after him and his brother, they often went into workhouses like the building we are in right now was a workhouse where charlie chaplin stayed. and these early experiences clearly never left him. both of chaplin s parents were musical entertainers. and it is said that he got his first experience on stage at the age of five, when he sang a song as a replacement for his mother when she was unable to perform. but as a friend of chaplin s mother recalls, they were desperate times. she used to come to my place every sunday, and charlie would come and have tea with me. she got a little bit of a sandwich, she was very poor, you know a little sandwich that she d save for him to take home. she thought he didn t get enough to eat. performing seemed to be his only constant, and he achieved some degree of success at the age of ten as part of a touring clog dancing troupe called the eight lancashire lads. it was definitely about making ends meet, finding a way of feeding yourself.
performer, once he starts getting involved in film he realised there are so many other roles, and he has got this perfectionist streak. you can t indulge your perfectionist streak without taking control of almost everything, so whenever he got offered anything from a producer it was, i would like to direct, and i would like to produce. and he wanted to have his own studio. he was a self taught musician. he composed scores for films he had already made, he wanted everything to be done exactly as he wanted it to be done. and it is hard to argue with the results, really. and how do you view him in terms of what he peddled in his films? do you see him as a political filmmaker? charlie chaplin, with his social background and concerns about humanity, he can t help but be political even when he is trying not to be. as the films go on he developed an interest in certain themes that have more political resonance. start thinking about the rights of workers in capitalism, he starts thinking ab
of one thing, and escape from their own lives. the character of the tramp was a truly beloved international figure. it helped propel chaplin to being the world s first megastar. the adoration was visible just over 100 years ago when he returned to london for the first time in nine years from america. he was mobbed wherever he went. charlie chaplin almost immediately becomes the biggest international star that the film world had known, and therefore basically anyone had known up to that point, because it was like seeing the real man in front of you, and he had a level of fame and immediately to his audience that was completely unprecedented. the film industry is becoming global. so he is notjust popular with american audiences, he is popular with european audiences, ultimately with world audiences. and he is popular in that way
him a new kind of life, i think that is what really appealed to him. his salary and surroundings may have altered dramatically, but chaplin s impoverished youth left a lasting impression on him. it gave him a keen understanding of the common man, as well as empathy for the underdog. themes that would become central to some of his greatest works. around the world, charlie chaplin connected emotionally with his fans through the tramp, his baggy trousered bowler hatted screen incarnation that first appeared in 1914. it was a creation very much linked to his troubled youth.
is very similar to silent cinema. those comedies that chaplin was in, little short pieces. chaplin s comedy was designed for that kind of format. short, gag type comedy, and that, plus the restoration of those early films, there is a my students find those things very, very funny. it is heartening to hear that charlie chaplin is reaching a new generation. in researching him for this programme, my opinion of him grew. i always knew he excelled technically as an actor and director, but watching his movies, you see him emphasising the importance of love and how we all need it to thrive. he knew how important it was. he seemed to have a real grip on understanding the human condition in a way that few other filmmakers do. and what can chaplin teach today s filmmakers,