Director: Charles Chaplin
Screenplay: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Earl Chaplin, Wheeler Dryden, Norman Lloyd
Running Time: 137 minutes
Genre: Comedy-drama
London, 1914: Calvero (Chaplin), a once famous comedian who is now a washed up drunk, rescues a young woman, Thereza (Bloom), from suicide. As he nurses her back to health, Calvero learns that Thereza is an aspiring ballerina. He helps her regain her confidence to dance again, and in the process finds himself yearning to return to the stage.
This was not Chaplin's last film, but it does feel like a final film. It heavily references Chaplin's own life and career, the film is set in London, where Chaplin grew up, and takes place in 1914, the year of Chaplin's own debut. Calvero became famous, like Chaplin, by playing tramp character, and, again like Chaplin, is left behind by a changing world and changing audiences. Although the film has comedy in it, including a hilarious silent skit between Chaplin and fellow silent comedy legend Buster Keaton, this is essentially a drama. The film is overlong and feels at times like a filmed play, it also suffers from some quite obvious back projection. However I feel this is one of Chaplin's best films. The film is melodramatic, and the speeches may seem naive, but there is real power to it, and it feels very heartfelt. Certainly by the end, it's hard not to have tears in the eyes. This is a very personal film and it's rare that you find a film that does feel as if it is a direct message to the audience. It's a film about success, failure, the possibility of redemption, the power of art and the necessity of facing life and persevering, no matter how painful that may be.
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