So there I was in 1986, a 13 year old kid, flipping TV channels on our TV in our family room looking for something to watch. And then I see them. It was on the Nickelodeon channel during a block of shows called Camp Nickelodeon (shortly later to be renamed Nick at Night). It was a black and white sitcom that I had never seen before – “The Smothers Brothers Show”. And two guys who (I thought) I had never seen before , the blond haired one telling his dark haired brother that he was an angel.
I was familiar with 50s and 60s sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, I Dream of Jeanie, and my absolute all-time favorite: The Dick Van Dyke Show. But this one I had never seen before. Who were these guys?
I decided to keep watching to find out. Fate, or destiny, or something, had blindsided me without me knowing it.
The Smothers Brothers Show. A sitcom where the blond-haired Tom arrives on Earth as an angel (after drowning at sea) and comes to ask his dark-haired brother Dick for help in earning his angel wings.
There’s only one complete episode I can find online: ” ‘Twas The Week Before Christmas”
I found out years later that they hated making the show, especially Tom since he had so many lines and, without him knowing at the time, was dyslexic, and had trouble. And they had little input into the creative process. And for the first few episodes they did not sing their theme song (that later changed. See – or hear – above). That would change when they were offered “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” after the angel show was canceled.
But for 1986 me, 13 years old, I guess I was the right demographic for this show. I loved it and watched it every Sunday evening. And my parents took notice.
One night my dad mentions that he went to see Tom and Dick in concert back in the 60s.
“Really? So did I!” my mom replies.
“Where?”
Mom says where (some college campus somewhere)
“That’s where I saw them!” dad says and they laugh.
And we laughed at the possibility of if they had met there rather than how they actually met (at a wedding where each of their best friends were getting married).
Censorship? Really?
And then I began to hear murmurs about how they had censorship battles. This totally baffled me: “What’s so controversial about the sitcom?” I had no idea about the Comedy Hour….yet.
In the summer of 1987, I was once again flipping tv channels (we did that a lot back then), and stopped on VH1. It was in the middle of the music video “Meet Me Half Way” by Kenny Loggins. I watched the rest, and when the VJ, Bobby Rivers came on, he introduced a couple of guests in the studio: Tom and Dick. And my jaw just dropped. VH1 was doing a week (or weekend, I forget) long spotlight on comedy, and for some reason, had the guys on. They talked about their comedy and the Comedy Hour. And then I saw my first clips of this controversial show I had heard about before but never saw.
The only clip I really remember is an opening where Tom is trying to put on police riot gear. Dick asks him what he is doing when they should be starting a show. Tom says that he’s getting ready for college. I laughed even though I didn’t get the real meaning. I later found out they were referring to the riots on college campuses between students and police over Vietnam protests.
Then the Reunion show…
A few months later I hear that they were coming back to tv for a Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour 20th Reunion show! I was excited to see it, but I wasn’t able to watch it during the broadcast, so I recorded it. (That poor VHS tape had no idea what it was in for!). It had all the regulars on from two decades earlier: Pat Paulsen, John Hartford, Leigh French, Mason Williams, Glen Campbell, Jennifer Warnes; a couple writers who went on the bigger careers after the 60s series: Bob Einstein and Steve Martin.
I only caught their closing routine during the original broadcast:
I loved it! I sat there and laughed until i cried. It was fantastic. So I watched from the beginning all the way through. Absolutely fabulous!
Also, they sang and played their instruments well too (which I was not yet really used to)
I would watch a segment before going to junior high as a boost for my day (alas, was too young for coffee). And it continued when they returned with a short season and specials of the new Comedy Hour later in 1988 and 1989 (which I recorded and wore out the tape).
Why a fan?
I was not (well, still not, lol) the typical age for being a fan of theirs, so what was it that got me hooked? First they were funny. When I first caught them was when I was just beginning to stop judging what I liked/didn’t like based on how old it was. And what I saw, I really liked.
When I was little, my parents had an 8-track player and I listened to a lot of the musical artists that I later discovered had appeared on the Comedy Hour (Peter, Paul, and Mary; Simon and Garfunkel; The Beatles; Glen Campbell; Joan Baez; Judy Collins). So there was a sense of familiarity and nostalgia with a show that was thrown off the air before I was born. Also I recognized some of the songs the brothers sang like “Slithery Dee“, “Michael Row the Boat Ashore“, “Down in the Valley“, “The Impossible Dream“. All these musical familiarities.
The sibling bickering. Being the oldest of 4, that was hilarious (also seeing my grandmother argue with her two brothers).
It was a great way for my to learn about history, particularly the 60s as it was happening.
Also being inspired by their fight with CBS about freedom of speech.
And that’s how it started and has happily kept on going since then 🙂 …
I have two. My answers will not be surprising to long time Chaplin fans.
The Gentleman Tramp and Unknown Chaplin. Gentleman Tramp is a biography, and Unknown Chaplin is a “behind the scenes” doc.
I baffled my family growing up with the number of times I have watched these. And I have baffled my kids equally as much.
“Mom, you’re watching that again?“
Like his films, these docs are fun and comforting. And I appreciate the tons work that went into them.
By the way, these are listed in order of release date, not a ranking.
The Gentleman Tramp
First, The Gentleman Tramp, written and directed by Richard Patterson, narrated by Walter Matthau, released in 1975. One of the things that makes this interesting is that it was made while Chaplin was still alive.
I first saw it listed in David Robinson’s book. And then in the early 90s in my baby Chaplin fan days, I saw the VHS while browsing around one of my favorite stores, Media Play, and grabbed it up right away. And continued to watch it numerous times. Then many years later I saw it at Amazon from Patterson himself. The DVD has two versions of the doc: one is the version that was on the VHS, and another longer version with a introduction by Matthau and his son, Charlie as they traveled to Chaplin’s Switzerland home, and a couple alternate takes (for example: during the Joan Barry court case). The DVD also came with a booklet written by Patterson talking about the ups and downs of making the doc (Chaplin had some disagreements with him with how the doc was being put together). I usually watch the version that I first saw.
You can buy it from Amazon here. Or you can watch a couple clips from it that was put up by the official Chaplin YouTube Channel:
There’s no place that I know of where you can buy it streaming, but it is on DailyMotion – watch it here: part 1 and part 2.
All the music is either by Chaplin (most of it falls into this category), or about Chaplin (“When The Moon Shines Bright On Charlie Chaplin” played during discussing why Chaplin did not fight during WWI). It also has more footage from the 1972 Oscars than what exists online.
Narration is provided by Walter Matthau. Which seemed like an odd choice to me at first, but then I realized that his wife, Carol, and Charlie’s wife, Oona, had been best friends since their teens. Also wonderful voice-overs reading excepts from Chaplin’s autobiography (read by Laurence Olivier), his son Charlie Jr (haven’t ID’ed that voice), various news articles and gossip columns (either supporting Charlie or deriding him),
Unknown Chaplin
Unknown Chaplin was the first Chaplin documentary I saw, years before I was a fan. It was somewhere during part 2: “The Great Director” when they were showing how The Gold Rush was made. I remember sitting there amazed by everything. They were explaining how the famous shoe eating scene was done (the shoe was made of licorice). When I finally saw the film when I became a fan, I remember not being grossed out because I knew that it wasn’t a real shoe, just licorice in shape of a shoe. And it did not gross me out like it does everyone else. Then after I became a fan, I read how Chaplin said that he never liked to talk about how he made his films, because it ruined the magic of it. And I thought to myself “What is he talking about? I love seeing how it was done and all the behind the scenes stuff. That;s just silly…” And then I remembered the shoe, and then thought “Okay, maybe he does know what he’s talking about”. Haha.
What got me when I was younger was the witty writing, excellent narration (by James Mason), smart editing, fitting music (the wonderful Carl Davis!), and overall energy of the documentary. That’s what kept me watching the first time, and what keeps me coming back to it.
So what is Unknown Chaplin about?
In the 1970s when Kevin Brownlow and David Gill were putting together their behemoth multi-part documentary “Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film”, they discovered so much unseen Chaplin footage (that Chaplin had originally ordered to be destroyed) showing how he made his films that they decided to make a documentary based around that.
There’s 3 parts:
My Happiest Years – From his days at Mutual, this contains lots of footage of his filmed rehearsals as he worked out story ideas.
The Great Director – Footage from How to Make Movies, making of The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights,. Interviews with Dean Reisner, Jackie Coogan, Lita Grey, Robert Parrish, Virginia Cherrill, Georgia Hale..
Hidden Treasures – Main focus is ideas that Charlie would play around with earlier in his career with and how they would show up years later in his films. The other half is deleted scenes from his films. And some other footage from How To Make Movies and visitors to the studio
Below is part 1. I totally love all 3, but part 1 is my favorite, in particular the evolution of “The Immigrant”. And here’s part 3
Favorite lines/scenes from Unknown Chaplin
During the segment on how The Immigrant came about, in the scene with Charlie and Albert Austin, and Charlie purposely throwing Albert off and laughing:
“After all, it’s only slate one”
This is hilarious, because practically from the time Chaplin started directing while at Keystone, he was notorious for doing oodles and oodles of retakes.
And then shortly later
“The film is a simple cafe comedy about a man who’s never been in a cafe. That all it is. So far.”
In the beginning of part 2, “The Great Director”, Dean Reisner’s story of how Charlie and Sydney had to trick him into hitting them in The Pilgrim. Also love the edit of when Dean says “And so finally he and Sydney would play slapping games”. And it cuts to Charlie looking over at Sydney. Lovely edit! Also great story that I forgot to put in my “Favorite story about him told by someone else” post. You can also see this segment in the free preview on Amazon.
The opening of Hidden Treasures, with Doug Fairbanks 1929 home movie where Charlie is running around with a ancient Grecian tunic. And then fools around with a globe and then puts a WWI German helmet on it. Cut to 20 years later in The Great Dictator to the famous globe dance scene. That still jaw drops me! You can see the full home movie here (black and white, no music), and colorized (4k, 60fps,and music. Rather cool!)
(Side note: The above opening segment was cut out of the DVD and the version on Amazon. However, you can watch it in Amazon’s free preview. Why is it not included in the regular episode? I have absolutely no idea. I just noticed it now while writing this.)
From Hidden Treasures, the deleted barber scene from Sunnyside with Charlie and Albert Austin. Music is clever too. The song is from the opera The Barber of Seville. Like in Day 11 when it took me almost 30 years to realize Chaplin used Wagner in The Great Dictator, it took me a few years before I realized (though it was just 5 or so years). I was listening to the local NPR when they were playing Barber, and it got to that part, and I thought “Hey, I know that song!”. And then remembered Unknown Chaplin. Very clever use of the music :). You can watch the opera with that particular tune, “All’iddea di quel metallo”, here.
Also from Hidden Treasures, the cut scene from City Lights where Charlie tries to push a slat of wood down a grate. Most of the scene is slow, and I’m glad he cut it. BUT – the guy who comes out to window dress the mannequin and gets furious at Charlie for not figuring it out…. Love that!
Deleted from the DVD and Amazon release
One thing that got removed was Geraldine Chaplin’s introduction:
Right after the segment about the cut piece from “Behind the Screen” where Charlie just misses the huge axe landing on him, there was a pause before going onto the segment for “The Immigrant”. (Yeah, I watched the VHS that many times I remembered how it was edited, haha).
And, as I mentioned above about the Douglas Fairbanks opening for “Hidden Treasures”
Remember the Easter Egg in Robert Downey Jr’s Chaplin?
That documentary series I mentioned above that Brownlow and Gill made, “Hollywood” is an amazing multi-part series. One of the reasons why it’s amazing are the interviews with people who were there. Directors, actors and actresses that are no longer with us.
A great documentary that is not just about Chaplin, but the other great silent comedians: Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon. With interviews with Hal Roach, Frank Capra, and Jackie Coogan and a few other contemporaries. In “Comedy: A Serious Business”. Made by Brownlow and Gill a couple years prior to Unknown Chaplin.
It’s more of a video essay, but I really love the below video by the YouTube channel Newfangled (and currently has less than 1000 views at the moment): “Charlie Chaplin Doesn’t Give a F*ck”
Okay, I have a whole bunch that I love (does every scene in his movies count?), but narrowing it down to just two.
The first one I have mentioned before (Day 6 – Favorite First National): From “The Kid” (100 years old this year! Huzzah! Soundtrack that Chaplin wrote is 50 years old this year! Huzzah again!). Below is from the official Chaplin YouTube channel (I was so happy when they uploaded the whole scene! YAY!)
A favorite vlogger of mine, Jordan from the YouTube channel “Daze with Jordan the Lion“, does Hollywood and musician locations, usually in the Los Angeles area. About 4 years ago he visited a couple location from The Kid: one (at was the alley where we first see Charlie walking towards the camera) is at about 7:56. The other alley (starting at 14:28) from the ending of the above scene.
Jackie Coogan was amazing, I really loved Michael Chaplin in A King in New York. Mack Swain in The Gold Rush was adorable (he was in some Chaplin shorts as well, but best in Gold Rush). Sydney Chaplin in Limelight was lovely.
King Shadov (Chaplin) o the left, and Ambassador Jaume (Oliver Johnston)
Coming out of left field, I’m going with Oliver Johnston from A King in New York. He played Ambassador Jaume, and was a great straight man to Chaplin’s King Shadov. Both of their reactions to American culture (wide screen movies, rock and roll, TV commercials, plastic surgery) as well as the growing paranoia that was McCarthyism was very funny. I have watched the film several times, and it never disappoints. Partly due to their onscreen camaraderie. Also Michael :).
It would have been interesting if Chaplin had been able to use him in any of his earlier films.
Johnston’s last film appearance was in Chaplin’s A Countess From Hong Kong, which was released shortly after he passed away.
There’s a bunch of great photos of him out of costume, usually wearing a suit. I have a couple in my room, one of him (probably in his 20s) in a suit, and another of him wearing everyday clothes (one of his tennis sweaters), holding a violin, talking to Buster Keaton on the set of Limelight.
And then there are the artsy ones like the one above taken by Lee Miller. I absolutely love the lighting.
Another one that is artsy, and I love almost as much as Miller’s photo, is one taken by Edward Steichen in 1925. Again the lighting is great, and the use of Chaplin’s larger than life shadow.
A number of films, whether they be home made movies, newsreels, or unfinished/unreleased films still exist. Some black and white, some are even in color. Some are of him entertaining visitors to his studio, friends, or family, or traveling.
But there’s two films that are on top of my list.
How To Make Movies
The first is one that I have shared before on the blog (and where I matched a song to the beginning of the film), “How to Make Movies”. He made it in 1917-1918, shortly after building and working in his new studio (which still stands). Originally he wanted to have it released, but First National (the film company he was working for at the time) wouldn’t let him. So it sat in his archive of films. He did use small parts of the beginning for the beginning of “The Chaplin Revue” with him giving commentary on it.
While it is staged, it is loads of fun to watch (and no, there’s no music):
Home movies on set of The Great Dictator, shot by brother Sydney
The other one is home movies shot by Charlie’s brother Sydney, on the set of The Great Dictator. These were not discovered until 1999. Sydney was probably the only person Charlie would allow to film home movies during the production of the film. Security was very tight at the studio due to many powerful voices being strongly against him making a satire attacking Hitler. But Syd had no problem getting permission from his little brother.
Unlike the above film, this one was not staged. All the retakes, Chaplin getting upset, and the joking around were real.
Even the color is real, it is not colorized! But again, no music.
One cool shot is at about 11:21 mark where Charlie, shielding his face from the sun, looks up at Syd who is shooting from on-top of scaffolding (?). On the right side you can see Syd’s shadow, holding up the camera.
There’s also shots of a nurse attending one of the actors that Charlie hit with the white paint during the filming. And then there’s the scene itself, at 10:02, which could be the same take that was used in the final film. Going through my head every time I watch it, I have the dialogue, the sound effect of the frying pan bonging the stormtrooper on the head, and intense music.
And now we come to his last great era: The United Artists movies. This is the most difficult of all eras because these are (to me, anyway) his best of the best. So now it’s the best of the best of the best.
There’s the underrated and often forgotten “A Woman of Paris”, classic The Gold Rush (I prefer the ’42 version, so help me), heartbreaking funny The Circus (so many layers to why I love this), historic The Great Dictator (Hey Hitler, take that! <punch>. And that ending speech!), Monsieur Verdoux (not your typical Chaplin film, but I love it anyway), and the wonderful Limelight (Chaplin looks so different, it’s like a different actor named Charlie Chaplin is starring it).
I do love and adore all of the above movies. But there is one film that I did not name above and that is Modern Times. The silent movie that isn’t quite a silent movie. The first Chaplin film I saw. And where I began to understand why he was/is a really big deal. (Basically he did just about everything, and he did it well.)
Favorite Scenes
In short: the whole freakin’ movie. But I’ll try and break it down.
The feeding machine. I saw that and just laughed silly. My sides hurt. My mouth hurt. I can’t look at an ear of corn without letting out a little smile.
And then I found out years later that Chaplin was actually controlling the machine underneath the rotating table. He was literally beating himself up. Anything for the art!
The roller skating scene in the department store. If you have seen The Joker (and even the trailer used Jim Durante’s cover of Smile), you have seen this scene. Where Charlie blindfolds himself and roller skates around the floor…. without noticing that the upper floor they are on is under construction.
The shack. The quaint little shack. Where there is a dangerous looming board that swings down and hits Charlie on the noggin. Not once, but twice. I love how Charlie looks up at it, daring it to come down, and… bonk him on the head. Which it does. Always makes me laugh.
The Nonsense Song. Of course, I have to mention the restaurant where Charlie uses his voice for the first time in his movies. And, one may argue, the only time that we hear the Little Tramp’s voice. If you don’t understand the song… well, what’s wrong with you? Kidding. It’s all gibberish on purpose. It’s what happens when you mix French, Italian, Spanish (and who knows what other languages) in a pot, let simmer for a few hours, and have it sung by a guy who is known for being a silent clown. And he pantomimes the story.
Hidden in Plain Sight
I watched this film so many times that I felt there wasn’t much to see that was “new”. But then one day I gave myself a challenge and tried to watch other things other than Charlie happening in-frame. And this is what I have noticed (so far, anyway):
In the lunch scene, there’s a presumably gay prisoner amongst the other prisoners. When they file out to exit, he’s the guy in front of the big guy who is in front of Charlie.
In the department store, and Charlie and the Gamin leave the elevator, the Gamin runs over excitedly to a Mickey Mouse doll and plays with it.
The Music
It’s amazing. While writing this post, I’ve had certain bits running in my head. When I was younger, I could tell what was happening on screen without looking (I’m a bit fuzzy with my memory now. Busyness of life, and getting older).
For streaming, Amazon is a good place to either rent or buy. Also for Blu Ray and DVD.
Bonus
Back in 2004, a singer by the name of J Five released a hip-hop song also called Modern Times that heavily sampled the Nonsense Song. The video costars one of Charlie’s grand-daughters, Dolores.
In my last post for Favorite First National, I named The Kid. Little Jackie Coogan was 4. During the making of Modern Times, he visited Chaplin and they had fun taking some pictures. Little Jackie was now grown up! Here’s a couple photos from then on the street set of MT:
There are lots of other things I can say about this movie (well, all his movies), but I better stop now. Maybe I’ll write more about it down the road :).
Next up – Thoughts on “Chaplin” the movie starring Robert Downey Jr
One of the best things that I like about the films from here on out is that Charlie Chaplin wrote the music for them. Either right as he was making the film or years later. And not just a few years, but a few decades.
The film I picked for this is one that he wrote the music 50 (yes, 50!) years after the movie was originally released. But I’m not here to just write about the music. This post is for my favorite First National film.
And that is The Kid. Where Chaplin just rips my heart out, stomps on it, and leaves me an emotional wreck. Because, really, it is hard not to cry at this film. Some sad crying but also some happy crying.
Basic premise is this: Charlie finds a baby abandoned on the street He decides to bring the baby up as his own at his home in the city slums. And the adventures begin. The kid is played by Jackie Coogan.
I love how Edna Purviance’s character of the mother is portrayed. She is visibly torn over whether to keep the baby or not, and then is continuously haunted by his memory. Not knowing that the little boy she befriends is her son. (UGH! Ugly crying!) When she gives him the toy dog, and then a sad long walk towards the camera, and he waves to her without her seeing it… is beautifully shot.
One of Chaplin’s best scenes in any of his films, where the authorities had found out that Charlie is not the legal father and they come for the “Proper care and attention” (take the kid away to an orphanage).
I had mention in my last post how I loved his films that were autobiographical. This is another one of those. When he was a boy, he was separated from his mother and brother due to the family living in extreme poverty. And just before starting on this film, he lost his first child, Norman, nicknamed Little Mouse, due to some sort of severe deformation (what that was, I have never been able to find out).
Here is a short interview with a much older Jackie Coogan from the early 1980s where he talks about how Chaplin directed him (clip via Criterion YouTube channel):
In 2003, a number of Chaplin’s films (First National and later) were re-released on DVD. There were a wonderful set of introductions done by the amazing Chaplin biographer, David Robinson. Below is for this film. (following clips from the Official Charlie Chaplin YouTube channel)
A wonderful documentary (part of a series of docs done for the above mentioned DVD release) tells the making of the film. It also includes an interview with a more modern filmmaker from Iran and how Chaplin has influenced him.
Finally, the soundtrack:
And a bonus bit: Chaplin, age 81 or 82, (in color and talking a little), conducting a little of his score:
Another tie: Tenth Planet and Tomb of the Cybermen. Early versions of the silver nemesis (haha, pun). While the 1980s version of the Cybermen was what I was most familiar with in my early fan days, there is something about the first few Cybermen stories, especially the Mondsian Cybermen with their bare hands, that is really appealing. Maybe the early sci fi tv look, along with the excellent out-of-this-world music. At first I thought both versions looked really bad and sounded so weird. Both over time I grew to like them.
Tenth Planet is a true classic, not only do we get the first Cybermen story, we also have the first regeneration. While sadly there are parts missing, there is enough that survived that the recons (reconstructions) are very good (I am more of a fan of the telesnaps than the animation, to be honest.)
And below is what survives of the 1st regeneration:
A cool thing about this story is that it takes place in 1986, which is the year that I became a Whovian :).
Tomb of the Cybermen is another great one, this time with the 2nd Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria (not to be confused with Vicki)
And below, the sweet little chat the Doctor and Victoria have. This made the rounds last year when Deborah Watling, who played Victoria, passed away.
This story also introduces us to the nasty little pests known as the Cybermats.
Audio Adventures
For the audio adventures, I had already mentioned how Real Time scared me silly, so much so I can’t listen to that again because it creeped me out.
One story I have not heard yet, but I have heard many, MANY good things about is Spare Parts. One day (yes, one day) I’ll buy it. And be creeped out yet again!
Next on Doctor Who 30 Day Challenge – Favorite Friendship
