Wednesday, February 5, 2014

THE CHAPLIN CENTENNIAL: A CHAPLIN NOVELLA AND MODERN TIMES


THE CHAPLIN CENTENNIAL: A CHAPLIN NOVELLA AND MODERN TIMES
5 February, 2014

This is a special and exciting week for fans of Chaplin and classic cinema. And if you’re a fan of either, you’re a fan of both.



This week we celebrate and mark the historic occasions when Chaplin made his film debut (“Making a Living”, Keystone, released 2 February, 1914), and his character The Little Tramp made his debut (“Kid Auto Races at Venice”, Keystone, released 7 February, 1914).
  
And today, as we mark the debut of Modern Times, which opened on February 5th, 1936 and was the last screen appearance of Chaplin’s Little Tramp character, it was announced that a novella written by Chaplin will be published. 

Chaplin’s only known work of fiction (he had also written and published his biography in his lifetime in 1964, and a photobook called “My Life in Pictures” in 1974, “Footlights” is a novella that is the precursor to the screenplay and film LIMELIGHT. 


CHAPLIN’S NOVELLA “FOOTLIGHTS”
“Footlights” was written in 1948, and was reconstructed by Chaplin biographer and film historian David Robinson, and researchers at the Cineteca di Bolongna, an Italian film restoration institute. Multiple drafts of the manuscript to “Footlights” were found in the Chaplin archives in Switzerland, and the Chaplin Estate gave the parties permission to reconstruct the literary work. The novella essentially tells the story told in Chaplin’s film LIMELIGHT, but has a more somber, sadder edge to it.

The novella can be ordered from Amazon or from Cineteca HERE. It goes on sale at The British Film Institute on Tuesday.

Here is a charming scene with Chaplin and Claire Bloom:



MODERN TIMES

 Chaplin’s last film to use his immortal character of The Little Tramp opened on 5 February, 1936. Chaplin’s Jewish Barber in THE GREAT DICTATOR, although bearing a great resemblance to the tramp, was quite a different little fellow.

Here is the classic factory scene from MODERN TIMES:





Original Images and Text © Mark Redfield 2014

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