Review: The Essential Chaplin: Perspectives on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian edited and introduction by Richard Schickel

I don’t normally read essay collections but I decided to take a look at The Essential Chaplin: Perspectives on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian in hopes that it would assist me in my pursuit of all things Charles Chaplin and that it would provide intriguing insight into the silent film comedian.

Schickel gathered a notable series of nearly thirty essays on Chaplin’s work, life, and art from a veritable who’s who of film critics and Chaplin’s contemporaries such as Alistair Cooke, Robert E. Sherwood, Winston Churchill, Graham Greene, and James Agee. The book was also sprinkled with quotes from several other notables, such as Sigmund Freud and Robert Benchley, which I found quite intriguing.

This is a smart book, one profoundly taking an interesting and intellectual view of an actor whose work was based off of the instinctual slapstick comedy of an uncommon man of (and for) the people. Schickel’s introduction was highly intelligent and took an analytical look at Chaplin as both a fan and as a non-partisan critic – something that I am sure is quite challenging to pull off. While he was successful in his attempt to provide an even tone within the book, one could not help but get a whiff of intellectual superiority in Schickel’s tone when describing Chaplin’s attempt at literary and social illumination during his adult years. However, despite that notable blip this does not dampen the obvious affection he does have for the actor nor does it flavor the rest of the book.

For such a proudly intelligent collection, I was disappointed in the amount of misspelled words and typos. The book appeared to have been checked with a spellchecker and at least once in each essay there was a contextually-inappropriate but correctly spelled word. It was an annoying interruption to try to decode what the writer meant only to realize that it was actually just a typo.

The Essential Chaplin is a great source for those who are interested in Chaplin’s work as well as the film industry. Not only does it illustrate the difficulties of how film was received as an art form, but the theoretical challenges of fame facing the first world-famous man. It also provides a revue of the criticisms Chaplin faced not just in his work and art, but in his life and interests. This book is a must-have for Chaplin enthusiasts as well as those looking for an excellent example of the in-depth analysis a collection of essays can provide.

Review: Chaplin: His Life and Art

David Robinson's examination of the silent film comedian, Charlie Chaplin, is a must-read if you have an interest in Chaplin's life and extensive experiences at the birth of American Cinema. Chaplin: His Life and Art uses a multitude of sources to help give witness to the actor from many viewpoints and addresses the various inconsistencies found in Chaplin's own autobiography.

For those interested in comparing the two, I recommend reading My Autobiography first. His Life and Art is clearly written and includes many details about Chaplin's life, work habits, and influence on the film industry and the people around him. Other treats are sections of photos from his private and professional life as well as images of childhood photos and publicity flyers.

I found my educational experience was heightened by also watching the films mentioned in detail in both books. Sometimes a written description of how a gag had evolved is not nearly as vibrant until you can see the end result. (That and they are hilarious!) It is a rare opportunity to not only read about a man's life but get to watch his works unfold in front of your eyes in a visual way.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it as essential to any person interested in learning about Charlie Chaplin or the birth of Hollywood and the movie industry.

Going back in time with Google Earth

In my browsing I found a really awesome application of Google Earth. It's BFI's Google Earth Tour. The British Film Institute has created a layer database that allows you to look up locations, filmmakers, and other historical film references by using the free Google Earth application found here. Really, it's an interesting way of seeing things from a different view.

I loaded it up (it wasn't too hard to do, though there could be better instructions on BFI's site) and was able to look up my favorite historical film star, Charlie Chaplin. (No surprise there.) It brought up some of his childhood homes, a school he was sent to as part of the workhouse, his home in Switzerland where he spent his later years, and of course, a few of the very important areas in California, like his studio, the cemetary in which his mother is buried, and others.

While I think it could be more robust, it is in its infancy and they say they will be adding more to their database. I look forward to seeing what BFI has in store.

On Obsession

There has always been something not quite wired correctly in my head. I would say it was "wrong" but it harms no one and to me, it's rather natural. It's hard to describe, but suffice it to say, I get obsessive about certain things. I need to KNOW.

I remember when I was young, I would sit and sort my cards of the United States Presidents on the brown rug in the living room. They were the sort of cards that had a semi-glossy presidential portrait on one side and on the other a list of facts and stats coupled with a short bio. I'm sure my mother meant for me to learn about the Presidents, but instead I sorted them. I still remember the enigmatic painted faces of Thomas Jefferson or Franklin Pierce looking back at me as I sat for hours with them.

Instead of studying them however, I sorted them by number first, then I would pick a quality (like eye color, political party, home state, left-facing portrait, color necktie, etc.) and sort them, eliminate a pile, and pick a new quality to find the "Best" president in my deck of presidents. Sometimes I enjoyed the irony of picking a "Best" leader of the US from a combination of completely random and superficial categories.

(To me, the "best" was defined by the combination of random characteristics I pulled out of my head. To this day the definition of that word has continued to be fluid in this way. Ultimately, I think I enjoyed changing the basis of what the term, "best," meant just to see what the different outcome would be.)

After one or two cycles of this activity my butt would go numb and I would ask myself, "Why am I doing this? This sorting doesn't mean anything...I'm wasting time. Time I could be putting to better use drawing, or doing something fun." Then I would shuffle the deck and continue on, undeterred by self-doubt.

I feel like I've gotten past the need to sort things, though I occasionally sort all our movies in alphabetical order and I can't seem to do a good spring cleaning without getting sidetracked with alphabetizing or sorting. Generally, it starts with a spark, like an idea or subject, and then it continues as I need to consume all the information available.

In this vein, it seems every few months I get a new obsession. Previously it has been Hunter Thompson, Dorothy Parker, Giacomo Casanova, the health-craze of the early 1900s, and the comparison between Dante's Inferno and Milton's Paradise Lost. One summer when I was young, I read all the books I could find about utopian society and compared them. I also remembered trying to explain to my teachers why I didn't pick my books from the recommended summer reading list and went on my own. That was me...renegade reader.

This month's obsession is Charles Chaplin.

My fascination with Chaplin came about just like many of my interests, from a minor and only semi-related compulsive obsession brought on by an event or happening. It happens all too often and while it's normal for me, it may not be the norm for others.

It usually starts out that I see a movie, hear a song, or read something and either the subject or perhaps an actor/artist impresses me so much that I wish to see the rest of their work. I think it is so that I can get a better understanding of whether if it was role I admired or if they were talented in general. So I start through their career (in no particular order) and go about watching their works. I do appreciate talent. I love seeing how someone can have so much talent and then see how they wield it.

This habit usually fills me with a certain amount of shame actually. I'm not a person who squeals over a handsome actor and puts their poster on the wall. I don't watch those entertainment shows religiously and I certainly don't read the tabloids. Entertainers are people who work in the public eye, not people I would agonize over. However, I feel very paranoid that I might falsely project that quality, so I normally just keep the whole thing quiet.

Let me illustrate what I mean. In one particular case, it all started with Iron Man...I never noticed before but Robert Downey Jr. is a fantastic actor! And because of this whole compulsion, I just had to see what else he did. After a few rather good movies like Fur: The Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, I found an older movie of his called Chaplin that scored him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The movie was wonderful and got me thinking about those heady days of film class in college and watching the great silent film stars like Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy, and, of course, Charlie Chaplin.

Coupled with a small bout of a blue mood, I thought, "What would be a better thing to cheer me up than a Chaplin movie?" They were easy enough to find on YouTube or Netflix. I saw a snippet from The Circus on YouTube and I was hooked. As I started to familiarize myself with Chaplin's works I found that each one was a complex series of emotions wrapped up in simplistic vignettes. His movies are the perfect combination of humor, humanism, and sentimentality with a dash of sadness and tragedy. How could I not appreciate them?

What really interested me with these amazing movies is the man behind the mustache and underneath that derby hat. I am currently reading his autobiography, originally titled, My Autobiography, and I found that I admire this man who came from poverty to become one of the most famous men in the world. He was a genius. He acted, directed, and even composed the music to his works. He came at the birth of film and ushered in a quality and creativity that I do think is rare even now.

At times my obsessiveness brings me shame and uneasiness but this time, for having discovered such an interesting subject to study, I am pleased that it brought me to this path. Perhaps I shouldn't say that I am wired incorrectly...just differently. I can't wait to see where it leads me next.