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'''''The Circus''''' is a 1928 silent film |
'''''The Circus''''' is a 1928 silent film which finds [[Charlie Chaplin]]'s [[The Tramp|Little Tramp]] character being chased by a police officer, having been mistaken for a pickpocket. Running into the [[circus]] main tent in an attempt to escape the law, the patrons there mistake his fleeing for part of the act - and the best part! Recognising potential profit, the [[Ringmaster (circus)|ringmaster]] hires him, but discovers that The Tramp can only be funny unintentionally, not on purpose. It stars Chaplin, [[Al Ernest Garcia]], [[Merna Kennedy]], [[Harry Crocker]], [[George Davis (actor)|George Davis]] and [[Henry Bergman]]. |
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The |
The movie was written by Chaplin and [[Joseph Plunkett]] (prologue, uncredited) and directed by Chaplin. It became the 7th highest grossing silent film in cinema history<ref>[http://www.cinemaweb.com/silentfilm/bookshelf/7_v_32_4.htm Variety]; Biggest Money Pictures</ref> taking in more than $3.8 million dollars in 1928. |
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The production of the film was the most difficult experience in Chaplin's career. Numerous problems and delays occurred, including a studio fire, the death of [[Hannah Chaplin|Chaplin's mother]], as well as Chaplin's bitter divorce from his second wife [[Lita Grey]], and the [[Internal Revenue Service]]'s claims of Chaplin's owed back taxes, all of which culminated in filming being stalled for eight months.<ref name="DVDJ">{{cite web|last=Bourne|first=Mark|title=The Circus: The Chaplin Collection|url=http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/c/circus.shtml|work=Reviews|publisher=DVDJournal,com|accessdate=29 October 2010}}</ref> |
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==Plot== |
==Plot== |
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After being mistakenly suspected as a pickpocket and chased by the police, a Tramp (Chaplin) happens to stumble in the middle of a circus performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show. He is hired by the circus Ring Master and thus he becomes a part of the group. His romantic attraction to Merna, the Ring Master's stepdaughter is thwarted by a rival suitor, a tightrope walker called Rex. This results in the tramp's failure as a clown as well as a lover. In the end, the tramp takes the initiative for the marriage of Merna and Rex and he leaves the group, though the new couple wanted him to remain as a part of the circus. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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* [[Charlie Chaplin]] |
* [[Charlie Chaplin]] - A tramp |
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* [[Al Ernest Garcia]] |
* [[Al Ernest Garcia]] - The circus proprietor and ring master |
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* [[Merna Kennedy]] |
* [[Merna Kennedy]] - His stepdaughter, a circus rider |
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* [[Henry Bergman]] |
* [[Henry Bergman]] - An old clown |
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* [[Harry Crocker]] |
* [[Harry Crocker]] - Rex, a tight rope walker/disgruntled property man/clown |
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* [[George Davis (actor)|George Davis]] |
* [[George Davis (actor)|George Davis]] - A magician |
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* [[Tiny Sandford]] |
* [[Tiny Sandford]] - The head property man (as Stanley J. Sandford) |
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* [[John Rand (actor)|John Rand]] |
* [[John Rand (actor)|John Rand]] - An assistant property man/clown |
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== |
== Academy Awards == |
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⚫ | It was nominated for the four Academy Awards all for [[Charlie Chaplin]] but the Academy took Chaplin out of the running for competitive awards by giving him a [[Academy Honorary Award#1920s|Special Award]]. The Academy no longer lists his nominations in their official list of nominees, although most unofficial lists of nominations do include him. |
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The film was released on January 6, 1928, right at the beginning of the [[sound film]] era.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crafton|first=Donald|year=1999|chapter=The Uncertainty of Sound|title=The Talkies: American Cinema's Transition to Sound, 1926-1931|publisher=University of California Press|volume=4|isbn=0520221281|page=17}}</ref> ''[[The Jazz Singer (1927 film)|The Jazz Singer]]'' (1927), the very first feature sound film, had just been released months earlier. ''The Circus'' was well received by audiences and critics, and while its performance at the box office was good, it earned less than ''[[The Gold Rush]]'' (1925).<ref name="Maland">{{cite book|last=Maland|first=Charles J.|year=1991|title=Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0691028605}}</ref> Critics consider ''The Gold Rush'' and ''The Circus'' Chaplin's two best comedies.<ref>{{cite book|year=2004|chapter=Charles Spencer Chaplin|title=Encyclopedia of World Biography|publisher=Gale|edition=2nd|volume=3|pages=438-440}}</ref> Film historian Jeffrey Vance views ''The Circus'' as an autobiographical metaphor: |
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<blockquote>He joins the circus and revolutionizes the cheap little knockabout comedy among the circus clowns, and becomes an enormous star. But by the end of the movie, the circus is packing up and moving on without him. Chaplin's left alone in the empty circus ring...It reminds me of Chaplin and his place in the world of the cinema. The show is moving on without him. He filmed that sequence four days after the release of 'The Jazz Singer' (the first successful talkie) in New York. When he put a score to 'The Circus' in 1928, Chaplin scored that sequence with 'Blue Skies,' the song Jolson had made famous, only Chaplin played it slowly and sorrowfully, like a funeral dirge.<ref>{{cite news|last=Weddle|first=David|date=April 28, 2003|title=Nothing Obvious or Easy: Chaplin's Feature Films|publisher=''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''|volume=390|issue=11|issn=0042-2738|page=6}}</ref></blockquote> |
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Sometime between 1969-1970, Chaplin revived the film, adding a new musical score and a recording of him singing "Swing High Little Girl" playing over the opening credits.<ref>{{cite web|last=Robinson|first=David|year=2004|url=http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/1-The-Circus|title=The Circus|publisher=charliechaplin.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/84-Swing-little-girl|title=Swing Little Girl|publisher=charliechaplin.com}}</ref> |
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== Awards == |
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{| class="wikitable" border="1" |
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| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Production]] |
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Production]] |
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| [[United Artists]] (Charlie Chaplin, Producer) |
| [[United Artists]] ([[Charlie Chaplin]], Producer) |
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| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director of a Comedy Picture]] |
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director of a Comedy Picture]] |
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| Charlie Chaplin |
| [[Charlie Chaplin]] |
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| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] |
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] |
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| Charlie Chaplin |
| [[Charlie Chaplin]] |
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|- |
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| [[Academy Award for Best Story|Best Writing (Original Story)]] |
| [[Academy Award for Best Story|Best Writing (Original Story)]] |
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| Charlie Chaplin |
| [[Charlie Chaplin]] |
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| colspan=2|The Academy took him out of the running for the Awards and gave him a Special Award. |
| colspan=2|The Academy took him out of the running for the Awards and gave him a Special Award. |
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== Re-release == |
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Chaplin reissued the film with a new musical score and with a recording of him singing "Swing High Little Girl" playing over the opening credits. It is unclear what year this re-release took place, as the official Charlie Chaplin website reports that it was in 1969,<ref>http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/1-The-Circus</ref> but numerous other sources say it happened in 1970.<ref name="DVDJ"/><ref>Vance, Jeffrey. " 'The Circus': A Chaplin Masterpiece". ''Film History''. vol.8 pp.186-208, 1996.</ref> The newly produced music is dated 1968, as is the copyright date on the print of the reissue.<ref>http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/84-Swing-little-girl</ref> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Time travel urban legends#1928 cell phone user|Alleged time traveler at premier]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*{{cite journal|last=Vance|first=Jeffrey|year=1996|url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/3815334|title="The Circus": A Chaplin Masterpiece|journal=Film History|volume=8|issue=2|publisher=Indiana University Press|pages=186-208}} |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
Revision as of 12:40, 11 January 2011
The Circus | |
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File:Chalincircus2b.jpg | |
Directed by | Charlie Chaplin |
Written by | Charlie Chaplin |
Produced by | Charlie Chaplin |
Starring | Charlie Chaplin Al Ernest Garcia Merna Kennedy Henry Bergman |
Music by | Günter Kochan (1969) |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date | January 6, 1928 |
Running time | 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
The Circus is a 1928 silent film which finds Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character being chased by a police officer, having been mistaken for a pickpocket. Running into the circus main tent in an attempt to escape the law, the patrons there mistake his fleeing for part of the act - and the best part! Recognising potential profit, the ringmaster hires him, but discovers that The Tramp can only be funny unintentionally, not on purpose. It stars Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia, Merna Kennedy, Harry Crocker, George Davis and Henry Bergman.
The movie was written by Chaplin and Joseph Plunkett (prologue, uncredited) and directed by Chaplin. It became the 7th highest grossing silent film in cinema history[1] taking in more than $3.8 million dollars in 1928.
The production of the film was the most difficult experience in Chaplin's career. Numerous problems and delays occurred, including a studio fire, the death of Chaplin's mother, as well as Chaplin's bitter divorce from his second wife Lita Grey, and the Internal Revenue Service's claims of Chaplin's owed back taxes, all of which culminated in filming being stalled for eight months.[2]
Plot
After being mistakenly suspected as a pickpocket and chased by the police, a Tramp (Chaplin) happens to stumble in the middle of a circus performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show. He is hired by the circus Ring Master and thus he becomes a part of the group. His romantic attraction to Merna, the Ring Master's stepdaughter is thwarted by a rival suitor, a tightrope walker called Rex. This results in the tramp's failure as a clown as well as a lover. In the end, the tramp takes the initiative for the marriage of Merna and Rex and he leaves the group, though the new couple wanted him to remain as a part of the circus.
Cast
- Charlie Chaplin - A tramp
- Al Ernest Garcia - The circus proprietor and ring master
- Merna Kennedy - His stepdaughter, a circus rider
- Henry Bergman - An old clown
- Harry Crocker - Rex, a tight rope walker/disgruntled property man/clown
- George Davis - A magician
- Tiny Sandford - The head property man (as Stanley J. Sandford)
- John Rand - An assistant property man/clown
Academy Awards
It was nominated for the four Academy Awards all for Charlie Chaplin but the Academy took Chaplin out of the running for competitive awards by giving him a Special Award. The Academy no longer lists his nominations in their official list of nominees, although most unofficial lists of nominations do include him.
Award | Nominee |
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Best Production | United Artists (Charlie Chaplin, Producer) |
Best Director of a Comedy Picture | Charlie Chaplin |
Best Actor | Charlie Chaplin |
Best Writing (Original Story) | Charlie Chaplin |
The Academy took him out of the running for the Awards and gave him a Special Award. | |
Special Award | To Charles Chaplin for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus. |
Re-release
Chaplin reissued the film with a new musical score and with a recording of him singing "Swing High Little Girl" playing over the opening credits. It is unclear what year this re-release took place, as the official Charlie Chaplin website reports that it was in 1969,[3] but numerous other sources say it happened in 1970.[2][4] The newly produced music is dated 1968, as is the copyright date on the print of the reissue.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Variety; Biggest Money Pictures
- ^ a b Bourne, Mark. "The Circus: The Chaplin Collection". Reviews. DVDJournal,com. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/1-The-Circus
- ^ Vance, Jeffrey. " 'The Circus': A Chaplin Masterpiece". Film History. vol.8 pp.186-208, 1996.
- ^ http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/84-Swing-little-girl