The Circus (silent film)
Encyclopedia
The Circus is a 1928 silent film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin
with Joseph Plunkett as an uncredited writer. The film stars Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia
, Merna Kennedy
, Harry Crocker
, George Davis
and Henry Bergman
. The ringmaster
of an impoverished circus hires Chaplin's Little Tramp
as a clown, but discovers that he can only be funny unintentionally, not on purpose.
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. The Circus was the seventh highest grossing silent film in cinema history taking in more than $3.8 million dollars in 1928.
, the penniless and hungry Tramp (Chaplin) is mistaken for a pickpocket and chased by both the police and the real crook (the latter having stashed a stolen wallet and watch in the Tramp's pocket to avoid detection).
Running away, the Tramp stumbles into the middle of a performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show. The ringmaster/proprietor of the struggling circus gives him a tryout the next day, but the Tramp fails miserably.
However, when the property men quit because they have not been paid, he gets hired on the spot to take their place. Once again, he inadvertently creates comic mayhem during a show. The ringmaster craftily hires him as a poorly paid property man. The Tramp befriends Merna (Kennedy), a horse rider who is treated badly by her ringmaster stepfather.
She later informs the Tramp that he is the star of the show, forcing the ringmaster to pay him accordingly. With the circus thriving because of him, the Tramp also is able to secure better treatment for Merna. After overhearing a fortune teller inform Merna that she sees "love and marriage with a dark, handsome man who is near you now", the overjoyed Tramp buys a ring from another clown.
Alas for him, she meets Rex (Crocker), the newly hired tightrope walker
. The Tramp eavesdrops as she rushes to tell the fortune teller that she has fallen in love with the new man.
With his heart broken, the Tramp is unable to entertain the crowds. After several poor performances, the ringmaster warns him he has only one more chance.
When Rex cannot be found for a performance, the ringmaster (knowing that the Tramp has been practicing the tight rope act in hopes of supplanting his rival) sends the Tramp out in his place.
Despite a few mishaps, including several mischievous escaped monkeys, he manages to survive the experience. However, when he sees the ringmaster slapping Merna around afterward, he beats the man and is fired. Merna runs away to join him. The Tramp finds and brings Rex back with him to marry Merna. The trio go back to the circus.
The ringmaster starts berating his stepdaughter, but stops when Rex informs him that she is his wife. When the traveling circus leaves, the Tramp remains behind. He picks himself up and starts walking jauntily away.
. Set designer Danny Hall sketched
out Chaplin's early ideas for the film, with Chaplin returning to one of his older films, The Vagabond (1916), and drawing upon similar story ideas and themes for The Circus.
in December, and litigation delayed the release of the film for another year.
on January 6, 1928, at the Strand Theatre, and in Los Angeles
on January 27 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
. It came right at the beginning of the sound film
era, with the very first feature sound film, The Jazz Singer
(1927), having been released just months earlier.
(1925). Many critics consider it and The Gold Rush to be Chaplin's two best comedies.
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
with Joseph Plunkett as an uncredited writer. The film stars Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia
Al Ernest Garcia
Al Ernest Garcia was an American silent film actor. He starred with Charlie Chaplin in films such as The Circus.-Filmography:...
, Merna Kennedy
Merna Kennedy
Merna Kennedy was an American actress of the late silent era.-Short career:Kennedy was best-known during her brief career for her role opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent film The Circus .Kennedy was brought to the attention of Chaplin by her friend Lita Grey, who became Chaplin's second wife...
, Harry Crocker
Harry Crocker
Harry Crocker was an American actor of the 1920s. He appeared in Charlie Chaplin's The Circus in 1928. He was a Los Angeles Examiner newsman.-Biography:Crocker was born on July 2, 1893...
, George Davis
George Davis (actor)
George Davis was a Dutch-born American actor. He appeared in 261 films between 1916 and 1963.He was born in Amsterdam, and died in Los Angeles, California from cancer.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
and Henry Bergman
Henry Bergman
Henry Bergman was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin....
. The ringmaster
Ringmaster (circus)
The ringmaster is the most visible performer in the modern circus, and among the most important, since he stage-manages the performance, introduces the various acts, and guides the audience through the entertainment experience. In smaller circuses, the ringmaster is often the owner and artistic...
of an impoverished circus hires Chaplin's Little Tramp
The Tramp
The Tramp, also known as The Little Tramp was Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character, a recognized icon of world cinema most dominant during the silent film era....
as a clown, but discovers that he can only be funny unintentionally, not on purpose.
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
Hannah Chaplin
Hannah Chaplin was the founding matriarch of the Chaplin family of actors as the mother of Sir Charlie Chaplin....
, as well as Chaplin's bitter divorce from his second wife Lita Grey
Lita Grey
Lita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
, and the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
's claims of Chaplin's owed back taxes, all of which culminated in filming being stalled for eight months. The Circus was the seventh highest grossing silent film in cinema history taking in more than $3.8 million dollars in 1928.
Plot
At a circus midwayMidway (fair)
A midway at a fair is the location where amusement rides, entertainment and fast food booths are concentrated....
, the penniless and hungry Tramp (Chaplin) is mistaken for a pickpocket and chased by both the police and the real crook (the latter having stashed a stolen wallet and watch in the Tramp's pocket to avoid detection).
Running away, the Tramp stumbles into the middle of a performance and unknowingly becomes the hit of the show. The ringmaster/proprietor of the struggling circus gives him a tryout the next day, but the Tramp fails miserably.
However, when the property men quit because they have not been paid, he gets hired on the spot to take their place. Once again, he inadvertently creates comic mayhem during a show. The ringmaster craftily hires him as a poorly paid property man. The Tramp befriends Merna (Kennedy), a horse rider who is treated badly by her ringmaster stepfather.
She later informs the Tramp that he is the star of the show, forcing the ringmaster to pay him accordingly. With the circus thriving because of him, the Tramp also is able to secure better treatment for Merna. After overhearing a fortune teller inform Merna that she sees "love and marriage with a dark, handsome man who is near you now", the overjoyed Tramp buys a ring from another clown.
Alas for him, she meets Rex (Crocker), the newly hired tightrope walker
Tightrope walking
Tightrope walking is the art of walking along a thin wire or rope, usually at a great height. One or more artists performs in front of an audience or as a publicity stunt...
. The Tramp eavesdrops as she rushes to tell the fortune teller that she has fallen in love with the new man.
With his heart broken, the Tramp is unable to entertain the crowds. After several poor performances, the ringmaster warns him he has only one more chance.
When Rex cannot be found for a performance, the ringmaster (knowing that the Tramp has been practicing the tight rope act in hopes of supplanting his rival) sends the Tramp out in his place.
Despite a few mishaps, including several mischievous escaped monkeys, he manages to survive the experience. However, when he sees the ringmaster slapping Merna around afterward, he beats the man and is fired. Merna runs away to join him. The Tramp finds and brings Rex back with him to marry Merna. The trio go back to the circus.
The ringmaster starts berating his stepdaughter, but stops when Rex informs him that she is his wife. When the traveling circus leaves, the Tramp remains behind. He picks himself up and starts walking jauntily away.
Cast
- Al Ernest GarciaAl Ernest GarciaAl Ernest Garcia was an American silent film actor. He starred with Charlie Chaplin in films such as The Circus.-Filmography:...
as The Circus Proprietor and Ringmaster - Merna KennedyMerna KennedyMerna Kennedy was an American actress of the late silent era.-Short career:Kennedy was best-known during her brief career for her role opposite Charlie Chaplin in the silent film The Circus .Kennedy was brought to the attention of Chaplin by her friend Lita Grey, who became Chaplin's second wife...
as His Step-daughter, A Circus Rider - Harry CrockerHarry CrockerHarry Crocker was an American actor of the 1920s. He appeared in Charlie Chaplin's The Circus in 1928. He was a Los Angeles Examiner newsman.-Biography:Crocker was born on July 2, 1893...
as Rex, A Tight Rope Walker (also a disgruntled property man and a clown) - George DavisGeorge Davis (actor)George Davis was a Dutch-born American actor. He appeared in 261 films between 1916 and 1963.He was born in Amsterdam, and died in Los Angeles, California from cancer.-Selected filmography:-External links:...
as A Magician - Henry BergmanHenry BergmanHenry Bergman was an American actor of stage and film, known for his long association with Charlie Chaplin....
as An Old Clown - Tiny SandfordTiny SandfordStanley J. "Tiny" Sandford was a tall, burly actor who is best remembered for his roles in Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin films. He was usually cast as a comic heavy, and often played policemen, doormen, prizefighters, or bullies.Sandford was born in Osage, Iowa. After working in stock...
as The Head Property Man (as Stanley J. Sandford) - John RandJohn Rand (actor)John Rand was an American actor who started his film career in the 1910s, and most notably supported Charles Chaplin in over 20 of his subjects.-Selected filmography:*The Pawnshop *Easy Street *Pay Day...
as An Assistant Property Man (also a clown) - Steve MurphySteve MurphySteve Murphy is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 28, which includes portions of Goodhue, Wabasha and Winona counties in the southeastern part of the state. A Democrat, he was first elected in 1992, representing the old District 29 until...
as A Pickpocket - Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
as A Tramp
Development
Chaplin first began discussing his ideas for a film about a circus as early as 1920. In late 1925, he returned from New York to California and began working on developing the film at Charlie Chaplin StudiosCharlie Chaplin Studios
Charlie Chaplin Studios is a motion picture studio built in 1917 by silent film star Charlie Chaplin just south of the southeast corner of La Brea and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California....
. Set designer Danny Hall sketched
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
out Chaplin's early ideas for the film, with Chaplin returning to one of his older films, The Vagabond (1916), and drawing upon similar story ideas and themes for The Circus.
Filming
Filming began on January 11, 1926 and the majority was completed by November. After the first month of filming, it was discovered that the film negative had been scratched; restoration work was able to eventually adjust the negative. A major fire broke out at Chaplin's studios in September, delaying production for a month. Chaplin was served with divorce papers by Lita GreyLita Grey
Lita Grey was an American actress and the second wife of Charlie Chaplin. She was born in Hollywood, California, in 1908, to a Mexican-born mother and a father of Irish heritage and christened Lillita Louise MacMurray.-Personal life:Grey married four times...
in December, and litigation delayed the release of the film for another year.
Release
The Circus finally premiered in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on January 6, 1928, at the Strand Theatre, and in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on January 27 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre
Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theater at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is on the historic Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922...
. It came right at the beginning of the sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
era, with the very first feature sound film, The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
(1927), having been released just months earlier.
Reception
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 RushThe Gold Rush
The Gold Rush is a 1925 silent film comedy written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin in his Little Tramp role. The film also stars Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite....
(1925). Many critics consider it and The Gold Rush to be Chaplin's two best comedies.
Analysis
Film historian Jeffrey Vance views The Circus as an autobiographical metaphor:
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 SkiesBlue Skies (song)-History:The song was composed in 1926 as a last minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical, Betsy. Although the show only ran for 39 performances, "Blue Skies" was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star, Belle Baker. During the final...
,' the song Jolson had made famous, only Chaplin played it slowly and sorrowfully, like a funeral dirge.
Musical rescoring
In 1967, Chaplin composed a new musical score for the film and a recording of him singing "Swing High Little Girl" playing over the opening credits. A new version of the film opened in New York on December 15, 1969, with the new score. It was released in London in December 1970.Awards
Charlie Chaplin was nominated for four Academy Awards, but the Academy took Chaplin out of the running by giving him a Special Award. The Academy no longer lists Chaplin's nominations in their official list of nominees, although most unofficial lists of nominations include him.| Award | Nominee |
|---|---|
| Best Production Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only... |
United Artists United Artists United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.... (Charlie Chaplin, Producer) |
| Best Director of a Comedy Picture | Charlie Chaplin |
| Best Actor Academy Award for Best Actor Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... |
Charlie Chaplin |
| Best Writing (Original Story) Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1957, when it was eliminated in favor of the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, which had been introduced in 1940.-1920s:... |
Charlie Chaplin |
| The Academy took him out of the running for the Awards and gave him a Special Award. | |
| Special Award Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award, instituted in 1948 for the 21st Academy Awards , is given by the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to celebrate motion picture achievements that are not covered by existing Academy Awards, although prior winners of... |
To Charles Chaplin for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus. |