Richard Carr's Charlie Chaplin places politics at the centre of the filmmaker's life as it looks beyond Chaplin's role as a comedic figure to his constant political engagement both on and off the screen.
Drawing from a wealth of archival sources from across the globe, Carr provides an in-depth examination of Chaplin's life as he made his way from Lambeth to Los Angeles. From his experiences in the workhouse to his controversial romantic relationships and his connections with some of the leading political figures of his day, this book sheds new light on Chaplin's private life and introduces him as a key social commentator of the time.
Whether interested in Hollywood and Hitler or communism and celebrity, Charlie Chaplin is essential reading for all students of twentieth-century history.
Richard Carr's Charlie Chaplin explains how Chaplin's life, both on and off the screen, was constantly politically engaged. Chaplin made a number of political films, from the capitalism bashing Modern Times to the anti-war ethos of The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux. But these films were only the tip of the iceberg. Chaplin believed that he could cure the world of intolerance and economic depression and was able to discuss his ideas with some of the leading thinkers of his day. This work, in surveying Chaplin's life from Lambeth to Los Angeles, places the politics centre-stage. Charlie Chaplin is essential reading for all students of 20th century history.
'Richard Carr's political biography of Charlie Chaplin draws on a wide variety of archival sources and provides an insightful, nuanced analysis of Chaplin's evolving political views in the context of his times.? His discussion of Chaplin's interactions with British politicians and artists (and the British response to Chaplin) is especially illuminating, providing an important contribution to our understanding of the complex man and artist who created the Tramp.'
Professor Charles Maland, University of Tennessee
'Richard Carr has scoured archives on both sides of the Atlantic to bring us this vivid and nuanced portrait of the political Charlie Chaplin. Carr shows us Chaplin as his contemporaries saw him--as a highly vocal silent film star who was also an ambitious political thinker. Carr reveals the interplay of personal scandal, mud-slinging media, non-conformism and leftist politics that shaped the Chaplin myth, giving us perhaps the most complete picture to date of Chaplin the man and of the deep-seated humanitarian ideals that drove both his politics and his poetics.'
Dr Libby Murphy, Oberlin College and Conservatory
