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The Circus (1928) - Charlie Chaplin

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metaldams:



      THE CIRCUS would be Charlie Chaplin’s follow up to epic GOLD RUSH and is decidedly non epic.  Released two and a half years after its predecessor, this was in an era where Chaplin’s main competition, mainly Keaton, Lloyd and Langdon; were releasing at least one feature a year and in a lot of cases, more.  Of Chaplin’s classic feature run, THE CIRCUS is the least discussed, the least analyzed.  When it does get discussed, it is usually liked, but THE CIRCUS remains Chaplin’s underdog silent feature.  Chaplin himself didn’t even mention it in his autobiography due to several personal struggles he was going through during production.  THE CIRCUS is a funny, to the point seventy one minute film that always entertains and shows a bit of self reflection as well as a few nods to his past.

      The comedy itself is fine.  In fact, the whole pickpocket scene at the beginning, which evolves into a major police chase is one of my favorite Chaplin sequences ever.  The build up of Chaplin being framed by the actual pickpocket and then the pickpocket himself being caught by the police is very clever.  It eventually leads into the wonderful hall of mirror sequence which is a visual treat that causes a lot of confusion between the characters.  My favorite bit, though, is when Chaplin and the pickpocket pretend to be among the mechanical men outside the fun house so they can evade the police.  Chaplin’s movements and laughter as he hits the pickpocket with a club like it’s a part of the scenery are beyond any words I can conjure - let’s just say it’s probably a top three Chaplin moment as far as pure laughter goes.

      The ending sequence of Chaplin using the harness to do the high wire act in and of itself is quite funny as long as you don’t compare it to similar thrill sequences to Harold Lloyd, which are more realistic.  Then again, perhaps I’m being unfair as it’s the lack of realism that is the joke.  I mean, Chaplin is balancing himself on a high wire with a bar while his feet are where his head is supposed to be screams intentionally fake.  That part was quite funny as is the stream of monkeys joining Chaplin on the high wire - coincidentally the moment his harness gets loose!

      Like mentioned earlier. Chaplin was going through personal problems during the filming of THE CIRCUS, namely a divorce, the declining health of his mother and a studio fire.  Interesting that one of the themes of the film is he can be funny for the audience when things are fine, yet the second he fears competition for Merna, his love interest, his performance declines.  Whether this was a conscious way of Chaplin saying it’s hard to be funny when the world is falling apart or pure coincidence I don’t know. 

      There does seem to be a bit of nostalgia and nods to the past as well.  When Chaplin is trying out to be a funny man at the circus, he is doing shaving cream to the face gags that feel like they’d be at home when he was at Keystone.  Great way to throw in some old school Chaplin while at the same time, making it believable to the plot.  Heck, he even does his funny walk in the tryout and props his crouched self up with a cane like in the old days.  As an in joke, the circus boss declares that bit unfunny.  Chaplin trying to be a high wire guy like his rival is a similar plot device Chaplin used in his Mutual short, THE VAGABOND, though explored much deeper here.  The wonderful bit where Chaplin is in the cage with the lion was done previously by Chaplin’s recently deceased main film influence, Max Linder, in SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK.  So yes, bits of nostalgia for sure, but it’s mostly subtle.  An idea that would be explored way more decades later in LIMELIGHT.

      Merna Kennedy is Chaplin’s leading lady this time and she is wonderful.  She especially does a good job in the indigestion scene earlier in the film, being able to match Chaplin well as far as pantomime laughs.  The whole romantic plot is interesting here because (spoiler alert) Chaplin could have had the girl in the end but sacrificed her to the high wire guy because he thought she’d have a better life with the high wire guy than himself.  The self sacrifice here is astounding and I am still conflicted on how to feel about it, more a reflection on me than the film itself.  Hey, great art can bring out these inner conflicts.  Anyway, he arranges their marriage, makes sure she’s safe with her new husband and she no longer has to put up with her father’s abuse, and then he sneaks off away from it all, leading into a classic silhouetted Chaplin shot walking down a dirt road to end the film.

      So yes, a mere 71 minutes, most of it in a circus setting, hardly discussed by Chaplin standards compared to other films of his, but to me THE CIRCUS has a lot going for it and is just as entertaining and thoughtful as his other major works.  Check out the link above, enjoy and comment away.

Dr. Mabuse:
I actually like "The Circus" better than "City Lights," which leans too heavily on pathos for my liking. Charlie Chaplin's last wholly silent film focuses on the aspect of a clown's success and failure — a theme that worked to better advantage in "Limelight." There are several highlights, particularly the funhouse chase and the climactic high-wire act. In terms of screen chemistry, Chaplin has more rapport with Merna Kennedy compared to Virginia Cherrill in "City Lights." However, the scenes with Merna and her abusive father are clichéd melodrama. The 71-minute running time helps — it's the fastest-paced Chaplin feature.  I prefer the original 1928 version (available on the out-of-print CBS/Fox DVD) without the opening song Chaplin added in 1969.

8.5/10

metaldams:

--- Quote from: Dr. Mabuse on April 17, 2020, 01:08:51 PM ---I actually like "The Circus" better than "City Lights," which leans too heavily on pathos for my liking. Charlie Chaplin's last wholly silent film focuses on the aspect of a clown's success and failure — a theme that worked to better advantage in "Limelight." There are several highlights, particularly the funhouse chase and the climactic high-wire act. In terms of screen chemistry, Chaplin has more rapport with Merna Kennedy compared to Virginia Cherrill in "City Lights." However, the scenes with Merna and her abusive father are clichéd melodrama. The 71-minute running time helps — it's the fastest-paced Chaplin feature.  I prefer the original 1928 version (available on the out-of-print CBS/Fox DVD) without the opening song Chaplin added in 1969.

8.5/10



--- End quote ---

Good observation about comparing  a clown’s success and failure scene to LIMELIGHT.  As far as CITY LIGHTS, I think I will be reviewing that one around Christmas time.  Not written in stone, but if I don’t change my mind on my planned Chaplin path, it will be then.

In spite of the video I posted, with the exception of THE GOLD RUSH, I still own the twenty year old DVDs from Image that have the original versions from 1918 - 1957.  THE CIRCUS without the sung intro, THE KID with the father in it, The First National shorts at their original speeds and MODERN TIMES with Chaplin’s full song.  I became a Chaplin fan almost twenty years ago when those DVDs were the newest on the market and am glad I’ve held onto them.

Dr. Mabuse:
The Image DVDs are essential — minus the Chaplin Estate revisionism.

Umbrella Sam:
I’m in the rare camp that actually considers THE CIRCUS to be better than THE GOLD RUSH. While I still have issues with THE GOLD RUSH’s ending, I find that I really don’t have any issues with THE CIRCUS.

For starters, the chase at the beginning is absolutely fantastic. Sure, we’ve seen Chaplin chases countless times before, but this one really takes advantage of its setting, particularly with the mirror hall and when they’re pretending to be the mechanical men. The movements and timing are spot on throughout and it’s a good reminder that Chaplin could still pull off good old fashioned comedy without any of his more prominent attentions to story detail. I could totally see that chase alone being released as a successful one-reeler. I also really like how, after escaping the second policeman, the Tramp gives the wallet to the first policeman. The first policeman still seems to think the wallet is his, but the Tramp is so worn out that he just has to be rid of it at all costs, even when he’s no longer being chased.

The romantic storyline is very well-paced here. For one thing, I really like how, the minute he first meets her, the Tramp is not immediately attracted to Merna Kennedy. In fact, he actually starts off mad at her because she unknowingly took some of his food. He slowly warms up to her as he begins realizing how starved she truly is. I think that’s a really nice touch, especially compared to other comedies that often go for the “love-at-first-sight” angle. It’s also interesting from Merna Kennedy’s angle, because throughout the film she never really sees the Tramp as a romantic interest, but as a friend instead. The Tramp feels hurt by this, but it’s not like THE GOLD RUSH where Georgia Hale intentionally plays with his feelings; she legitimately seems unaware of the Tramp’s feelings throughout, so that makes it even more interesting when she does decide to go with him near the end and the Tramp has to realize that they truly can’t be together.

The comedy becomes a lot less prominent as the film goes along, which kind of makes sense. It’s implied that, after the Tramp’s first official performance, the whole show kind of becomes routine by repeating what was done on that first night. Obviously we wouldn’t want to see the same exact thing over and over again, especially since it’s implied that each performance gets gradually weaker and weaker as the Tramp’s mood worsens and worsens. I suppose I could see this as a negative in the views of Chaplin fans, but it still does provide a good showcase for his attention to story details and pacing, which became more of his strength as comedians like Lloyd and Keaton became more and more prominent.

One thing I will concede that THE GOLD RUSH indeed does better than THE CIRCUS is with the climax. The climax in THE CIRCUS is still fun, but it’s outlandishness does work a bit against it. I suppose the same could be said for THE GOLD RUSH in a way, but it’s in a much brighter setting and it ultimately does lead to an important discovery, while the climax here is kind of just a fun distraction that never ends up building to anything storywise; the Tramp’s firing could have easily taken place before the high wire act and nothing really would have affected it. Again, this is an extremely minor point, not even one that I think is worth downgrading the film at all for, because it is still a very fun climax that does have a different style compared to what the other major comics were doing at the time.

I think choosing a circus was very fitting for Chaplin, because, while its goal is to provide fun entertainment, a circus is a very depressing atmosphere at the same time, and that’s kind of the direction Chaplin had been aiming towards in his films the entire decade. I especially love the ending with the famous shot of him walking away in the distance. Sure, he used it before, but this was really the only time he used it in one of his features (technically he used it in MODERN TIMES, but he’s not alone there). It’s always such a good ending because while it is depressing, there also is that glimmer of hope in the way he walks; the promise of a brighter future that might come someday, even if it’s probably not anytime soon. THE CIRCUS is a great showcase for that concept, thanks to Chaplin’s detail in the pacing of his plot. It may not be a super funny movie throughout, but it’s not supposed to be. Chaplin’s just doing what he feels is natural, and he pulls it off extremely well.

10 out of 10

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