Moviecut—The Circus

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source: The Circus

There was barely a minute in the Circus I wasn't smiling and/or laughing like a silly little kid, and that's the key for how successful the picture is and, hopefully, in its appeal. For those handful of young people (i.e. children) who would be adventurous enough to come close to a black and white movie let alone one without any dialog, it's possibly the most enjoyable of all of Chaplin's pre-1940 work. This doesn't mean it'll make you cry like City Lights or be somewhat enlightened like Modern Times, but it has a fresh and joyous and innocent delight in its making and Chaplin as the Little Tramp, where here he's more than ever like a simple cartoon character thrust into this rough-and-tumble circus world with a mean ringmaster and kind and kind of loving girl. And it's not just the infamous climactic tightrope act, although if for no other reason that's one big reason to see the film as the little Tramp goes haywire with his plans to "safely" go across the tightrope. It's just the entire assemblage of skits and moments, little things that might seem silly to talk about- like Chaplin locked in a lion's cage or trying to 'learn' a barber trick- and how it unfolds with a precision and finesse (yes, finesse) that is just short of genius, if not that. In fact a big point in the film is "try and act funny", which is not something that can really be barked on command to anyone, especially the Little Tramp who, in essence, garners his comedy from unintentional goofiness, embarrassment or humiliation on the parts of others, or just plain old physical pratfalls. What we get in the Circus is the tale of the classic clown in the midst of a whole programmed slew of them, and what it takes to make it in it- or what humanity is there. As said, it doesn't necessarily have the best love story, even if that's touching, and it doesn't make some big statement on the working-man or society in general. But if you want to just flat-out laugh at some incredible stunts and witness Chaplin's craft of quality, The Circus is fantastic fun.

In all honesty didn't expect to be as engrossed by Chaplin's silent film The Circus (1928) as much I actually ended up being. In fact, I believe that it would have not had been as engrossing as it was had there been dialogue present. This is because of the movie's rather romantic leaning, but here audience is spared the endless romantic dribble of a character in love. Instead the movie was able to move constantly forward spurred purely by Chaplin's exaggerated facial and body expressions. The movie also works without sound because Chaplin's "Tramp" character would probably come across as a bit of an imbecile with sound, rather than naive with all of his accidental high-jinks and follies. It is this naive innocence that makes the Tramp so likable, and when he losses Merna at the end, Chaplin's face and defeated body language do more justice to the sad moment than any dialogue with him lamenting her loss could have. The Circus is an altogether enjoyable piece whose rather predictable story-line is kept fresh with Chaplin's charismatic antics.

I may be a lonely voice in the wilderness on this one, but I was greatly disappointed by "The Circus". I love silent films but if you compare the films the other two great silent clowns were doing at the same time, "The Circus" does not compare. Lloyd was doing films like "The Kid Brother" and "Speedy" while Keaton was doing "The Cameraman"--all films that show how really great silent pictures can be. When the Tramp is chased into the circus by the cop the audience immediately goes wild! They scream with laughter, yell and applaud, despite the fact the Tramp has done NOTHING remotely funny at this point. In fact, his run on the turntable is pretty much what the "unfunny" clowns just did. Keaton or Lloyd never would have cheated this way. They'd have given themselves something funny to do and won over the audience and SHOWN us how funny their characters were, even if it was inadvertent. Chaplin also misses a daring comedy moment when his Tramp character ISN'T funny and the ringmaster threatens to fire him. Chaplin could have shown us how with a lack of timing and lack of inspiration a funny bit could fall flat, but he fails to seize the moment. The bit in the lion cage and the high wire scene are undeniably funny and great sequences in and of themselves. But the rest of "The Circus" is not. Perhaps if this had been made around 1924, it would compare favorably to films of that era. But compared to the previously mentioned films (and classics like Keaton's "The General") Chaplin is backsliding here. Adding the title song years later doesn't help it.

Okay. First, in all honesty I must point out that I usually prefer the movies of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, but I have watched quite a few Chaplin films recently. While this film isn't quite as good as a few of his later films (such as City Lights), this is still a good film and very lovely to watch--with a real artistic touch by writer/director/director/musical score creator and actor Chaplin is truly outstanding!! He at least deserves a lot of praise for being so versatile. So, despite its beauty why do I only give it a 7? Well, aside from some very funny slapstick moments, there is, once again, a lot of "schmaltzy" moments and the film is jam-packed with pathos. In other words, the movie tries VERY VERY VERY hard to be poignant and touching--and I am the type of person that prefers a little more humor and a little less of the sappy hero. I know this ISN'T the opinion of everyone--so if you LIKE when he tugs at your heartstrings and helps a damsel in distress (yet again), then you'll be thrilled. I just thought I'd seen this theme one time too many. BY THE WAY--Chaplin was well-known for being very obsessive-compulsive about his films--doing scenes again and again to get it "just right". Well, he made a big blunder here and I was surprised it wasn't caught. While doing the very funny high-wire act, his right pant leg came off while he was holding on to the pole for balance and monkeys were climbing all on and around him. Then, when the shot cut back, the pants leg was back ON!! Oops. This doesn't spoil the movie at all--it's just a funny little mistake. Or, maybe, one of the cute monkeys crawling all over him during this scene put his pants leg back on him! PPS--only a few weeks after I first wrote this review, I have seen about 8 more Chaplin movies. After each one, my appreciation for his talents increased. In hindsight, I think a score of 8 is more in order. While it's true I'm not much for pathos, I must acknowledge his amazing talents.

Do not be mislead by the ne'er do wells who claim this movie as Chaplin's weakest. The plot is not intricate, but Charlie doesn't need an intricate plot to make us laugh out loud. "The Circus" proves this. Saying that this film is boring is perfectly ridiculous: there are many moments of pure Chaplin genius and, if nothing else, you simply must see this film for the tightrope-walking scene. No, it's not trick photography: that's really Charlie tightrope walking with no stuntmen of any kind. If THAT'S not exciting, I don't know what is. Oh, and just as a side note, this film was made during a time when Charlie was going through a very dirty and very public divorce-- his ex successful at having his funds frozen during the divorce, he was sued for a million in back-taxes and faced possible jail time, AND the ENTIRE SET to the circus burned down in a fire. He most definitely deserved the special Oscar he received for this film. That's right: OSCAR.

I consider Chaplin a true movie master. I enjoyed "The Gold Rush" and "Modern Times," and think that "City Lights" is one of the five best movies I have ever seen. So I think I definitely "get" Chaplin. All that being said, I can see why "The Circus" is often overlooked when discussing his films. I suppose it's blasphemous to criticize ANY Chaplin film (as I write this comment, not even one lukewarm review has been written for this film), but I think this film lacked pathos and depth. Certainly nothing wrong about this film, but nothing really great about it either. For me, it's not the humor that makes Chaplin's films so great, it's the pathos. And in "The Circus," I think he failed to pull this off.

Despite winning Chaplin an honory Oscar in 1928 "The Circus" isn't really regarded as one of his great comedies and yet it has got some great visual gags as well as a little less sentimentality than some of his later films. Of course, there's still a girl who needs rescuing, in this case from her tyrannical father, and once again he's The Tramp, bringing as much humanity as slapstick to his routines and confirming his status as one of the greatest of all screen actors and not simply a great comic. The circus setting was, of course, his tribute to clowns everywhere so while this may indeed be minor Chaplin it is nevertheless a deeply affectionate picture and an essential part of the Chaplin canon.