Slideshow
THE CIRCUS
U.S., 1928
Written and directed by Charles Chaplin
Starring Charles Chaplin, Merna Kennedy, Al Ernest Garcia, Henry Bergman
Approx. 70 min. 35mm.
Between THE GOLD RUSH and CITY LIGHTS, a lesser-known gem chockablock with more out-and-out slapstick than any of his other features — the Tramp finding himself in a hall of mirrors, a lion’s cage, and on a tightrope overcome by frisky monkeys, as he unwittingly becomes “the hit of the show.” It won him a special Oscar in the first year of the awards for his “versatility and genius.” He added music, including a theme song sung by his eighty-year old self, for a 1970 reissue.
Reviews
“The hardest-boiled crowd laughed off all its mascara.”
– New York Herald Tribune
“One of the loveliest screen experiences! Perhaps the quintessential Chaplin film!”
– Vincent Canby, The New York Times
“Because THE CIRCUS has no pretensions, it doesn’t seem to date — its comedy and charm are as strong as it ever was. Nor is it all devoid of serious or sophisticated moments.”
– William K. Everson
“A screaming delight from fade-in to fade-out. It is a howling, hearty, happily, slightly slapstick production… Behind each tear there are at least a dozen laughs.”
– New York Daily News (June 9, 1928)