Perhaps its just a sign of the times, but I never quite saw the fascination for this extremely unfunny cunt!
Most of his films were from the silent era, which meant most of his comedy had to do with physical pratfalls and facial expressions in order to get the message across. But quite frankly after watching a number of his classics I rarely laughed, or even raised a smile at any of them. And yet film critics at the time, and even to the present day seem to have a soft spot for his acting abilities and comic timings.
Compare and contrast him to Laurel & Hardy, or even Harold Lloyd. Both earned their stripes also from the silent era, and L&H became true megastars with the advent of sound and went on to develop many classic shorts including The Music Box, Sons of the Desert and Way Out West.
Similarly with Lloyd, most of his success came from the silent era, but he was a great performer with a very endearing face/smile that audiences could take to their hearts.
And yet these guys have always been dumped into the shadows of The Tramp, but fuck knows why because Chaplin really didn’t get very far when sound arrived in films. He even courted controversy in the late 30s early 40s as his films became more and more politicised (The Great Dictator, being the most well known), which didn’t go down too well with audiences in the UK or US, especially since WW2 was about to kick off.
I will admit he had a keen eye for choregraphed comedy, especially when directing. But quite honestly I don’t rate him above Lloyd, L&H, Buster Keaton or the Marx Brothers.
Sir Charlie Chaplin – overrated “genius”, who was about as funny as a visit to the local proctologist.
Nominated by: Technocunt
