Charlie Chaplin's Birthday

 

 

 

 

The Little Tramp

Today April 16th,1889 in the slums of London, a genius and icon of the cinema was born: Charles Spencer Chaplin, to an alcoholic father and a mentally unstable mother. Chaplin is head and shoulders above most performers when it comes to being a true superstar not only of Hollywood but of film. This was a music hall comedian who came to America in 1913 at the age of 24, a complete nobody in terms of fame with no connections or relatives in the movie business, practically friendless. By the end of 1914, he was known the world over as ' The Little Fellow ' as he Chaplin referred to his timeless creation, although most would call his character the ' Little Tramp'. Chaplin could do it all, what a baseball man would say is a 5 tool player. He wrote, directed, produced, scored and acted in his movies from 1921 to his last starring role in 1957's ' A King in New York '. In 1967's ' A Countess from Hong Kong ', the last film he directed, wrote and scored he did not star, but did have a brief cameo as a steward of an ocean liner.

On Doug Fairbanks shoulders New York City, 1918

Look at the above picture. Who in the world today could create such a massive turnout of people? Humans as far as the eye can see and then some. Such popularity scared some government officials. Known as a champion of liberal [ see human, compassionate ] causes, Chaplin was under surveillance by the FBI for years, not only because of his politics, but also because of his fondness for young women. His first wife was 16 when they wed, Chaplin was 29. His second wife, whom he met while making ' The Gold Rush ' in 1924, was another 16 year old, Chaplin, 35.  They married after she became pregnant. The marriage produced a total of 2 sons but as a couple they seemed totally mismatched and divorced in 1927.  

Leader of the double-cross, The Great Dictator 1940

Chaplin took risks not only in his private life but also in his art. His 1940 classic ' The Great Dictator ' was a blistering portrait of a certain facist ruler when not all Americans wished to antagonize relations with Germany.  Any resemblance between Charlie and a certain German political leader was purely coincidental. In that film besides the Dictator he also played a poor Jewish barber. In 1947's ' Monsieur Verdoux', Chaplin played a played a unemployed banker, who seduces marries then murders wealthy widows and kills them. As the 40's ended and the cold war 50's began, Chaplin was more that ever under an ever watchful government eye. As he had never became a citizen of the United States [ I am a citizen of the world, as he said in ' Great Dictator' ], Chaplin became an easy target for the right wing reactionaries such as Sen. Joseph McCarthy and his infamous communist witch hunt. In 1952, Chaplin released his latest film ' Limelight ' his valentine to his british music hall roots and voyaged overseas by ocean liner to publicize it. Having left America, the U.S government revoked his re-entry permit. Chaplin wouldn't set foot on American soil again for 20 years. With their eight children, Chaplin and his 4th and last wife Oona, whom he married in 1942 in Carpinteria, California, lived a quiet life in Switzerland. He died on Christmas Day 1977 at the age of 88.  The movies owe Chaplin a great debt, one that can, nor ever will be, repaid. He, Fairbanks, Pickford, Griffith and maybe one or two others made Hollywood the mecca for filmmaking and entertainment throughout the world. It's a reputation that has been fading for years and will eventually fade entirely.  Charlie's creations, however will never die. As long as there is a way to project them, Charlie Chaplin and his legacy- his gift to us- will live forever. Happy Birthday, Charlot. 

Happy Birthday, Stanley Donen

This clip from ' Royal Wedding' captures the true feeling of being in love like few films can.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Happy birthday Stanley. Director of On The Town, Royal Wedding, Singin' In The Rain, Funny Face, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Indiscreet, Charade, Two for the Road, Bedazzled. He also gave one of the most memorable Oscar speeches or rather dances, in Oscar history when he was awarded a lifetime achievement award for direction. Along with Vincente Minnelli, he raised the bar for movie musicals at MGM in the classic period of 1949-1956. You're sublime. Happy 88th!!

Priceless Images, the Sequel

More home movies of the beautiful people letting their hair down and relaxing, circa 1965. This one may be my favorite as it has major crush of mine, Natalie Wood looking so fresh and fun. Also Tuesday Weld and Jane Fonda, I mean this video is a microcosm of Hollywood legends. Besides Lauren Bacall [ she was in the previous one at Rock Hudson's place, she must've been popular ] there is a glimpse of Judy Garland in a blue dress and Jennifer Jones and David Selznick smoking a pipe and scanning some pix. Speaking of smoking, did you notice something: Everyone smoked! I mean everyone. I also like the way it blends some old Hollywood with, what was at the time, new Hollywood. Besides the above actresses, I also saw Hudson, Ben Gazzarra and Tony Perkins. Love these old videos all these famous folk seem so....normal. Many more to come in the next few weeks. Hope you enjoy them.

Happy Birthday, Marlon Brando

The noblest Roman of them all , Julius Caesar 1953

Hey there is another movie great born on this day. Mr. Method himself, Marlon Brando would have been 88 today [ he passed on in 2004 at age 80 ]. Incredible as it may seem he and Miss Doris Day not only share the day they were born but also the exact year, 1924. Could you find two more opposite movie persona's? Brooding Bud and Goody Goody Doris.

 

Missouri Breaks, 1976

From the time of his film debut in 1950's ' The Men ', Brando was a force of nature who, good or bad, changed the way actor's act. Not merely a matinee idol, Brando not only challenged the way film actors worked and behaved, he challenged the whole fucking Hollywood star making system. Along with Montgomery Clift and James Dean, Brando represented a new breed of leading man. Raw, authentic, masculine with a touch of sensitivity not seen at the time. These guys could play tough if and when they wanted, but underneath that exterior was a longing to be accepted for who they were without compromising their character. Brando wasn't really method [ whatever that widely used phrase means ]. He was not taught or coached by Actor Studio czar Lee Strasberg like Al Pacino or Dean or Monroe were. He was a originally a byproduct of the great Stella Adler and, later, Elia Kazan. Adler took his raw talent and helped train and give it some direction and guidance. Kazan took that which Stella had helped train and unleashed him onto the theatrical world. First as producer of the infamous, historical flop ' Truckline Cafe ' and in 1947 with Tennessee Williams'  legendary ' A Streetcar Named Desire ' which, with the1951 film version, launched a thousand imitators.

A legendary performance in a great film. From there in went from one great performance to another: ' Viva Zapata! ', ' Julius Caesar ', ' The Wild One ' , ' On The Waterfront , until he became the commodity he was said to despise: The bankable product. The 1950's were his golden years, starting the 60's with the trio of ' The Fugitive Kind ', ' One-Eyed Jacks ' and ' Mutiny on the Bounty ', he had three financial failures in a row. The rest of the decade would bring him nothing but box office failure. Though some of these films contained some of his best work, they were not well regarded at the time. In ' Reflections in a Golden Eye ' and ' The Chase '  he gave quality work in bad or quirky, indifferent movies. He wasn't in a hit again until ' The Godfather '  which not only gave him a monster hit [ the biggest movie-spinner of all time up to that point ] but an acclaimed, icon performance as Don Vito Corleone. In the following year he had one of his most controversial roles as Paul the aging, bitter, yet ultimately romantic widower in Bertolucci's X rated ' Last Tango in Paris '.

Last Tango in Paris, 1973

Ambivalent at best regarding his choosen profession, from the mid-70's to his last film in 2001's The Score ' Brando seemed to give less of himself in his work. But being the conflicted person he was he couldn't give completely boring, uninteresting performances. Some highlights in this fallow period are:  ' The Missouri Breaks ', ' Apocalypse Now ', ' The Freshman ' and his last, ' The Score '. I salute you Bud, you changed my life. Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday, Doris Day

Romance on the High Seas, above

Today a legend turns 88. The only woman to be the number one box office attraction four years in a row, Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff aka Doris Day celebrates her birthday today. TCM, the amazing classic movie channel is helping her celebrate by showing 28 of her movies starting April 2 thru April 6. Some of my favorites include:' Romance on the High Seas ' [ her film debut with the always acerbic Oscar Levant ], ' It's a Great Feeling ', ' Young Man with a Horn' [ a great movie inspired by the life of trumpeter Bix Biederbecke ], ' Love Me or Leave Me ' [ biopic of  singer Ruth Etting and possibly Miss Day's best performance ] . Others I haven't yet seen but plan to are ' Storm Warning ' with Ginger Rogers and the 40th President Of The United States, ' My Dream is Yours ', supposedly Martin Scorsese's inspiration for his 1977's musical ' New York, New York '. Some of the films missing in action include ' Calamity Jane ', ' Pillow Talk ' her first with Rock Hudson and probably her best known film, and Hitchcock's ' The Man Who Knew Too Much ' which features her signature song ' Que Sera, Sera ' . But I won't complain, just glad these movies are still around to enjoy and TCM is in the business of showing them. Happy Birthday, Doris!

Crush of the Week - Marlene Dietrich

The Divine Dietrich. Marlene. The institution who helped overseas in the war effort during WW II. Sternberg's creation. The Kraut, as Hemingway playfully called her. Her career lasted from 1923 's Little Napoleon to 1978's Just A Gigolo with several ups and down's that any career with such longevity is bound to have. Known for her fabulous legs, deep, masculine singing voice, gender bending wardrobe and perfectionism when it came to her image, Marlene made major impact on the film world in Sternberg's 1929 German classic ' The Blue Angel ' as  Lola-Lola. Singer-slut in a cheap cabaret in pre-Nazi Berlin, she seduces and degrades educator Professor Unrat played by Emil Jannings, a great star of silent German cinema. From that smash hit she followed Sternberg to America and starred in ' Morocco ' with Gary Cooper. In all Sternberg and Marlene made 7 films together in 6 years the last being the intoxicating ' The Devil is a Woman ',1935. Her career was running out of steam by the late 30's until she went comic in the western classic ' Destry Rides Again ' with Jimmy Stewart. This image of Dietrich the saloon girl, Frenchie, is probably her best known to the general public. It was a tremendous hit for her, put her back on top of the film world and for the next 3 years took on roles that were variations of that film. This is the Dietrich that was wonderfully parodied by Madeline Kahn as Lily Von Schtup in the great spoof ' Blazing Saddles'. 

Above, ' Destry Rides Again ' 1939.

The Blue Angel, 1929

Hot Voodoo from ' Blonde Venus' 1932

Going androgynous, 'Morocco', 1930

'Scarlet Empress', 1934

                                After the war, a newer, more mature Dietrich appeared in Billy Wilder's ' A Foreign Affair ' as singer/spy Erica Von Schluetow , taking her back to Berlin for the first time since the pre-Nazi days. In 1948 she became a grandmother at 47. Life magazine called her the World's Most Glamorous Grandma. Can't argue with that. Other roles included: Hitchcock's 'Stage Fright', memorable turns in Wilder's 'Witness for the Prosecution' and Welles's' Touch of Evil 'as  the fortune teller Tanya. The last role of any consequence was in 1961's' Judgement at Nuremberg ' opposite Spencer Tracy. During the remaining 60's and most of the 70's she appeared on stage taking her cabaret style show around the world, singing the songs that she helped make famous: Falling in Love Again, The Boys in the Backroom, Lilli Marlene, I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby. In 1982 actor/director Maximilian Schell persuaded Dietrich to appear in the documentary he was making about her, but at the last minute she refused to be filmed. Consequently she was only heard [often being cranky] although many clips from her films were used. This added an extra, haunting quality that the film may not otherwise have had. Marlene died in Paris on May 6, 1992 at age 90.

My favorite Marlene movies: Blue Angel, Dishonored, Shanghai Express, Devil is a Woman, Destry Rides Again, Blonde Venus, A Foreign Affair, Touch of Evil. But I repeatedly watch anything she appeared in.