WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.220 Welcome back to The Deep Dive, the show where 00:00:02.220 --> 00:00:04.980 we distill the essential, fascinating, and sometimes 00:00:04.980 --> 00:00:07.339 shocking truths you need to know from our curated 00:00:07.339 --> 00:00:10.720 sources. Today, we are undertaking a massive 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.140 deep dive into the life of Sir Charles Spencer 00:00:13.140 --> 00:00:16.320 Chaplin Jr., a figure whose career arc is so 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.000 dramatic it almost beggars belief. It really 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:22.519 is. It's a story of just these astronomical heights 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:25.059 and then these crushing, crushing lows. We're 00:00:25.059 --> 00:00:27.559 talking about a man who spanned 75 years of cultural 00:00:27.559 --> 00:00:30.170 history. you know, from his childhood in Victorian 00:00:30.170 --> 00:00:33.490 London right up until his death in 1977. And 00:00:33.490 --> 00:00:35.229 the core of it all, it isn't just the longevity, 00:00:35.310 --> 00:00:38.509 it's this incredible tension between his artistic 00:00:38.509 --> 00:00:41.630 independence, which was absolute, and the devastating 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:45.170 political cost he paid for it. Exactly. We all 00:00:45.170 --> 00:00:48.070 know him instantly as the Tramp. That icon. That 00:00:48.070 --> 00:00:50.450 universally recognizable figure, the baggy pants, 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:52.789 the tight coat, the cane, the little mustache. 00:00:53.090 --> 00:00:55.469 It's a walking study in contradictions. And that 00:00:55.469 --> 00:00:57.469 contradiction was rooted in his life. I mean, 00:00:57.469 --> 00:01:00.170 this is the definitive Rags to Riches tale. He 00:01:00.170 --> 00:01:02.649 was born into absolute grinding destitution and 00:01:02.649 --> 00:01:04.349 became one of the world's highest paid people 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:07.250 by his mid -20s. And he fought Hollywood for 00:01:07.250 --> 00:01:10.159 complete artistic control. And he won. He did. 00:01:10.319 --> 00:01:13.299 But that very independence allowed him to speak 00:01:13.299 --> 00:01:16.560 out politically. And that, combined with some 00:01:16.560 --> 00:01:20.540 scandalous personal choices, resulted in the 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:23.219 country that made him a global megastar, literally 00:01:23.219 --> 00:01:25.780 revoking his right to return. So our sources 00:01:25.780 --> 00:01:28.519 today, they include extensive biographies, critical 00:01:28.519 --> 00:01:32.260 film analyses. Archival material detailing all 00:01:32.260 --> 00:01:34.719 these controversies. Our mission is to trace 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.319 his incredible ascent, examine his groundbreaking 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.719 methods as a complete filmmaker. And we mean 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:42.400 complete. Writing, directing, producing, composing, 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:44.859 starring. And then really understand the seismic 00:01:44.859 --> 00:01:47.200 political and legal battles of the 1940s that 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:48.939 forced him out of America. We're going to see 00:01:48.939 --> 00:01:51.560 how the trauma of his early life shaped The Tramp, 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:54.000 why he fought a war against sound film for a 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:56.980 decade, and how he weaponized his art and even 00:01:56.980 --> 00:01:59.739 his own exile into social satire. This sounds 00:01:59.739 --> 00:02:01.879 like a masterclass in cinematic power and the 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:04.340 ultimate price of that power. OK, let's unpack 00:02:04.340 --> 00:02:06.760 this. The story has to start with the rags because 00:02:06.760 --> 00:02:08.979 the depth of Chaplin's childhood poverty is often 00:02:08.979 --> 00:02:11.599 understated. It wasn't just low income. No, it 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.990 was a devastating systemic destitution. And it 00:02:14.990 --> 00:02:17.050 became the wellspring for the entire emotional 00:02:17.050 --> 00:02:19.849 core of the Tramp. He was born Charles Spencer 00:02:19.849 --> 00:02:24.210 Chaplin Jr. in London, April 16, 1889. His parents, 00:02:24.389 --> 00:02:26.729 Hannah Chaplin and Charles Chaplin Sr., they 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:28.849 were music hall entertainers. Right, so performance 00:02:28.849 --> 00:02:31.490 was in the family? It was, but the family unit 00:02:31.490 --> 00:02:34.250 was completely broken. The instability was immediate 00:02:34.250 --> 00:02:37.330 and it was continuous. His father, Charles Sr., 00:02:37.330 --> 00:02:39.650 was a successful singer, but he was almost totally 00:02:39.650 --> 00:02:42.069 absent. And he died very young, right? Very young, 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:45.620 38 years old, from severe alcoholism. So that 00:02:45.620 --> 00:02:47.560 left Hannah in this state of chronic financial 00:02:47.560 --> 00:02:50.379 distress, trying to support her sons with whatever 00:02:50.379 --> 00:02:52.879 odd jobs she could find. One biographer noted 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:55.479 something I found really chilling, that Chaplin 00:02:55.479 --> 00:02:57.740 didn't even recognize he was experiencing a crisis 00:02:57.740 --> 00:03:00.240 because their whole life was just continual crisis. 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:02.759 That phrase says it all. It was a constant state 00:03:02.759 --> 00:03:05.280 of near starvation. And the ultimate result of 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.219 that was the workhouse, a truly chilling Victorian 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:11.120 institution. And our sources say he was sent 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:13.719 to the Lambeth workhouse twice before he even 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.969 turned nine. Exactly. The workhouse was where 00:03:16.969 --> 00:03:19.590 the state housed the destitute, and it was designed 00:03:19.590 --> 00:03:21.949 to be terrifying. They operated on the principle 00:03:21.949 --> 00:03:24.210 of separating families to break people's spirits. 00:03:24.530 --> 00:03:26.490 So he was separated from his mother and brother. 00:03:26.750 --> 00:03:29.150 He was. And after the workhouse, he had a stint 00:03:29.150 --> 00:03:31.550 at the Central London District School for paupers. 00:03:31.830 --> 00:03:34.050 These are basically institutional barracks for 00:03:34.050 --> 00:03:37.370 poor children. He remembered it as a forlorn 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:39.770 existence. So this isn't just a tough childhood. 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:43.400 This is deep institutional trauma. And it was 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:45.620 only compounded by the mental health crisis his 00:03:45.620 --> 00:03:48.479 mother was facing. Hannah struggled terribly. 00:03:48.780 --> 00:03:51.780 In 1898, when Charlie was just nine, she was 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:54.199 committed to the Cain Hill Mental Asylum. What 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:56.759 was the cause of that? It was diagnosed as psychosis, 00:03:56.840 --> 00:03:59.000 but our sources say it was attributed to the 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:02.060 dual pressures of a syphilis infection and just 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:04.379 profound malnutrition from years of poverty. 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:06.719 The stress was overwhelming. And she was in and 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:09.800 out of care. She was for a time. But her mental 00:04:09.800 --> 00:04:12.539 health collapsed permanently in 1905 when Chaplin 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:15.139 was 16. He had to escort her to the infirmary 00:04:15.139 --> 00:04:17.319 himself. She remained in care for the rest of 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:21.360 her life until 1928. It left this deep... deep 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:23.980 autobiographical scar. And that's the connection 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.540 right there. These scars, the poverty, the separation 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.240 from his mother, they provide the immense pathos 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:31.879 that elevates the Tramp beyond just a slapstick 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.420 character. That is the key distinction. Other 00:04:34.420 --> 00:04:36.459 early film comedians were just about the physical 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:39.980 farce. Chaplin introduced a real bleeding humanity. 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:42.839 His films are consistently about the poor, about 00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.860 greed, about loss. These themes came directly 00:04:45.860 --> 00:04:48.259 from his life. Yet even as his home life was 00:04:48.259 --> 00:04:49.839 falling apart, he was starting his performing 00:04:49.839 --> 00:04:52.939 career. Almost by accident, right? It was. He 00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:54.879 recalled his first amateur appearance was at 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:57.120 age five. He had to fill in for his mother on 00:04:57.120 --> 00:04:58.939 stage one night when her voice failed and the 00:04:58.939 --> 00:05:01.120 audience, you know, booed her off. So a five 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.339 -year -old just walks out on stage. He did. Entertained 00:05:04.339 --> 00:05:06.740 the crowd with a popular song and they showered 00:05:06.740 --> 00:05:09.339 him with coins. That little taste of success, 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:13.509 it just propelled him. By age nine, he joined 00:05:13.509 --> 00:05:16.490 the Eight Lancashire Lads, a clog dancing troupe. 00:05:16.529 --> 00:05:18.410 He basically gave up on school pretty early. 00:05:18.569 --> 00:05:21.550 Completely abandoned it by 13. At 14, he landed 00:05:21.550 --> 00:05:24.470 a huge role as Billy the Page Boy in a touring 00:05:24.470 --> 00:05:26.350 production of Sherlock Holmes. And that got him 00:05:26.350 --> 00:05:28.750 to the West End with William Gillette, the original 00:05:28.750 --> 00:05:31.529 Holmes. Which was invaluable training. From there, 00:05:31.589 --> 00:05:34.680 he joined the Fred Carnot Company. Now, Carnot's 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:36.699 troupe was the most prestigious comedy company 00:05:36.699 --> 00:05:39.100 in England. They were famous for creating comedy 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:41.500 without dialogue. The perfect training ground 00:05:41.500 --> 00:05:44.720 for a silent film star. The absolute perfect 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.500 training ground. Carnot was skeptical at first, 00:05:47.620 --> 00:05:50.160 called Chaplin a pale, puny, sullen -looking 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.680 youngster. But Chaplin had this natural genius 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:56.420 for pantomime. And it was with the Carnot company 00:05:56.420 --> 00:05:59.759 that he first came to America. Yes. On a tour 00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:02.930 of the vaudeville circuit. His hit role was this 00:06:02.930 --> 00:06:06.050 character called the inebriate swell. He was 00:06:06.050 --> 00:06:08.370 already getting incredible reviews, being called 00:06:08.370 --> 00:06:10.850 one of the best pantomime artists ever seen here. 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:14.569 And on his second American tour in late 1912, 00:06:14.829 --> 00:06:18.149 Hollywood finally noticed. So six months into 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:20.209 that second tour, a scout from Keystone Studios 00:06:20.209 --> 00:06:22.709 offers him a contract. They needed a replacement 00:06:22.709 --> 00:06:25.959 for a comedian named Fred Mace. Chaplin was. 00:06:26.379 --> 00:06:30.079 He was hesitant. He found Keystone's style, which 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.639 was run by Mack Sennett, to be just chaotic slapstick. 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:36.740 A crude melange of rough and rumble was his phrase. 00:06:36.980 --> 00:06:38.939 But the lure of film was too strong? It was a 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:42.040 new medium, a new art form. He signed for $150 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:45.339 a week in September 1913. He starts work in early 00:06:45.339 --> 00:06:48.420 1914, but it's for his second film that the persona 00:06:48.420 --> 00:06:50.480 that would define his entire life is conceived. 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:52.800 How did he put together the look of the tramp? 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:54.779 He detailed it pretty meticulously. He said he 00:06:54.779 --> 00:06:56.759 just went into the wardrobe and wanted a costume 00:06:56.759 --> 00:06:58.540 that was full of contradictions. Contradictions 00:06:58.540 --> 00:07:01.259 in every element. Every single one. The pants 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:03.720 had to be baggy, but the coat had to be tight. 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.600 The shoes had to be enormous. He wore them on 00:07:06.600 --> 00:07:09.300 the wrong feet. But the hat, the derby, had to 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:11.759 be small. And the mustache. That was a stroke 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:14.860 of genius. He picked the small toothbrush mustache 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:16.839 because it added a bit of age and character, 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:19.899 but it didn't hide his facial expressions, which 00:07:19.899 --> 00:07:22.180 were key to his comedy. He said the moment he 00:07:22.180 --> 00:07:24.500 put it all on, he just felt the character. He 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:27.600 did. He said he began to know the tramp. Sensing 00:07:27.600 --> 00:07:29.939 his melancholy, but also his sort of defiant 00:07:29.939 --> 00:07:32.990 dignity, the character just... emerged, fully 00:07:32.990 --> 00:07:35.610 formed. And that character debuted in kid auto 00:07:35.610 --> 00:07:39.230 races at Venice in February 1914. Yes. And while 00:07:39.230 --> 00:07:41.569 his first few films were pretty standard Keystone 00:07:41.569 --> 00:07:43.829 stuff, he started clashing with the directors 00:07:43.829 --> 00:07:46.329 almost immediately. He felt their chaotic style 00:07:46.329 --> 00:07:48.930 didn't allow for character or pathos. He wanted 00:07:48.930 --> 00:07:51.209 to slow things down. He wanted character -focused 00:07:51.209 --> 00:07:53.610 comedy, which was a radical idea at the time. 00:07:53.730 --> 00:07:56.209 So how did his boss, Mack Sennett, react to this? 00:07:56.290 --> 00:07:57.610 I mean, they were churning these things out. 00:07:57.970 --> 00:08:01.149 Sennett was a businessman. And after Chaplin's 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:03.589 11th film, he realized he couldn't fire him. 00:08:04.310 --> 00:08:06.870 The demand from the public for more Chaplin films 00:08:06.870 --> 00:08:10.730 was just... It was explosive. But box office 00:08:10.730 --> 00:08:13.829 was talking. Louder than anyone. So the Senate 00:08:13.829 --> 00:08:17.290 gave him a chance to direct. His next film, Caught 00:08:17.290 --> 00:08:20.370 in the Rain. Chaplin was so confident, he promised 00:08:20.370 --> 00:08:23.170 to pay the $1 ,500 production cost himself if 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:26.170 it failed. Of course, a huge success. A major 00:08:26.170 --> 00:08:29.339 success. And from then on... He directed almost 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.220 every short film he appeared in at a grueling 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:35.379 pace of about one a week. That keystone period, 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:37.620 rough as it was, it proved that his style worked. 00:08:37.820 --> 00:08:40.620 And that immediate success gave him massive leverage 00:08:40.620 --> 00:08:42.799 when his contract was up. Senate wouldn't meet 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:44.899 his demand of $1 ,000 a week. He thought it was 00:08:44.899 --> 00:08:47.220 an absurd amount of money for a comedian. But 00:08:47.220 --> 00:08:49.960 the S &A Film Manufacturing Company, they disagreed 00:08:49.960 --> 00:08:52.080 completely. They offered him $1 ,250 a week. 00:08:52.200 --> 00:08:55.340 Plus a $10 ,000 signing bonus. Unheard of in 00:08:55.340 --> 00:08:58.539 late 1914. It was a revolutionary contract that 00:08:58.539 --> 00:09:00.799 basically gave an actor financial power over 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.240 the studio for the first time. And this move 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.360 to S &A is where the tramp really starts to change. 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.059 Precisely. At Keystone, the character had been 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:13.340 described as mean, crude, and brutish. At S &A, 00:09:13.399 --> 00:09:16.139 Chaplin finally had some breathing room. He slowed 00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:18.440 the pace to focus on quality and dramatic development. 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:21.289 So the character becomes more gentle, more romantic. 00:09:21.549 --> 00:09:24.149 Exactly. The real turning point was the 1915 00:09:24.149 --> 00:09:26.710 film, The Tramp. And this is where he really 00:09:26.710 --> 00:09:29.169 introduces pathos into comedy, which was his 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:31.970 great innovation. Pathos. The quality that evokes 00:09:31.970 --> 00:09:34.669 pity or sadness. Right. While he was making The 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:37.850 Bank in 1915, he gave it a genuinely sad ending, 00:09:37.990 --> 00:09:41.049 which defied all comedic convention. That shot 00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:43.889 of The Tramp walking away, lonely but still defiant, 00:09:44.429 --> 00:09:46.529 That became his signature. And critics saw this 00:09:46.529 --> 00:09:49.009 as a move toward real cinematic art. Absolutely. 00:09:49.289 --> 00:09:51.750 And this success triggered one of the earliest 00:09:51.750 --> 00:09:54.049 global cultural phenomena. We're talking about 00:09:54.049 --> 00:09:55.889 chaplainitis. Chaplainitis. What did that look 00:09:55.889 --> 00:09:59.669 like? It was inescapable. By 1915, shops were 00:09:59.669 --> 00:10:03.389 filled with chaplain merchandise. Dolls, cigars, 00:10:03.389 --> 00:10:06.509 perfumes, you name it. He was in comics. He was 00:10:06.509 --> 00:10:09.129 in songs. A journalist wrote that it had spread 00:10:09.129 --> 00:10:12.149 across America like wildfire. He was the film 00:10:12.149 --> 00:10:14.679 industry's first... True international star. 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:17.899 An unprecedented level of adoration. And that 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.440 leads to another, even more astronomical contract 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.480 in 1916, this time with Mutual Film. And here 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:27.100 the numbers just get staggering. Mutual signed 00:10:27.100 --> 00:10:30.720 the 26 -year -old Chaplin for $670 ,000 a year. 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:33.720 Let's put that in perspective. In 1916, the President 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:36.899 of the United States made $75 ,000. So Chaplin 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:39.440 was earning nearly 10 times the President's salary. 00:10:39.620 --> 00:10:41.399 He was one of the highest paid people in the 00:10:41.399 --> 00:10:43.470 world, period. The studio president just said 00:10:43.470 --> 00:10:45.909 the public wants Chaplin and will pay for him. 00:10:45.970 --> 00:10:48.169 And those mutual years were incredibly productive. 00:10:48.470 --> 00:10:50.509 He called them the happiest of his career. They 00:10:50.509 --> 00:10:53.509 were. He made 12 short films in 18 months, and 00:10:53.509 --> 00:10:55.629 they included masterpieces like The Immigrant 00:10:55.629 --> 00:10:57.950 and Easy Street. These films were celebrated 00:10:57.950 --> 00:10:59.909 for their structure and their emotional depth. 00:11:00.110 --> 00:11:01.710 But here's where it gets really interesting. 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.600 How did this immense fame survive the backdrop 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.480 of World War I and all the personal scrutiny? 00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:11.740 Well, the scrutiny was intense. He was attacked 00:11:11.740 --> 00:11:14.700 pretty heavily in the British media for not enlisting. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:17.080 But he did register for the American draft, didn't 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:20.600 he? He did in 1917, but neither country ever 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:23.129 called him up. Probably because his fame was 00:11:23.129 --> 00:11:25.250 seen as a bigger morale booster than his service 00:11:25.250 --> 00:11:28.389 would be. And despite the bad press, his popularity 00:11:28.389 --> 00:11:30.929 with the public, especially the troops, it never 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:33.690 wavered. It was untouchable. Harper's Weekly 00:11:33.690 --> 00:11:35.929 said he was a part of the common language of 00:11:35.929 --> 00:11:38.529 almost every country. His fame gave him the power 00:11:38.529 --> 00:11:41.059 to command total control over his future. That 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:43.799 unprecedented popularity bought him the ultimate 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:47.100 prize, absolute independence. After Mutual, he 00:11:47.100 --> 00:11:49.860 signs with First National for eight films, guaranteeing 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:51.820 him a million dollars. And he immediately uses 00:11:51.820 --> 00:11:55.000 that money to build his own studio. Charlie Chaplin 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.419 Studios finished in 1918 right off Sunset Boulevard. 00:11:58.539 --> 00:12:01.419 A fortress of creative freedom. He now had the 00:12:01.419 --> 00:12:04.399 money, the location, and total control. And his 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:08.039 films immediately reflect that ambition. But 00:12:08.039 --> 00:12:11.820 the real industry shaker was in 1919 with the 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:14.919 founding of United Artists. Co -founding a distribution 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.419 company with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford 00:12:17.419 --> 00:12:21.500 and D .W. Griffith. This was this was a revolutionary 00:12:21.500 --> 00:12:23.840 act. It completely sidestepped the studio system. 00:12:24.179 --> 00:12:27.240 United Artists allowed these four megastars to 00:12:27.240 --> 00:12:29.759 personally fund their own pictures, retaining 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:32.200 100 percent of the creative and financial control. 00:12:32.340 --> 00:12:34.580 So they decided the budgets, the schedule, the 00:12:34.580 --> 00:12:37.899 final cut. It was the single most important step 00:12:37.899 --> 00:12:40.879 in establishing the filmmaker as an auteur, an 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:43.220 autonomous artist, rather than just an employee. 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:45.179 And his first feature -length film under this 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:48.450 new freedom was intensely personal. The Kid in 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:52.309 1921. The Kid ran 68 minutes, and it proved that 00:12:52.309 --> 00:12:54.309 comedy could sustain that length while tackling 00:12:54.309 --> 00:12:56.529 really heavy subjects like poverty and child 00:12:56.529 --> 00:12:58.789 separation. And it had deep autobiographical 00:12:58.789 --> 00:13:01.769 roots for him. Crucially, yes. It was made shortly 00:13:01.769 --> 00:13:04.309 after the death of his own infant son, Norman, 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:07.279 who died just three days after birth. So the 00:13:07.279 --> 00:13:09.580 film became this form of artistic sublimation, 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:12.080 with The Tramp becoming a caretaker to the young 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.759 Jackie Coogan. It was a massive global success. 00:13:15.100 --> 00:13:17.539 But the public had very clear expectations of 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:21.179 him. His next film, A Woman of Paris, in 1923, 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:24.179 was an attempt to step away from The Tramp. He 00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:26.620 wanted to direct a serious drama to showcase 00:13:26.620 --> 00:13:30.320 his leading lady, Edna Perviance. He only appeared 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.379 in a brief, uncredited cameo, and the critics, 00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:36.379 they adored it. praised its nuance and sophisticated 00:13:36.379 --> 00:13:38.940 direction. But the public hated it. It bombed. 00:13:39.360 --> 00:13:41.620 Commercially, it was a disaster. The public wanted 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:43.559 to chaplain the character, not chaplain the director 00:13:43.559 --> 00:13:46.240 of dramas. He was so hurt by the failure that 00:13:46.240 --> 00:13:48.350 he just withdrew it from circulation. A harsh 00:13:48.350 --> 00:13:50.509 lesson about the power of his own persona. A 00:13:50.509 --> 00:13:52.909 very harsh lesson. So he returned to form with 00:13:52.909 --> 00:13:54.789 what he called the film he wanted to be remembered 00:13:54.789 --> 00:13:59.169 by, The Gold Rush in 1925. An epic comedy based 00:13:59.169 --> 00:14:02.330 on, of all things, the tragic Donner Party. He 00:14:02.330 --> 00:14:05.190 wanted to make an epic comedy out of grim subject 00:14:05.190 --> 00:14:09.049 matter. And he went for massive scale. Huge sets, 00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:12.509 600 extras, shooting on location in the Nevada 00:14:12.509 --> 00:14:14.909 mountains. It cost nearly a million dollars, 00:14:14.990 --> 00:14:17.559 which was a monumental sum. But it gave us some 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:19.700 of the most iconic scenes in cinema history. 00:14:19.879 --> 00:14:22.100 It really did. It became one of the highest grossing 00:14:22.100 --> 00:14:24.820 silent films ever. We all remember the scene 00:14:24.820 --> 00:14:27.519 where he boils his leather boot and eats it like 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:29.879 a gourmet meal. Treating the laces like spaghetti. 00:14:30.019 --> 00:14:32.159 Or the dance of the rolls. These are moments 00:14:32.159 --> 00:14:34.980 where physical comedy and pathos just align perfectly. 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:37.740 It's pure cinematic magic. But right after this 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:40.220 huge triumph, his personal life just completely 00:14:40.220 --> 00:14:42.240 goes off the rails. We're talking about the Lita 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:45.779 Gray scandal. The mid -1920s were a period of 00:14:45.779 --> 00:14:48.620 severe emotional turmoil for him. This was his 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:52.080 second marriage in 1924. It was forced by Gray's 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:54.399 pregnancy, just like his first marriage. And 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.460 the age difference was controversial. Very. She 00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.279 was 16, he was 35. But the marriage was also 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:03.460 deeply unhappy, and the public divorce in 1927 00:15:03.460 --> 00:15:06.320 became headline news across the country. It was 00:15:06.320 --> 00:15:09.100 incredibly sensationalized. To an extreme degree. 00:15:10.159 --> 00:15:12.639 Gray's divorce complaint was leaked, and it was 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:15.720 full of accusations of infidelity, abuse, and 00:15:15.720 --> 00:15:18.299 these shocking claims of perverted sexual desires. 00:15:19.539 --> 00:15:21.779 Chaplin was reportedly on the verge of a nervous 00:15:21.779 --> 00:15:24.539 breakdown. And the financial cost was huge. A 00:15:24.539 --> 00:15:27.259 $600 ,000 settlement, the largest awarded by 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:30.080 a U .S. court at the time. The stress was so 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:32.559 bad that it completely crippled his work on his 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:35.100 next film, The Circus. Production had to be suspended 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:38.019 for 10 months. It did. And even though the film 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:39.779 was a success and earned him a Special Academy 00:15:39.779 --> 00:15:42.799 Award, he forever associated it with the pain 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:45.039 of that period. By the time the circus came out, 00:15:45.059 --> 00:15:47.340 Hollywood was changing forever. The jazz singer 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:49.860 had premiered and sound film was taking over. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:53.679 But Chaplin was deeply cynical about it. He wasn't 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:55.700 just resisting sound. He was waging a one -man 00:15:55.700 --> 00:15:58.679 war against it. He felt talkies lacked artistry 00:15:58.679 --> 00:16:01.179 and, crucially, he feared that giving the tramp 00:16:01.179 --> 00:16:03.899 a voice would destroy his universal appeal. Because 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:06.370 he didn't need translation. Exactly. Giving him 00:16:06.370 --> 00:16:08.409 an English or American accent would limit him. 00:16:08.649 --> 00:16:11.289 So his defiance culminated in City Lights in 00:16:11.289 --> 00:16:15.809 1931. A completely silent film, released four 00:16:15.809 --> 00:16:18.750 years into the sound era. An incredible gamble. 00:16:18.870 --> 00:16:21.669 An astonishing gamble. The production was a 21 00:16:21.669 --> 00:16:25.429 -month saga of pathological perfectionism. He 00:16:25.429 --> 00:16:27.990 said he worked himself into an erotic state of 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:30.519 wanting perfection. And he used the new sound 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:32.960 technology, but only to record his own musical 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:35.179 score. Yes, which he composed entirely himself. 00:16:35.720 --> 00:16:38.340 And the film was a stunning success. It grossed 00:16:38.340 --> 00:16:42.159 over $3 million. But its artistic legacy is even 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:45.179 greater. The critic James A .J. called the final 00:16:45.179 --> 00:16:48.100 scene the greatest piece of acting in movies. 00:16:48.360 --> 00:16:50.240 He proved that visual storytelling could still 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:52.600 triumph. He did. Yeah. Now, after City Lights, 00:16:52.720 --> 00:16:55.100 he took a long break. He traveled for 16 months, 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:57.600 and that trip really opened his eyes to the growing 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:00.090 global turmoil. Including a foiled assassination 00:17:00.090 --> 00:17:03.549 plot in Japan. That's right. Ultra -nationalists 00:17:03.549 --> 00:17:05.549 planned to kill him to try and provoke a war 00:17:05.549 --> 00:17:07.849 with the U .S. It was only foiled because he 00:17:07.849 --> 00:17:09.690 decided to play golf instead of attending the 00:17:09.690 --> 00:17:12.490 reception. He comes back home deeply troubled 00:17:12.490 --> 00:17:14.470 by the Great Depression and what he's seeing 00:17:14.470 --> 00:17:16.509 with labor conditions. He was worried that machinery 00:17:16.509 --> 00:17:18.849 and capitalism were just going to create permanent 00:17:18.849 --> 00:17:22.109 unemployment. And those anxieties became the 00:17:22.109 --> 00:17:25.170 foundation for modern times in 1936. Which he 00:17:25.170 --> 00:17:27.910 called a satire on certain phases of our industrial 00:17:27.910 --> 00:17:30.910 life. It was. The film follows the tramp as he 00:17:30.910 --> 00:17:33.349 navigates factories and unemployment. And it 00:17:33.349 --> 00:17:35.789 still maintained his commitment to visual comedy. 00:17:36.069 --> 00:17:39.569 He used sound effects, but almost no intelligible 00:17:39.569 --> 00:17:42.220 dialogue. Almost. Except for the one unforgettable 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:45.160 moment where the Tramp finally speaks. Yes. He's 00:17:45.160 --> 00:17:47.279 sourced to sing in a cafe, forgets the lyrics, 00:17:47.440 --> 00:17:50.140 and just sings this hilarious, completely gibberish 00:17:50.140 --> 00:17:53.220 song. It was his final artistic defiance. The 00:17:53.220 --> 00:17:55.779 Tramp communicates, but not with actual restrictive 00:17:55.779 --> 00:17:58.960 words. Exactly. And that film marked his definitive 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:01.180 shift from romantic comedy to being a socially 00:18:01.180 --> 00:18:03.299 conscious artist. He was getting ready to use 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:05.160 his platform for direct political commentary, 00:18:05.480 --> 00:18:07.660 a move that would ultimately destroy his standing 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:10.039 in America. Right. So the political messages 00:18:10.039 --> 00:18:12.779 really come to the forefront in the 1940s. And 00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:15.440 this just unleashes a storm of controversy that 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.539 shatters his popularity in the U .S. The spark 00:18:18.539 --> 00:18:20.700 was this really unsettling historical coincidence. 00:18:21.519 --> 00:18:23.880 Chaplin was disturbed by the rise of nationalism. 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.180 But the key inspiration for his next film was 00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:30.599 the uncanny resemblance between himself and Adolf 00:18:30.599 --> 00:18:32.339 Hitler. They were born just four days apart. 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:36.920 April 1889. Both rose from poverty and obscurity, 00:18:36.940 --> 00:18:39.980 and both had that same distinct mustache. And 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:42.640 that parallel gives us the great dictator in 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.859 1940. this was his first true sound film he finally 00:18:46.859 --> 00:18:48.980 gave in because he felt the political message 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:51.259 against fascism had to be delivered with dialogue 00:18:51.259 --> 00:18:54.299 he knew the risk but he felt as he wrote that 00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:56.339 hitler must be laughed at he plays two roles 00:18:56.339 --> 00:18:59.359 the dictator adenoid hinkle and a persecuted 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:01.680 jewish barber which was a subtle retort to the 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:03.940 nazi rumor that chaplin himself was jewish but 00:19:03.940 --> 00:19:05.720 the film ends with the most controversial choice 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:08.740 of his career that five minute speech He drops 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:11.200 the character completely, looks right at the 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.279 camera, and delivers this powerful plea against 00:19:14.279 --> 00:19:17.759 war and fascism. It broke the fourth wall and 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:21.240 it forever linked his star image to polarizing 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:23.960 political causes. And while figures like Churchill 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:26.819 and Roosevelt loved it, it made him an immediate 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:29.279 political target for right -wing and isolationist 00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:31.680 groups in the U .S. And that political scrutiny 00:19:31.680 --> 00:19:35.119 just intensifies exponentially, providing the 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:37.579 perfect cover for a campaign to destroy him. 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.160 And this campaign was rooted in a personal scandal 00:19:40.160 --> 00:19:43.420 involving an actress named Joan Barry. They had 00:19:43.420 --> 00:19:45.200 a brief affair, and then she claimed she was 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:47.519 pregnant with his child. The timing was critical. 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:51.230 J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, was already 00:19:51.230 --> 00:19:53.829 deeply suspicious of Chaplin's progressive politics 00:19:53.829 --> 00:19:56.650 and his support for the Soviet Union. So Hoover 00:19:56.650 --> 00:19:58.849 saw an opportunity here. He used the scandal 00:19:58.849 --> 00:20:02.750 as leverage. The FBI launched a full -on smear 00:20:02.750 --> 00:20:05.990 campaign, feeding damaging information to anti 00:20:05.990 --> 00:20:08.670 -communist gossip columnists to ruin his public 00:20:08.670 --> 00:20:10.690 image. They didn't just stop at gossip, though. 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:12.690 They went after him illegally. They used a truly 00:20:12.690 --> 00:20:18.309 archaic law, the Mann Act, from 1910. It prohibits 00:20:18.309 --> 00:20:21.170 transporting women across state lines for immoral 00:20:21.170 --> 00:20:24.150 purposes. It was an anti -prostitution law. Essentially. 00:20:24.869 --> 00:20:27.549 And Chaplin was indicted on four charges. It 00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:29.509 was an absurd prosecution. What was the real 00:20:29.509 --> 00:20:31.730 threat to him? If he was found guilty, he could 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:33.750 have faced up to 23 years in federal prison. 00:20:34.190 --> 00:20:36.630 Now, he was acquitted, but the case dominated 00:20:36.630 --> 00:20:39.529 the headlines for months. The FBI had succeeded 00:20:39.529 --> 00:20:42.700 in publicly crucifying him. Then came the paternity 00:20:42.700 --> 00:20:44.359 suit itself, and this is where it gets really 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:46.720 shocking. The court declared him the father, 00:20:46.880 --> 00:20:49.359 despite scientific evidence proving he wasn't. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:52.140 It was a travesty. Blood tests proved conclusively 00:20:52.140 --> 00:20:54.500 he was not the father. His blood type was O, 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:57.740 the mother's was A, and the child's was B. Genetically 00:20:57.740 --> 00:20:59.980 impossible. But the court wouldn't accept the 00:20:59.980 --> 00:21:01.920 evidence. California courts at the time deemed 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.619 blood tests inadvisable. They prioritized the 00:21:04.619 --> 00:21:07.339 mother's accusation over science. So he was legally 00:21:07.339 --> 00:21:09.920 and financially required to support a child that 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:12.319 wasn't his. And in the middle of all this chaos, 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:16.440 he gets married again to Una O 'Neill, the daughter 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:19.380 of playwright Eugene O 'Neill. He's 54, she's 00:21:19.380 --> 00:21:22.299 18. The age difference caused another massive 00:21:22.299 --> 00:21:25.319 public outcry. Her father disowned her. And yet, 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:28.160 this marriage proved to be his most stable and 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:31.240 enduring relationship. It lasted until his death. 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:34.220 He later said the buried trial's head crippled 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:37.250 his creativeness. But when he did return to filmmaking, 00:21:37.490 --> 00:21:39.789 his anger and bitterness were front and center. 00:21:39.930 --> 00:21:43.789 Leading to Monsieur Verdue in 1947, a black comedy 00:21:43.789 --> 00:21:46.650 about a serial killer. He used the plot to launch 00:21:46.650 --> 00:21:49.369 a direct assault on capitalism. His argument 00:21:49.369 --> 00:21:51.549 was that the world encourages mass killing through 00:21:51.549 --> 00:21:54.230 war and corporate greed. He said serial killing 00:21:54.230 --> 00:21:56.369 was just small -scale business. And the U .S. 00:21:56.369 --> 00:21:59.009 public reaction was catastrophic. Overwhelming 00:21:59.009 --> 00:22:01.769 hostility. He was booed at the premiere. Major 00:22:01.769 --> 00:22:04.690 boycotts. It was his first serious... critical 00:22:04.690 --> 00:22:07.329 and commercial failure in America, just outright 00:22:07.329 --> 00:22:09.869 public rejection. And at the same time, the communist 00:22:09.869 --> 00:22:12.250 accusations fueled by Hoover are getting worse. 00:22:12.569 --> 00:22:14.890 He was actively campaigning against the House 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:17.990 Un -American Activities Committee, UQAC, and 00:22:17.990 --> 00:22:21.230 calling himself a peacemonger. So political leaders 00:22:21.230 --> 00:22:23.509 started publicly calling for his deportation. 00:22:23.650 --> 00:22:26.210 They said his life was detrimental to the moral 00:22:26.210 --> 00:22:29.269 fabric of America. That's the quote. So the final 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:32.779 blow came in 1952. He was on a ship sailing to 00:22:32.779 --> 00:22:35.420 the London premiere of his film Limelight. And 00:22:35.420 --> 00:22:37.559 while he's in the middle of the ocean, the Attorney 00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:40.299 General, James McGrainery, revokes his reentry 00:22:40.299 --> 00:22:43.640 permit. He demanded Chaplin submit to this humiliating 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:46.019 interview about his politics and his morals if 00:22:46.019 --> 00:22:48.160 he ever wanted to come back. So he had a choice. 00:22:48.599 --> 00:22:51.740 Return and fight or walk away. And he chose exile. 00:22:52.279 --> 00:22:54.720 He said he was fed up of America's insults and 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:57.480 moral pomposity. He moved his family to Switzerland 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:00.619 and cut his ties permanently. His exile is just 00:23:00.619 --> 00:23:03.059 this profound example of how artistic freedom 00:23:03.059 --> 00:23:06.059 clashed with Cold War paranoia. It showed that 00:23:06.059 --> 00:23:08.980 no matter how powerful you were, if you use that 00:23:08.980 --> 00:23:11.640 power to criticize the state, the state would 00:23:11.640 --> 00:23:13.940 weaponize your personal life to bring you down. 00:23:14.119 --> 00:23:16.900 So after his banishment, Chaplin settles into 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:19.200 this quiet life in Switzerland at an estate called 00:23:19.200 --> 00:23:22.799 Manoir de Bonn. And his wife, Una, renounces 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.680 her U .S. citizenship. A profound gesture of 00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:28.359 support. Chaplin sold off his stock in United 00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:30.960 Artists, cutting his last professional ties to 00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:33.680 the country. He started calling himself an anarchist. 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:36.119 And his politics immediately show up in his next 00:23:36.119 --> 00:23:39.140 film, A King in New York. Which was a direct 00:23:39.140 --> 00:23:41.839 and angry satire on the country that exiled him. 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:45.160 He cast himself as an exiled king and used it 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:48.759 to parody HUAC consumerism and plastic surgery. 00:23:48.920 --> 00:23:51.339 And he banned its American release. He did. It 00:23:51.339 --> 00:23:54.720 wasn't shown there until 1973. His final film, 00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:57.940 A Countess from Hong Kong in 1967, was a romantic 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:00.680 comedy with Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. But 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:03.000 it just didn't work. It was a box office failure 00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.539 and a critical disappointment. It hurt him deeply 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:08.609 and effectively ended his directing career. But 00:24:08.609 --> 00:24:11.210 even as his output slowed, the artistic method 00:24:11.210 --> 00:24:14.829 that created his masterpieces. It's just astonishingly 00:24:14.829 --> 00:24:16.490 rigorous. He's considered one of the earliest 00:24:16.490 --> 00:24:19.569 true cinematic auteurs. His control was absolute. 00:24:20.069 --> 00:24:23.029 Directing, writing, producing, editing, composing, 00:24:23.109 --> 00:24:26.710 starring. Everything. And that was essential 00:24:26.710 --> 00:24:29.690 because of his unique, almost chaotic method 00:24:29.690 --> 00:24:32.309 of creation. He never shot from a completed script. 00:24:32.549 --> 00:24:35.690 Never. Until The Great Dictator. He'd start with 00:24:35.690 --> 00:24:38.259 a vague premise. build the sets, and then just 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:41.059 improvise gags on set until a narrative started 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:43.480 to emerge. Which sounds incredibly expensive 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:46.460 and wasteful. It was. It meant massive reshoots 00:24:46.460 --> 00:24:49.079 and astonishing amounts of wasted film. But because 00:24:49.079 --> 00:24:51.119 he was financing his own work, he could afford 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:54.059 it. And this leads to his legendary, almost pathological 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:57.119 perfectionism. It's insane. For a finished scene 00:24:57.119 --> 00:25:00.400 in The Kid, he shot up to 53 takes. For the 20 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:02.799 -minute short The Immigrant, he shot 40 ,000 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:05.460 feet of film. Enough for a feature -length epic. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:07.460 That must have been draining on everyone. It 00:25:07.460 --> 00:25:10.559 was. He described the process as sheer perseverance 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.660 to the point of madness. He would often act out 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.200 every single role for his cast, expecting them 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:18.940 to imitate him precisely. Beyond the visual mastery, 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:21.220 there was the music. He taught himself piano, 00:25:21.339 --> 00:25:23.859 violin, and cello. And from City Lights onwards, 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:27.880 he composed the scores for all his films. It's 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:30.279 remarkable, considering he couldn't read sheet 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:33.190 music. He worked with arrangers, but he provided 00:25:33.190 --> 00:25:35.829 the musical imperative. Not a note was placed 00:25:35.829 --> 00:25:38.369 without his okay. And some of those compositions, 00:25:38.410 --> 00:25:41.150 like Smile, have become cultural touchstones. 00:25:41.349 --> 00:25:44.450 Absolutely. Smile from modern times, Eternally 00:25:44.450 --> 00:25:47.829 from Limelight. They live completely outside 00:25:47.829 --> 00:25:50.390 of the films. And it was his music that finally 00:25:50.390 --> 00:25:52.509 brought him competitive recognition from the 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:56.109 country that had exiled him. Yes. In 1973, he 00:25:56.109 --> 00:25:59.049 won his only competitive Oscar. for Best Original 00:25:59.049 --> 00:26:01.609 Score for Limelight, which only became eligible 00:26:01.609 --> 00:26:03.430 after it was finally released in the U .S. in 00:26:03.430 --> 00:26:06.210 1972. By this point, U .S. sentiment had started 00:26:06.210 --> 00:26:09.009 to shift. The Academy saw a chance for reconciliation. 00:26:09.849 --> 00:26:12.170 They offered him a second honorary award in 1972, 00:26:12.549 --> 00:26:15.769 and his return was this massive emotional event. 00:26:15.829 --> 00:26:17.549 He flew back to the U .S. for the first time 00:26:17.549 --> 00:26:19.890 in 20 years. And at the Academy Awards, he received 00:26:19.890 --> 00:26:22.150 a 12 -minute standing ovation. The longest in 00:26:22.150 --> 00:26:24.750 Academy history. It was this profound emotional 00:26:24.750 --> 00:26:28.150 climax to a lifetime of work and decades of persecution. 00:26:28.569 --> 00:26:30.990 His final years were spent on his autobiography 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:35.349 and rescoring his films. In 1975, Queen Elizabeth 00:26:35.349 --> 00:26:38.730 II knighted him. He received the honor in a wheelchair. 00:26:39.480 --> 00:26:42.900 He died peacefully on Christmas Day 1977 at the 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:46.099 age of 88. And even then, the drama wasn't over. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.200 His coffin was stolen. Stolen for ransom. It 00:26:49.200 --> 00:26:51.680 was recovered, and he was reinterred in a reinforced 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:54.240 concrete vault to make sure it never happened 00:26:54.240 --> 00:26:57.380 again. A bizarre cinematic end. Looking back, 00:26:57.500 --> 00:27:00.119 his impact is just staggering. He's called arguably 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:02.299 the single most important artist produced by 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:04.119 the cinema. And his greatest creation is The 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:07.230 Tramp, cinema's most universal icon. The character's 00:27:07.230 --> 00:27:10.109 whole being was defined by his dignity, his refusal 00:27:10.109 --> 00:27:12.730 to be crushed by poverty. That mix of slapstick 00:27:12.730 --> 00:27:14.869 and pathos is what sets him apart. I always think 00:27:14.869 --> 00:27:17.029 of that little gesture, lifting his hat in apology 00:27:17.029 --> 00:27:18.990 to a tree after bumping into it. That's the whole 00:27:18.990 --> 00:27:21.230 character right there. Exactly. And that style 00:27:21.230 --> 00:27:23.910 set the benchmark. Federica Fellini called him 00:27:23.910 --> 00:27:26.309 a sort of Adam from whom we're all descended. 00:27:26.529 --> 00:27:28.750 His influence is everywhere. Beyond the art, 00:27:28.869 --> 00:27:31.390 he also set a critical legal precedent that protects 00:27:31.390 --> 00:27:35.490 performers to this day. The 1928 lawsuit, Chaplain 00:27:35.490 --> 00:27:38.059 V. Amador. This was a crucial case establishing 00:27:38.059 --> 00:27:41.079 the common law right of publicity. He sued an 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:43.640 impersonator and the court ruled that a performer's 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:46.099 unique persona, the mustache, the hat, the cane, 00:27:46.299 --> 00:27:48.940 is legally protected from mimics trying to deceive 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:51.720 the public. So it was an early battle over brand 00:27:51.720 --> 00:27:54.220 integrity. It laid the foundation for modern 00:27:54.220 --> 00:27:56.240 protections around merchandising and intellectual 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.539 property for an artistic persona. His desire 00:27:59.539 --> 00:28:02.720 for control extended even to his own image. Today, 00:28:02.819 --> 00:28:05.589 his legacy is carefully maintained. His final 00:28:05.589 --> 00:28:08.190 home in Switzerland is now the Chaplin's World 00:28:08.190 --> 00:28:10.869 Museum. And six of his key films are preserved 00:28:10.869 --> 00:28:13.589 in the National Film Registry. A minor planet 00:28:13.589 --> 00:28:16.509 is named after him. And in a fascinating twist, 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:19.529 the image of the tramp, the everyman, was ironically 00:28:19.529 --> 00:28:22.609 used by IBM in the 1980s to advertise personal 00:28:22.609 --> 00:28:25.210 computers. That's the ultimate symbolic journey. 00:28:25.410 --> 00:28:27.990 From the Lambeth workhouse to an image so powerful 00:28:27.990 --> 00:28:29.950 it could sell the future. The arc is complete. 00:28:30.289 --> 00:28:33.339 So, what does this all mean? It means Chaplin 00:28:33.339 --> 00:28:35.740 achieved the ultimate creative and financial 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:38.599 independence, making him the defining auteur 00:28:38.599 --> 00:28:41.940 of early cinema. But the cost of using that platform 00:28:41.940 --> 00:28:44.539 for overt political expression was profound. 00:28:44.799 --> 00:28:47.400 The government weaponized his personal life against 00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:50.019 him, forcing his permanent separation from the 00:28:50.019 --> 00:28:52.470 land that had crowned him king. And yet Chaplin, 00:28:52.609 --> 00:28:55.210 the self -proclaimed anarchist who despised government 00:28:55.210 --> 00:28:58.490 and rules, was ultimately welcomed back and honored 00:28:58.490 --> 00:29:01.089 by the very establishments he spent his life 00:29:01.089 --> 00:29:04.069 satirizing. He was knighted by the queen. He 00:29:04.069 --> 00:29:06.390 was embraced by the academy. It proves that true 00:29:06.390 --> 00:29:09.250 artistic influence eventually transcends any 00:29:09.250 --> 00:29:11.529 political banishment. It does. You have to consider 00:29:11.529 --> 00:29:14.029 the staggering scale of that trajectory. The 00:29:14.029 --> 00:29:16.210 rebel was banished only to return years later 00:29:16.210 --> 00:29:19.849 as an immortal monument. His genius just undeniable. 00:29:19.970 --> 00:29:22.390 A profound thought on the enduring power of art 00:29:22.390 --> 00:29:25.289 over politics. Food for thought indeed. That 00:29:25.289 --> 00:29:27.150 concludes this deep dive into the extraordinary 00:29:27.150 --> 00:29:29.390 life of Charlie Chaplin. Thank you for joining 00:29:29.390 --> 00:29:31.049 us. We look forward to your company on the next 00:29:31.049 --> 00:29:31.490 deep dive.