Pictures of Silent Film Star: Charles Chaplin.

Smile" is a song based on an instrumental theme used in the soundtrack for the Charlie Chaplin movie, Modern Times (1936). Chaplin composed the music, while John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added the lyrics and title in 1954. This version is sung by Michael Jackson.

Charles Chaplin "The Kid" (1921)

"The Kid" (1921) is a silent comedy drama written, directed, and starring Charles Chaplin. Not only is it Chaplin's first feature length film, but it also made him a living legend. "The Kid" begins with an unwed mother, played by Edna Purviance, leaving a charity hospital with a newborn baby in her arms. The mother leaves her baby with a pleading note in the back of a limousine and walks away. After sitting alone on a park bench thinking about committing suicide, she decides to return to the limousine and get her baby, only to find him missing. The limousine has been stolen by thieves who dumped the baby by a garbage can in a poor district of town. The tramp, played by Charles Chaplin, finds the baby on the ground wrapped in a blanket. He tries to pass the baby off to someone else, including a mother with her baby carriage, but after coming across a note which reads, "Please love and care for this orphan child," he decides to take him to his one-room shack in the slums.

Five years later, the kid and the tramp make an interesting pair. The kid's job is to break the neighborhood windows so that the tramp could come by to replace them with his selection of window glass. The mother has become an opera star who devotes her spare time with charitable work for children living in the poor neighborhoods in hope of finding her lost boy. The kid and his mother actually meet on various occasions, but they are not aware of each other's identities. The story takes a dramatic twist when the kid becomes seriously ill and in need of medical attention. A doctor called by the mother discovers the note with the truth about the kid and reports it to the authorities who come to take him away from the tramp. Will the tramp lose the kid? "The Kid" (1921) was welcomed with international acclaim when it was released. Chaplin's undisputed master work to date, it still remains one of his finest achievements. The success was not Chaplin's alone. Part of it belonged to six-year-old Jackie Coogan in the title role. Coogan is wonderful as the kid and is easily Chaplin's most memorable costar. By having the little tramp find and raise a child, Chaplin humanized him in a way never seen in his other films. The little tramp may not be the best father in the world, but his love for the kid is genuinely touching and hilarious. The tramp's awkward attempts to care for the kid's needs are a successful combination of comedy and tenderness. One example is the brief scene in which the tramp cuts out diapers from a sheet and attaches a nipple to a coffeepot as a substitute for a baby bottle. The most touching moment of the film is when the kid has to be pulled out of the tramp's arms by the authorities. It is heartbreaking to see the kid taken away from the tramp by force. Partly inspired by Chaplin's own poor upbringing, "The Kid" successfully blends sentimentality, slapstick, and social conscience to create one of the most popular comedies of the silent era.
THE KID(1921) MOVIE TRAILER.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN: Fun Facts

Chaplin acted in, directed, scripted, produced his own films and was known as one of the most imaginative and influential personalities of the silent-film era.

Chaplin admired the French silent movie comedian Max Linder, to whom he dedicated one of his films.

His life in entertainment spanned over 75 years.

Chaplin co-founded United Artist (1919) with Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D. W. Griffith.

Chaplin's home in Beverly Hills was known as "Breakaway House". Designed by Chaplin and built by studio carpenters. Chaplin hosted many parties in his home where he enjoyed showing his films. Greta Garbo was known to be a frequent quest playing on his tennis court. Many of his guests joined in skits, and felt that they had never been so funny before or since.

Knighted in 1975.

Rumor has it that he once entered a Charlie Chaplin-look-a-like-contest and finished third. Some people believe that he came in second.

When Stan Laurel and Chaplin moved to America they shared a room in a boarding house. Cooking was not allowed so Chaplin would play the violin to cover up the sound of Laurel cooking on a hot plate.

He was the first actor to appear on the cover of "Time" magazine, (July 6, 1925).

Pictured (as Charlie Chaplin) on one of ten 29¢ US commemorative postage stamps celebrating stars of the silent screen, issued 27 April 1994. Designed by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld, this set of stamps also honored Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, Zasu Pitts, Harold Lloyd, Theda Bara, Buster Keaton, and the Keystone Kops.

Pictured on one of fifteen 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps in the "Celebrate the Century" series, issued 3 February 1998, celebrating the 1910s.

Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) his favorite movie.

Received an Honorary Oscar the The 44th Annual Academy Awards (1972) (TV). He appeared on stage blowing kisses to the Hollywood audience with tears running down his face while he received a long standing ovation. He won another Oscar the following year.

Click here to view Official Charlie Chaplin Website.

"A WOMAN OF PARIS" (1923) Chaplin

"A Woman of Paris" (1923) is a silent melodrama that is perhaps the least famous of all Charles Chaplin's films. Edited, written, produced and directed by Chaplin for United Artists, the film is notable for being the first to not feature himself as the leading actor. Setting new standards in silent dramatic acting and directing, "A Woman of Paris" is a scrutiny in the inconsistencies of love. The story begins with Marie St. Clair, played by Edna Purviance, a simple girl living in a French village who plans to elope with her lover, artist Jean Millet, played by Carl Miller, even though her stepfather attempts to stop her. Jean brings her to his home, but they are also rejected by his father. Jean and Marie decide to leave for Paris that night. They proceed to the railroad station where Jean leaves Marie with money for tickets while he returns home to pack. A final confrontation with his parents brings on a fatal stroke to his father. When Marie calls Jean to find out why he is late, he tells her that he must stay. Believing she has been jilted by her lover, Marie boards the train to Paris by herself. A year later, Marie has assimilated into the upper-class lifestyle of Paris, having become the mistress of a wealthy, cynical businessman, Pierre Revel, played by Adolphe Menjou. It is at this point in time that she and Jean suddenly meet again. Even though both of them are glad to see each other, the passage of time has made them reserved and they conceal their real emotions. Jean has become an accomplished artist and Marie hires him to paint her portrait. However, Jean paints her as he knew her in the small village. When Jean declares his love, Marie is forced to choose between a life of love or a life of luxury. Jean is torn between his lingering love for Marie and his mother's insistence that she is not a respectable woman. Misinterpreting events, Marie bounces back and forth between security and love. The ending is quite emotional.

"A Woman of Paris" was a serious, sophisticated continental drama that was very much out of tune with the then dominant trends in American filmmaking. Chaplin had made the film because he wanted to direct a drama and make his longtime leading lady, Edna Purviance, a star, but this never happened. Instead, co-star Adolphe Menjou launched into superstardom after the film's release. Menjou is wonderful as the rich, conceited playboy. The film is stunning to look at; the women's costumes and sets are gorgeous. The cinematography is especially first rate. Acclaimed by critics and renounced by the audience, "A Woman of Paris" was a commercial flop. It was also banned in several states on the basis of immorality. There are some scandalous Parisian party scenes, including one where a mummified woman unspools her wrapping onto a fellow partygoer and ends up naked. The film is quite an interesting change of pace from Chaplin and is definitely worth watching. "A Woman of Paris" is not only an outstanding piece of filmmaking, but it is also a strong commentary about what is truly important in life.