Conquest

The Strawberry Blonde

Taxi!

Cary Grant

Hello, Handsome

5 reasons why:

That face

That voice

The way he looks in a tux

More charm than any person on earth. Period.

With all of the above he never is afraid to be silly

5 favorite Grant films:

Notorious

People Will Talk

North By Northwest

Charade

The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer

Ann Dvorak

Ann being hard to resist

5 reasons why:

Her voice

Her eyes

The way she always seemed to be on last raw nerve

She makes me want to know more about her when I am watching her

She always seemed so sophisticated(even in her pre-code lingerie)

5 favorite Dvorak films:

Three on a Match

The Strange Love of Molly Louvain

Heat Lightning

Scarface

A Life of her Own

Charlie Chaplin

Sneaking a little Edna Purviance in with Charlie

5 reasons why:

He is the greatest movie star

The humanity of the Little Tramp

He makes me laugh

He makes me cry

He is eternal

5 favorite Chaplin films:

City Lights

The Kid

Modern Times

The Great Dictator

The Mutual Shorts (yes – cheating here – picking all 12 of them)

Jack Lemmon

The joy of Daphne

5 reasons why:

I am always surprised by how much I like him! In fact, I’m surprised to see him on this list.

He is extraordinarily ordinary in the very best way

He makes me want to be always on his side

As soon as I see him on screen, I feel better

He’s always good, no matter the film, no matter the part

5 favorite Lemmon films:

The Apartment

Mr. Roberts

Some Like it Hot

The Fortune Cookie

Apologies to Ann Sheridan, Edna Purviance, Tony Randall and Buster Keaton who would have been there if they could.

For more star-studded celebrations of Classic Movie Day, visit the Classic Film and TV Cafe and see if any of your favorites made the cut.

The Great Dictator: Beware of Buffoons

This is my entry in the Dual Roles Blogathon hosted by the great bloggers at Christina Wehner: Classic Movies, Musicals, Old Books and the Great American Songbook and Silver Screenings. Check both sites for more fabulous cinematic doubles.

THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940)

In one of history's greatest ironies, the world's most evil man shared a distinctive mustache with a cinematic symbol of compassion, humor and humanity. Most movie stars would have shied away from the comparison, but Chaplin pursued it and, in "The Great Dictator," created one of the most courageous cinematic statements against fascism and its accompanying terror.

In the Ghetto...

While the Jewish Barber is not the Little Tramp, they share some similarities. Aside from a physical likeness, they are kindly citizens and tender of heart.

A WWI hero, the barber returns home to Tomainia with amnesia. His country is changing. He is philosophical, this gentle soul and tries to make the best of the bad situation. The country he fought for would never harm him, would it?

The barber even manages to find love in the ghetto. His scenes with Paulette Goddard are quite charming. The Tramp was no stranger to romance, and the barber is his soul mate in this respect.

Chaplin adds a barber-ballet with old Keystone buddy, Chester Conklin, and it's a nostalgic delight -no words necessary.

Meanwhile..

A mirror image in life and a negative image of the soul, Adenoid Hynkle, dictator of Tomainia, is at work on his plan to take over the world. 

Adenoid Hynkle is a bigot, a bully, a braggart and a danger to civilization. When audiences see Hynkle, they know it is Hitler.

Bullies need friends, and just as Hitler  needed Mussolini, Hynkle joins forces with the dictator of Bacteria, Benzino Napaloni. Napaloni, the buffoon, is played to perfection by Jack Oakie, and his scenes with Chaplin are some of the film's funniest. 

The switch

And yes, the doubles are switched. Not to give to much away, but Hynkle, out of uniform and shooting ducks, is mistaken for the barber and shot. The barber is enlisted to take his place. Good replaces evil and hope is restored.

The Great Dictator, made at a time when the United States was not officially at war with Germany and before the public was fully aware of the horrors of the concentration camps, was an exercise in great courage. Hitler and Mussolini might well have been viewed as buffoons, worthy of ridicule and a chuckle. Chaplin truly put his beliefs on full display. The comedy is unforgettable, but the message is important and timeless, even more so in these perilous times:                       

The Great Dictator was Chaplin's first full sound film and he chose to use his voice in the most powerful way possible -  with humor and deep conviction. He remained true to himself and spoke the truth and provided the world with a great film and a tale still too relevant in these times.

A Kiss is Just a Kiss: Charlie ♥s Edna Forever

A kiss is just a kiss. True, but it depends on whether you are the kisser or the kissee or - as are we movie-goers, an observer.

Now, kisser and kissee could be steamy and passionate...

Or, they could be innocent and chaste.

As a kisser (or kissee) I shall keep my preferences to my self (of course if Cary Grant is either one... oh, but I digress...).

No, we are here as observers, and as an observer it is the romantic kiss that pleases me most of all. You know, the kiss that is not quite innocent, but not quite lusty, coming just at the dawn of of love. Like a flower opening to the sun, it is full of promise and joy. It is the end of single and the beginning of plural, and, for me, there is no sweeter plural than Charlie Chaplin and his lovely leading lady, Edna Purviance.

 ♥ Charlie and Edna Forever ♥

Before Edna, Charlie was a troublesome tramp. Once Edna entered the picture (and Charlie's real life for a time), the Little Fellow became a sweeter,gentler character. The Tramp still had tricks, but Edna awakened the romance in his soul.

Best Kisses

Charlie ardently pursued Edna through 34 films from 1915 through 1923. Here's some of their 5-star smooches:

The Immigrant

Charlie and Edna are two poor immigrants who find love and luck in the land of liberty.

Behind the Screen

Charlie and Edna find love at a movie studio (even through he thinks she might be a boy).

A Burlesque on Carmen

As thwarted lover Darn Hosiery, Charlie gives his Carmen the kiss of death (sort of).

But enough observing. Sometimes, lovers need privacy...

And just in case you want to try kissing Charlie for yourself (sort of), here's a cute little game. See how many kisses you can steal!

Charlie Chaplin Kissing Game

This is my entry into the Kiss is Just a Kiss Blogathon. Put some oomph into your Valentine's Day and head on over to Second Sight Cinema for more super smooches.