Charlie. Chaplin
On the morning of September 17, 1952, the 63-year-old comedy star Charlie Lee was born in the morning. Chaplin and his family boarded the Queen Elizabeth's luxury Ban lun in New York Harbor to London to attend the premiere of his film career. When the ship left the harbor, Chaplin and his wife Una could not help but look back at the fading Statue of Liberty, and in the early morning light, the statue's affectionate torch seemed to wave goodbye to them. On the transatlantic ship, Chaplin's family heard the voice of the U.S. government on the radio, stating that the U.S. government would refuse Chaplin to re-enter the country, so that the free country he had lived and worked for 40 years had since closed its doors to him.
Why is a Hollywood box office star who has achieved great success so unpopular with the U.S. government? Do you have to sweep him out of the house? Chaos Spencer Chaplin (Chaplin) was born in London, England, and is a British film and television actor, director and screenwriter. From 1915 onwards, Chaplin began to write and direct himself, and even worked as a producer and editor. A comedy star who became popular all over the world from the 10s to the 50s in the last century, Chaplin's comedies were blockbusters, wearing a bowler top hat, a misfit suit, and an iconic moustache that were familiar classic comedy figures, and he was a master of comedy that spanned the silent era to the sound age. How can a Big Hollywood not tolerate a Chaplin?
By 1952, Chaplin had successively made some of the film masterpieces of "Modern Times", "The Great Dictator", and "Mr. Verdeau", which not only achieved great box office success but also stuck one thorn after another on the back of some big figures in American politics, making them feel like needles, and his radical words and deeds also made some big figures in the government feel greatly uneasy.
John. Egaard. Hoover
John. Egaard. Hoover, the FBI director at the time, was a paranoid skeptic who had controlled the FBI for nearly half a century since he became deputy director of the FBI in 1921. It is said that this person can do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. People say he's a gangster in a suit, notorious for the U.S. FBI under Hoover's leadership, and a string of celebrities including the great scientist Eins, writer Hemingway, have all been on his blacklist. Keep them under ridiculous pretexts for long periods of surveillance. And Chaplin had long been a thorn in Hoover's eye. This is strange, Chaplin is famous, he is just a man, according to their words a play, how can he attract Hoover's attention?
Chaplin first entered the eyes of FBI chief Hoover in 1922, when he was already a hollywood star and studio owner, a millionaire. But Chaplin's image in his own films has been an optimistic, humorous and romantic but always unlucky tramp for ten years. According to U.S.C.I.S. records, Chaplin came to the United States in 1912 with the British Carnota Troupe, when Chaplin had no other ideas than acting and finding opportunities to become famous. Although he is only 23 years old, he is already an old drama bone. Chaplin's performance caught the attention of a young American director who was still unknown at the time. He watched Chaplin play the drunk and said, "If I become the boss one day, I'm going to hire that actor to act." ”
Chaplin's classic image
Two years later, Cornerstone Film Studios was born in Hollywood, founded by the young director, the rude and comic-style comedy film director Mike. Senat, soon Chaplin came to Hollywood and signed a one-year actor contract with Cornerstone for $150 a week. This year Chaplin was frantically filming, how much did he shoot? Thirty-five, so admirable, this record we can not break today in any way, but Chaplin himself is not satisfied, why is this? Let's take a look at some of Chaplin's early films this year. As a gruff and comical comedy director, Senat's style of film is too direct, with chasing and throwing cakes being the most common scenes. This is far from satisfying Chaplin's artistic pursuits. Although there was nothing new in terms of script writing, Chaplin still had a harvest during his year at Cornerstone, and the harvest was not ordinary. One day he had a sudden idea, in the costume room of the studio, he found some old clothes worn by other actors, and he wanted to design a new image for himself. So what did he look for, an old suit fit well, but the pants were really long and fat, and there was a pair of obviously unsuitable torn leather shoes, a round neck hat, a cane that looked like no features, compared with Chaplin, who was 1 meter 65 tall, and the other actors looked tall, so what would be the effect of their clothes on him? The results are amazing! And as soon as it debuted, it became a classic. Filmed in 1914, The Venetian Kids Racing Season is Chaplin's third film for Senat, in which he first appeared on screen as a tramp, and it was this film that made Chaplin famous in one fell swoop. His image of a tramp has become what we now have as a classic. Beginning in 1915, chaplin's image of a tramp was all the rage, appearing in animated manga works, even chaplin dolls, who were almost ubiquitous.
After the one-year contract expired, Chaplin quickly switched to Eisenah Pictures, and his salary rose to $1,250 a week plus a $10,000 bonus, which was a lot of money at the time. In 1916, he switched to the Common Film Company, and the salary was a series of triple jumps, and the weekly salary rose to $10,000, plus a dividend of $150,000. From 1916 to 1917, Chaplin made 12 films for the Common Film Company. In these films, he has developed his own distinct comedic style, and he has begun to show a deep ideological nature. But in Hollywood at the time, it wasn't necessarily a good thing to have thoughts, and Chaplin himself didn't know that his films that detracted from current events had caught the attention of the U.S. government. The design of the T-shaped intersection in the movie "Anle Street" was inspired by the street where Chaplin lived as a child, just in the East End of London, where the residents are mostly blue-collar workers and foreign immigrants, the security situation is more chaotic, and one of his famous compatriots is today's football star David. Beckham.
In 1917, Chaplin signed a contract with the First National Film Company, and the film was paid an unprecedented million dollars. After receiving millions of dollars, he immediately began building his own studio on La Bresse Avenue. First National Film gave him full autonomy and control over his work and destiny. At this time, Chaplin in his own film, including the screenwriter, director, starring, composing and other work. During this period, Chaplin made many influential films, such as 1918's "Charlo's Military Record". Among the war films he made, this one is one of the best. Although the film ceased to fight within a few weeks of its release, which did little to boost morale, it became one of the best-selling films during World War I, especially loved by returning American soldiers, who used humor to show the horrors and absurdities of war.
After three years of struggle, the 28-year-old Chaplin has transformed himself into a millionaire and one of the most famous figures in this vanity fair in Hollywood. What are the by-products of fame and fortune? Nature is women, a lot of women. Chaplin's own characters in his films are almost always romantic and affectionate, and he likes to show that men are deeply attracted to the situation when they meet the women they like. In real life, Chaplin and almost every Zhuo girl who works with him on filming will develop a relationship. And these girls all have a common feature, that is, they are very young.
In 1918, during the filming of "Charlot's Journey from the Army", Chaplin met the actress Midley. Harris, who was only 16 years old at the time, was just like the usual time, and the scene between the two of them was just fine. After filming, Harris told Chaplin that he was pregnant. So on the third day after the film's release, Chaplin married her. Because Chaplin developed a relationship with the actress in the play when filming "Gold Rush", Midley. Harris filed a divorce lawsuit with Chaplin in 1920, and his lawyer threatened to seize Chaplin's film negatives. Chaplin had to flee to Salt Lake City with the negatives, where he completed the post-editing of Orphan Wanderer, and a year and a half later, Chaplin handed over Orphan Wandering to the distributor. The film was released in 1921, and the long wait was worth it, and the film became a classic as soon as it was released. He also marked Chaplin's artistic leap. Chaplin's childhood experience has a striking similarity with this film, Chaplin's parents were separated from each other since childhood, his mother was unemployed when he was 7 years old, he had to go to an orphanage with his brother, at the age of 12, his father died of alcoholism, his mother was admitted to a mental hospital, until adulthood, Chaplin's least favorite holiday was Christmas, because in the West, this happy day is an annual day for relatives to get together, and for Chaplin, it is only bleak. It is said that one christmas day, he was given only an orange.
In 1921, Chaplin returned to London once, and it was the first time in nine years since he arrived in the United States with the Carnot Troupe in 1912, and the Olympic docked at South Hamton on September 9, and came to the harbor to meet his shadowy sea. Chaplin has reached the peak of his career. In order to be able to shoot feature films according to his own ideals, Chaplin formed The United States together with David Griffiths, the big stars Mary Bickerford and Douglas Van Penck, who were popular in the United States at that time. Chaplin's acting career is in full swing, and his career is completely under his control. However, in real life, Hoover's shadow FBI's big net has gradually enveloped him, and his fate has been completely out of his control.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the domestic economy in the United States was depressed, prices soared, unemployment was rising, and workers' wages fell repeatedly, resulting in a labor boom. Chaplin, on the other hand, portrayed the lives of the underclass of society by creating the image of a tramp, satirizing capitalists and rulers, which soon attracted the attention of the government. Once, chaplin and a friend were eating at a restaurant, and he vaguely felt that there was a sharp gaze staring at him behind his back, and later learned that it was Hoover, the head of the FBI, and Hoover had certainly seen Chaplin's movies. His movies are funny, but the FBI boss can't enjoy watching them, because in his eyes, these movies are dangerous. Hoover was a legend in the history of the FBI, a mysterious and ruthless character. During his 48 years on the throne, he single-handedly covered the sky, during which even the president of the United States changed several times, but even the president could not do anything with him. Why? Because even the president has black material in his hand, the affair between the Kennedy brothers and Monroe is a typical example. And no one knows about his own private life. Soon Hoover sent agents into Chaplin's film scene to monitor his every word and deed. It wasn't long before undercover agents reported that this place was dangerous, that there were many radicals in the film industry, and that they often discussed the importance of films that did propaganda work for the workers' movement and revolution. Hoover's agents did not know where to get a report that said Chaplin had donated $1,000 to the Communist Party of america anonymously. The FBI spent years looking for evidence, but found no evidence. But Hoover did not abandon the investigation into Chapmin, and he was still waiting for an opportunity. Chaplin knew nothing about the FBI's exploits, and he was completely immersed in his own film and romantic world.
Gold Rush
In November 1924, Chaplin married for the second time, the bride this time by actress Rita Grey, and then he made "Gold Rush", which is a story set in the gold rush in the Western United States, he contains tragedy under the comical jokes, showing the gold diggers in the state of death under the pressure of hunger and cold, and is a true masterpiece of laughter and tears. By this time, the United States had entered the era of sound films, but in 1931, Chaplin's "City Lights" was still a silent film. Why? Because he's said he doesn't like sound movies. In his narration for the documentary Good Old Days, Chaplin refers to the age of silent cinema as the good old silent days, and he says this: There's no talk over there, there's no real voice, and I think that would spoil emotions.
City Lights is another classic, and in 1929, the economic crisis that began in the United States quickly swept across the capitalist world. The help of the tramp to the blind girl in the film brought a touch of warmth to the people in the depression, and when the film premiered in New York in 1931, the great scientist Albert Einstein also went to see it, and he couldn't help but shed tears in the final scene. In 1936, Chaplin released a heavyweight work, which is known as the Modern Age. In this film, he argues that man has been turned into animals, slaves blindly working for machines. The film even contains Marx's ideas, depicting the unfortunate state of workers and the poor in industrial society. The film shows Chaplin's radical leftist ideas. In one of the most classic scenes in the film, a homeless man picks up a red flag in the street, but inadvertently becomes the leader of a Communist Party demonstration, a scene that seems to meet the future, and in less than a decade, Chaplin has also been regarded as a fellow Communist Party traveler.
a great dictator
Soon the Continent was in turmoil, and Nazi Germany under Hitler's dictatorship was ready to do something to its neighbors. In 1937, Chaplin began preparations for one of his largest and most controversial films, which was shot in an unusual and completely secret manner, declaring only No. 6 to be the subject. The story unfolds on the Western Front of World War I, in which Chaplin plays two characters in the film, one of whom is the embodiment of a little tramp, a Jewish hairdresser, and the other is a dictator who alludes to Hitler. It was World War II, and 90 percent of americans were anti-war, and half were more or less anti-war. It takes a lot of courage to make a film like this, commenting on the current situation, the government and the nature of fascism, this film "The Great Dictator". This was his first full-sound film, and at the end of the film, the words spoken by the people in the play may be the message Chaplin wanted to convey, and he was shocked as soon as he opened his mouth. The controversy surrounding "The Great Dictator" did not affect the film's hot sales, the more people scolded the better, and the box office record hit a new high. At the same time, Chaplin's political leanings became more and more pronounced, and he did not shy away from this. After the film's release, Chaplin was accused by the Commission of Inquiry into Non-American Activities because of his political stance, but he did not back down and continued to publicly appeal for the United States to open a second battlefield in Europe.
In the United States after World War II, the shadow of war has not been completely eliminated, and the atmosphere of terror of the Cold War has already spread. On the one hand, the United States, on the one hand, had to compete with the socialist camp headed by the Soviet Union at the international level, and on the other hand, it began to mentally eliminate the so-called communist ideology and strike at the progressive forces at home, and for a time there was no red color in the whole country of the United States. From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, there was a wave of anti-communist xenophobia in the United States, represented by McCarthyism, which spread to all levels of politics, culture and education in the United States. The film industry has also been disturbed by them. In this context, the young, bold, and prominent Chaplin was soon classified by the FBI among the suspected pro-Communist red elements, and his investigation and surveillance escalated step by step.
In 1943, Zhuo Beibei had a new love, actress Joan Berry, he had planned to let her star in his own movie, but did not expect that Jomberly had just become famous in Hollywood, began to be promiscuous, often drunk and borrowed money everywhere. Chaplin had no choice but to break her contract and send her back to New York. But this was not over, in May 1943, Jomberly came to Chaplin with a big belly, she said you are the father of the child in my belly, and took him to court. Jomberly then traveled the country and began walking to denigrate Chaplin's remarks, although she later passed a blood group identification to deny Jomberly's lies. The results of the blood test showed that Chaplin could not be the father of the child, but California law did not recognize the results of the blood test, and Chaplin lost the case and was forced to pay huge child support. As the old saying goes, the case led to another case, and on February 10, 1944, the FBI took Chaplin to court, saying that he had violated the Mann Act and prohibited the transport of women across state lines for immoral reasons. The FBI accused Chaplin of sending Jomberley to New York on October 2, 1942, and Chaplin faced two charges, the first of which was a violation of the Manland Act, section 398,18, and article 51,18. Chaplin went to court again, but this time he won, and the FBI charges could not be established. However, after two lawsuits, his image in the public has been greatly reduced, and it has been proved that all of this was manipulated by Hoover behind the scenes, and even the cost of Qiong Baili's travel around the country was paid by the FBI. The purpose is to make Dhow Weilin stink, Hoover personally arranged a detailed investigation of Dhow Wei Lin, build a file, for example, which magazine said some nice praise, which progressive organization invited him to give a speech, etc., these are all recorded one by one, so, like this archival document, there are more than 2,000 pages about Chaplin. But despite all this effort, the FBI still failed to grasp any of Chaplin's political handles, and in desperation, they put a hat on him, saying that Chaplin's moral degeneration posed a threat to national security. This sounds really funny, the FBI is really idle and has nothing to do, even hollywood stars have to deal with the life style problem? The FBI is actually drunk, and they have more powerful tricks behind them. Chaplin, on the cusp of this storm, made "Mr. Verdou", which condemned the war dealers and arms dealers, the film tells the story of Verdun, a small bank clerk, who worked hard for 20 years, but when the economic crisis came, he was kicked out of the bank' door, and in order to support his family, he was forced to embark on the road of crime. In the film, Mr. Verdou tries to marry a rich woman, then murders them to take possession of their property, and is a veritable master milk killer. Verdun was arrested for murder and sentenced to death. Against this socio-political backdrop, at the end of 1947, Monsieur Verdeau was first boycotted in New York, and then in other cities on the east and west coasts. In New Jersey, for example, opponents pulled up picket lines outside the business gates to prevent people from buying tickets to see the film. In Denver, Colorado, for example, some theaters were intimidated and the film had to be withdrawn after a day of release, which has happened in other states. So much so that Chaplin was unable to recover the cost of filming within the expected time.
In December 1947, Chaplin published an article in a Paris-based newspaper titled I Declare War on Hollywood and Complain to the World About the Persecution He Had Suffered, and to this point Chaplin, who had lived in the United States for more than 30 years, was no longer at odds with the United States, where he had lived for more than 30 years. After repeated suggestions from the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice finally made the decision to deport Chaplin from the film in 1952.
In 1952, "Stage Career" premiered in London and achieved great success, and Chaplin in life also suffered the biggest change in his life. At this time, Chaplin was accompanied by his last wife, Una O'Neill, the daughter of the famous playwright Eugene O'Neill, who broke through the family resistance at the age of 18 and married chaplin at the age of 54, never abandoned, and accompanied him until the end of his life. Chaplin's family finally settled in Switzerland, where life was very different from Hollywood, far from the spotlight, but he tasted the true feelings of the world, away from many admirers, but harvested sincere love. Chaplin later recalled that the 20 years since he left Hollywood were his happiest 20 years. During this time, he made two more films, "The King of New York" and "The Duchess of Hong Kong", which also detracted from current affairs.
In 1972, the United States finally repented, threw Chaplin out of the olive branch, and he was invited to Hollywood after 20 years of absence, abandoning his grievances and accepting the Special Honor Award of the Oscars. The audience gave the comedy master a standing applause for a long time, and Chaplin was already in tears before he could open his mouth.
On December 25, 1977, on his favorite Christmas day, Charlie Chaplin, died and left 80 film works behind him. Perhaps, this is his eternal Christmas gift to the audience, but we have no way of knowing whether he still has so many loyal audiences in another world. In the last part of his life, his photographer was basically his wife Una, his children and grandchildren were his only audience, he still liked to play treasure in front of the camera, and at this moment, in the quiet Swiss countryside, away from the crowd, away from applause, Chaplin found that the dream without an audience was actually not so terrible, and he could still go forward like the tramp in his movie.