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.
I was wondering whether or not to include this day’s challenge because I don’t want to give publicity to poorly written books. But, on the other hand, I wanted to share my thoughts on books to be wary of.
This one is at the top of my list: Joyce Milton’s “Tramp: The Life of Charlie Chaplin”.
I first heard about the book when I was on the road in a circus (ah, a story for another time!) in the summer of 1996 when I saw a newspaper article about it. I was excited to see another book about him and looked forward to getting it when I went back home.
One person towers ahead of other bad guys. Standing at 6’5, and just under 300 pounds, it’s Eric Campbell.
He worked with Chaplin back in the Fred Karno days in England, and later found his way to America. Chaplin brought him into his cast at Mutual, and they worked on 11 of Chaplin’s 12 Mutual films from The Floorwalker in 1916 to The Adventurer in 1917. His last appearance was as a golfer in the unreleased How to Make Movies.
He was great as the big bully, his Goliath to Charlie’s David. And those make-uped eyebrows! He was a bit of a cartoonish bad guy, but he was fantastic at it. Sadly he died young in 1917 in a car accident.
This is not to say that I hate the movie. Not at all. This one just is at the bottom of my list.
A Countess From Hong Kong.
There are things I liked about this, but I think it’s the weakest of his films. Mostly, I think, he was not working with his old crew since this was several years into his exile from the United States. Also he gave himself just a cameo.
It is weird to watch a film of his in color. Very much so. Also widescreen. What world have I popped into?
Absolutely love the music! While he as not at his normal stomping grounds of his studio for filming, he did have an excellent access to a great orchestra.
“This is My Song” is one of my favorite Chaplin pieces, both the instrumental version from the soundtrack…
… and the version sung by Petula Clark
And another version that I like a lot:
The thing that bothers me about it (and I have only watched it one time 3 years ago during it’s 50th anniversary) was I could see Chaplin directing them. Not literally of course, but how Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren, and the rest of the cast acted. It didn’t come off as natural as the cast in his earlier films. Some reason that just got to me.
Chaplin, in one of the 2 cameo shots
Other than the music, I thought that Harvey’s character had interesting growth, from jerk to being thoughtful. And Miss Gaulswallow was a hoot! Sophia Loren as Natasha was very elegant the whole time, even when she was wearing baggy pajamas.
And Charlie’s two cameo spots were nice. And being seasick on a ship was reminiscent of the opening scenes of seasick travelers on a boat to America in his The Immigrant 50 years earlier.
Maybe it was just Marlon that I didn’t like that much. He and Chaplin did not get along on set. Marlon was a method actor, and Chaplin was a “do *exactly* how I act it out or we do it again, and again, and again, and…” directing method which he had been doing since his early silent days. And Marlon didn’t like that.
So, no, not a terrible movie. Just below the other movies he made. Would it have been better if he was in it more? I have wondered about how it would have turned out if he made it back when he wrote it in the 1930s with Paulette Goddard being the female lead. One ting for sure: It certainly is an experience to watch a film of his in widescreen and color.
