wavePod

Get Wave AI

Charlie Chaplin - Short History Of... | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Back to Short History Of...

Charlie Chaplin

Short History Of...

Sun Aug 20 2023

Summary

Short History Of… Charlie Chaplin

Podcast: Short History Of...
Host: NOISER
Date: August 20, 2023
Theme: The extraordinary life and legacy of Charlie Chaplin, tracing his journey from poverty in South London to becoming the world’s first global film superstar, and examining the genius, controversy, and contradictions at the heart of his career.

Episode Overview

This episode explores the dramatic, unlikely rise of Charlie Chaplin—the “Little Tramp”—from desperate poverty and family strife in Victorian London to unimaginable wealth, international fame, scandals, and political exile. Through vivid narration, expert commentary, and historical context, listeners learn how Chaplin revolutionized cinema, navigated personal demons, and left an indelible mark on 20th-century popular culture.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Hardships and First Steps on Stage

[00:33–06:41]: The episode opens with a vividly narrated scene: young Charlie Chaplin’s nerves before his first performance as part of the Eight Lancashire Lads clog-dancing troupe, highlighting early stage fright and his hunger for adoration.
Family struggles: Charlie’s parents—both music hall performers—separate amid poverty, alcoholism, and mental illness. Charlie’s mother, Hannah, battles declining health, forcing the boys into workhouses and orphanages.
First accidental solo: As a boy of five, Charlie replaces his ailing mother in a performance, winning laughs and coins from the crowd—a pivotal glimpse of a different future.

“Stage fright, he realizes, is something he's going to have to work hard to overcome. But he will overcome it. The moments of fleeting admiration from the audience will become a drug that he cannot live without.” (Narration, [05:52])

“It was just a very sad and deprived life... He's trying to look out for his mother who's ... usually drinking too much, but she also has some mental health problems… things are really, really tough for Chaplin.” (Lucy Moore, [10:31])

2. From Music Hall to International Stardom

[10:58–15:42]: Despite adversity, Chaplin hones his performance skills in music halls and slapstick troupes.
Stage breakthrough: Becomes a standout in Sherlock Holmes as a page boy, demonstrating charisma and knack for physical comedy.
Joins Fred Karno’s troupe: Discovers the art of well-rehearsed slapstick, learning to blend chaos with pathos, an approach praised by Claude Debussy.

“Keep it wistful. If you smack someone hard in the face, look sad about it. If you knock a man down, kiss him on the head.” (Fred Karno’s lesson, [13:23])

3. Arrival in America & Creation of ‘The Little Tramp’

[16:58–24:48]: Tours North America with Karno’s troupe—fellow member Stan Laurel later becomes a comedy legend.
Break into film: Recruited by Keystone Studios for $150/week, Chaplin quickly multiplies his salary as his fame escalates.
Birth of the Tramp: His iconic persona—mismatched suit, bowler hat, moustache, cane, and duck-like walk—debuts in “Kid Auto Races at Venice,” capturing the world’s imagination.

“In 1914, Charlie starts making really quite big money … he checks himself into a fabulous hotel and spends the whole night turning the hot tap on and off ... How could anyone ever get used to luxury?” (Lucy Moore, [24:06])

4. Superstardom and Influence

[24:48–29:35]: Chaplin’s rise is meteoric—by 1915, he’s one of the world’s most recognizable faces, with 300 million people reportedly having seen his films.
The Little Tramp’s resonance: Audiences worldwide see themselves in his mischievous, downtrodden, ever-hopeful underdog.

“Almost every major figure in films through the 20th century cites Chaplin as being a huge influence … that sense of yearning and melancholy and not quite achieving your dreams is something that I think really spoke to audiences in the 1920s.” (Lucy Moore, [28:39])

5. Personal Life, Scandal, and Control

[29:36–34:32]: While Chaplin’s creative powers soar, his relationships are troubled. He boasts of 2,000 lovers; he’s controlling on set, a perfectionist demanding retakes and obedience from actors.
Tumultuous marriages: His first marriages—particularly to underage Mildred Harris and Lita Grey—are fraught with scandal, manipulation, and divorce settlements.

“He's a complete control freak, really, in modern terms. He acts out every single scene and shows his actors exactly how they have to perform it…” (Lucy Moore, [31:11])

6. Artistry, Social Satire and Politics

[34:53–45:57]: Chaplin uses comedy as social critique in films like “The Kid,” “Gold Rush,” “City Lights,” and “Modern Times,” weaving pathos and satire into silent film’s universal language.
Defies ‘talkies’: As sound arrives, Chaplin clings to silent filmmaking, believing in “the great beauty of silence”—and proves audiences still crave his style.
Political evolution: His impoverished roots, outsider status, and artistic circles lead him toward left-wing sympathies, which attract suspicion in postwar America.

“Chaplin definitely saw himself as a left-leaning person, as a communist sympathizing person. But this is something that was quite typical of Hollywood in that period.” (Lucy Moore, [45:15])

7. Controversy, Exile, and Legacy

[46:00–52:59]: The late 1930s–1950s see Chaplin’s career dogged by controversy: affairs with very young women, public scandals, paternity suits, FBI scrutiny, and accusations of communist sympathies during the Red Scare.
Famous exile: After the premiere of “Limelight” in 1952, US authorities revoke his reentry permit. Chaplin and his family relocate to Switzerland and live in self-imposed exile.
Redemption & honor: With time, public opinion softens; Chaplin returns to the US for an honorary Oscar and is later knighted in the UK.

“Part of the reason he doesn't go back to America again is not just his communist leaning politics, but also the sense that he had a scandalous private life and wouldn't have been accepted in the more puritanical America of the 50s and 60s.” (Lucy Moore, [52:43])

“He really was such an influential figure in those early decades. Every great Hollywood director or producer or actor will cite Chaplin as an influence on their work... that's what Chaplin really communicated on screen.” (Lucy Moore, [54:51])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On stage fright overcoming fear:

“Stage fright, he realizes, is something he's going to have to work hard to overcome. But he will overcome it. The moments of fleeting admiration from the audience will become a drug that he cannot live without.”
(Narration, [05:52])
On poverty shaping genius:

“It was just a very sad and deprived life... things are really, really tough for Chaplin.”
(Lucy Moore, [10:31])
On the universal appeal of the Tramp:

“Chaplin really communicates that feeling that the Tramp isn't quite in the place he wants to be. He never quite gets the things he dreams of... That quality, that sense of yearning and melancholy... really spoke to audiences in the 1920s.”
(Lucy Moore, [28:39])
On creative control:

“He's a complete control freak, really, in modern terms. He acts out every single scene and shows his actors exactly how they have to perform it. He even goes to the lengths of writing the scores for his own films even though he's not musically trained.”
(Lucy Moore, [31:11])
On Hollywood and leftist politics:

“Chaplin definitely saw himself as a left-leaning person, as a communist sympathizing person. But this is something that was quite typical of Hollywood in that period.”
(Lucy Moore, [45:15])
On his enduring legacy:

“Every great Hollywood director, producer, or actor will cite Chaplin as an influence on their work. And even though he just had this one great figure, the Little Tramp, that encapsulates everything that Hollywood's all about.”
(Lucy Moore, [54:51])

Timestamps for Key Segments

Charlie’s first childhood performance, the Eight Lancashire Lads: [00:33–06:41]
Family struggles, mother’s illness, and workhouse: [06:42–10:58]
Music hall apprenticeship and early break in Sherlock Holmes: [10:58–12:30]
Joining Fred Karno, lessons in stage slapstick: [12:31–14:33]
Arrival in America, film debut, creation of ‘The Little Tramp’: [16:58–24:48]
Meteoric fame and global influence: [24:48–29:35]
Personal life and relationships: [29:36–34:32]
Peak of Chaplin-mania, “The Kid” and “Gold Rush”: [34:53–41:38]
Artistry, politics, and adversity in the sound era: [44:14–46:00]
Scandal, McCarthyism, Hollywood exile: [46:01–52:59]
Final years, later honors, impact: [52:59–end]

Conclusion

The episode paints a comprehensive portrait of Chaplin as a genius shaped by hardship, relentless in his pursuit of perfection, and sometimes self-destructive. Despite controversies and exile, his legacy as a cinematic pioneer remains unchallenged—his “Little Tramp” a symbol of hope, humor, and the eternal outsider striving for dignity and recognition.

Recommended for: Anyone interested in cinema history, social history, or the complexities of fame and creative genius. This compelling narrative balances admiration for Chaplin’s ground-breaking work with an unflinching look at his personal failings and the forces—political and personal—that shaped and shadowed his legend.

Loading summary...

Transcript

A (0:00)

It's time to refresh your yard during Spring Backyard Days at the Home Depot. Get low prices guaranteed on propane grills starting at $179 like the next grill 3 burner gas grill. Or get $50 off a select Weber Spirit Grill and bring big flavor to your backyard. Then set the scene with Hampton Bay string lights that bring it all together. Shop Spring backyard days for seven days at the Home Depot, now through May 6th. Exclusions applies to homedevot.com Pricematch for details.

B (0:33)

It is winter 1898 at the Empire Theatre in Portsmouth on the south coast of England. The 800 seater is packed tonight with punters, each having paid a few pennies to be entertained by an array of musical acts. At the side of the stage stands a slight young boy, not yet 10. He has porcelain skin, black hair and huge puppy dog eyes. Nervously, he peeps out at the audience in their plush blue velvet seats. On the stage is a coquettish young woman trilling a bawdy song, throwing her arms out as she sings. The boy, though, is captivated more by the attention the rowdy crowd is lavishing on the performer than on the act itself. The audience heaves with laughter at every double entendre, each performed with a nudge and a wink amid their whooping and cheering. Some join in the chorus and a few even get up to dance. But the boy knows not every act enjoys such a reception. Just moments earlier, a magician stomped past him after being booed off the stage. Now the song builds to its crescendo. The boy, dressed in the same white linen blouse and knickerbocker pants as the seven other members of his troupe, takes a deep breath to settle his nerves. He's up next. Their act, called the Eight Lancashire Lads, comprises a clog dance using the same heavy wood soled shoes more commonly seen on miners down the pit. He's been training with the boys for six weeks, and tonight is his debut performance on stage. The butterflies in his belly are taking flight. He stares around at the theater's rococo interior, augmented with ivory and gold leaf. His nose fills with the distinctive odors of the music hall, a heady mixture of citrus, beer, tobacco smoke and stale sweat. All too quickly, the woman hits the final high note that finishes her song and confidently strides off stage with a flick of her bustled dress. The crowd roars its appreciation. Then comes the cue from the stage manager, faltering just for a moment, the boy feels a hand in the small of his back shoving him on stage. The lights almost blind him as he takes up his position. Dotted around are murmurings and a few drunken heckles. But then the orchestra starts up and drowns out everything else. The dance starts and the boy's weeks of training kick in, his feet moving in unison with the others. But he can feel that his movements are stiff. He can't relax. Are the crowd hollering their approval or their displeasure? He barely hears the music. Performing the steps without thinking. And then, just as soon as it started, it's all over. The lads march offstage to what now sounds like mostly enthusiastic applause. But as he heads through the wings, the boy knows that he could have done better. Stage fright, he realizes, is something he's going to have to work hard to overcome. But he will overcome it. The moments of fleeting admiration from the audience will become a drug that he cannot live without. He can't know it yet, but within a few short years, he will be the most beloved entertainer in the world. Though the men and women in the velvet seats have forgotten him almost as soon as he left the stage. One day, his name will be known across the globe. Charlie Chaplin, the world's greatest movie star. The first truly global celebrity. Charlie Chaplin was for a while the most famous human in the world. His particular talents and genius chimed perfectly with the emergence of the new mass media of cinema Overall. He made 82 films. From New York to New Delhi, Hollywood to Hong Kong. The world knew and loved the little guy who lit up the silver screen like no one else. But just how did Chaplin rise from the mean streets of South London to become the king of Tinseltown? How much of what we see on the screen reflects the real Chaplin? And why did personal and political problems threaten to derail one of the most celebrated careers in entertainment history? I'm John Hopkins, and this is a short history of Charlie Chaplin. It's a little after 8 o' clock on the evening of 16th April, 1889, in London, England. A woman, Hannah, holds her feeble newborn in her arms. In the years to come, he'll be unsure of exactly where he was born, but the best guess is a down at heel lodging house near London's Elephant and Castle neighborhood. Though she's not 100% sure he's the father, Hannah names her son after her husband, Charles Chaplin. A musical singer like herself, Charles performs in a top hat and morning suit, blasting out songs with his powerful baritone. Historian Lucy Moore is author of the book Anything, a biography of the Roaring Twenties.

B (6:42)

Baby. Charlie has an older brother, Sidney, and for a few months the family muddles along. But money is always tight and in 1890, Charles and Hannah split, struggling to fend for the three of them. Hannah moves from place to place around Kennington in South London. Paid gigs are few and far between and her drinking is getting worse. It's possible she turns to sex work to make ends meet. Chaplin's inner city childhood is not for the faint hearted. It's an area dominated by factories, tanneries, ale houses and dwellings, often little more than overcrowded slums. And for most, there's no way out. But amid the permanent stench of vinegar, smoke, beer and animal dung, briefly, it looks like the chaplain's fortunes are changing. Hannah embarks on a relationship with another music hall artist, Leo Dryden. And before long, she gives birth to a third son. It's good news for the toddler, Charlie, who is whisked away to a smart new home half a mile up the road. Now there's food on the table and on Sundays he is dressed in a smart blue velvet suit, finally getting a glimpse of how the other half live. But the idle doesn't last. Fearing he's chosen the wrong woman, Dryden leaves with his child in 1893, and the chaplains are thrust back into their old hand to mouth existence. Hannah scrabbles for work as a singer and dancer. Charlie trails after her, watching her from the wings, those large eyes peering from beneath a mop of dark, curly hair, absorbing it all. According to Chaplin's later accounts, he is only just five when he makes his stage debut. Hannah has just walked out to perform at a typically raucous venue. She opens her mouth to sing, but her voice fails her. The impatient crowd boos her off and knowing he has a slot to fill, the theatre manager shoves Charlie on in her place. He brings the house down with singing and impersonations, getting the biggest laugh of all. When he pauses his routine to pick up the coins thrown onto the stage. Though, it's a glimpse of the different world that Chaplin could one day inhabit. For now, his fate is tied to that of his mother. The next Year she's admitted to hospital for stress related migraines, but then finds herself institutionalized for several months. In the meantime, her children are shunted from the local workhouse to a school for the poor, then briefly into the care of a distant relative. When they're reunited in the spring of 1896, their transient lifestyle continues. The little Hannah earns as a seamstress is lost when her sewing machine is repossessed. Soup kitchens and parish charities keep their heads just above water. But Sydney and Charlie take to stealing what they cannot beg for. A bit of fruit here, a heel of bread there. Charlie's childhood malnutrition will, in years to come, be there for all to see in his delicate and stunted frame on the silver screen. The next few years are itinerant and chaotic. Hannah is in and out of asylums and though the boys receive a little formal education at a school for orphans and destitute children, times could barely be tougher. But it's around now that Charlie discovers he can make a few coppers as a dancer to an organ grinder. Just maybe he can entertain his way out of this hell. For him and his family,

B (16:58)

It's September 1910 on the Atlantic Ocean off the Canadian coast. The breeze is bracing and waves crash against the hull of the SS Cairn Rilna. There is a thunderous blast on the ship's horn. Seagulls squawk as they saw and dive among the clouds. Down on deck, an offshoot of the Kano Troop animatedly chat among themselves. There are jokes aplenty and suddenly a woman breaks into song. Beside her, a man grabs a life ring from the railings, sticks his head through it and pulls a silly face. They work hard to Keep their spirits high after many days at sea. The canrona is hardly the last word in luxury. More like a glorified cattle boat. One of them suggests they have come from London, destined for Quebec, hand picked by Carnot's US agent, Alfred Reeves, for a tour of North America. Each of them has their own big dream. The man with his head through the life ring is about five and a half feet tall and thin. His face is expressive, eyebrows arching high, his smile conveying an appealing innocence. For now, this man, whose name is Stan Laurel, is just another part of Kano's team. But it won't be long until all of that changes. Suddenly, the man next to Stan, the man he understudies for, leaps from his deck chair, sending it clattering to the ground. He races to the edge of the deck and points to the distant horizon. His companions stop what they're doing and squint through the sea mist. Soon enough, they see what he can see. Land. They let out a collective cheer. But the 21 year old at the railings lifts his hands to shush his colleagues. He stands before them as if about to make a speech. America, he declares dramatically. I am coming to conquer you. Every man, woman and child shall have my name on their lips. Charles Spencer Chaplin. With that, he takes a deep bow. His audience begins to boo, affectionately keeping Charlie in his place as he makes his way back to his deck chair. But they all know that whatever hopes they have for their own futures, there's no doubt he has that sprinkling of magic that means he just might make it. Life in America is all about performance. But when he isn't on stage, Chaplin can be withdrawn, sullen, and on bad days, impatient and rude. But he is mischievous and eccentric, too. Like the time he helps Stan Laurel grill an illicit chop in his hotel room by playing his beloved violin loudly to disguise the sound of sizzling. In April 1913, he is in Philadelphia when a telegram arrives. It comes from the Keystone Comedy Company, America's most successful comedy movie producers. Keystone are about to lose their leading man and they want Chaplin to replace him. They'll pay him $150 a month for the first three months and then 175amonth for the next nine thousands of dollars. Today it's an astonishing offer, and they don't have to ask him twice. A few months later, in Kansas City, he comes off stage for the last time, buying a farewell round of drinks for the company. He makes a jokey speech full of bonhomie, but the others can see him shaking as he talks a moment later, he takes himself off to a quiet corner and begins to weep. The era of Chaplin on stage is over, but his greatest days are just ahead.

B (31:43)

But no one complains. While he continues to fill the theaters he racks up stellar hits like Easy street and the Immigrant in which Chaplin uses social satire to chronicle the lives of the poor and exiled. In the summer of 1917, he signs his first million dollar deal for eight films with the First National Film Corporation. Not long afterwards, he's at a party thrown by one of Hollywood's most powerful producers, Samuel Goldwyn. There, Chaplin's head is turned by a dainty blonde haired Blue Eyed Girl. Her name is Mildred Harris and she's just 16, 13 years his junior. Nonetheless, the relationship develops and a few months later, Mildred announces she is pregnant. Appalled at the prospect of a scandal, Chaplin quietly marries her. And though it emerges that she wasn't pregnant after all, soon she is with little trust between them. It's a horrible marriage. When they're not quarreling, Chaplin ignores her. It's not long before she is hospitalized for three weeks, diagnosed with a nervous breakdown. Still, Chaplin always has his work. He strikes up a friendship with perhaps the only man in Hollywood whose fame remotely approaches his own. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. The heartthrob of countless swashbuckling epics. Along with the director W.D. griffith and Mary Pickford, the industry's first million dollar actress, they establish the United Artists Production Company in February 1919. Five months later, Mildred delivers a son, Norman. But he survives just three days. Bereft, Chaplin spirals into a depression as his marriage collapses. Within a fortnight he is at work on what will become one of his masterpieces and his first full length feature, the kid. A 12 year old girl, Lolita McMurray is cast as a street urchin and Chaplin becomes infatuated with her. Maybe it's a distraction, albeit an unsettling one, from the divorce proceedings Mildred now instigates on the grounds of desertion and cruelty. The unhappy couple settle in November, with Mildred receiving property and $100,000. Fortunately for Chaplin, the divorce does not harm his popularity. When the kid opens in February 1921, audiences devour its mix of sentimental melodrama, pantomime and farce. All the old magic is still there. But the movie seems to be saying something more about wider society and its attitudes to the weak and vulnerable. According to some critics, Chaplin is becoming a sort of Dickens for the silver

B (34:53)

Chaplin mania is at its peak. In August, he is in New York for the premiere of Fairbanks latest, the Three Musketeers at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway. When the crowd spots him, they descend like lions on a zebra. He feels a sudden breeze as a woman produces a pair of scissors and cuts a piece from the seat of his trousers. Others grab at his shirt and tie. Buttons are torn off and fought over as souvenirs Amid the frenzy, his feet are trampled and face scratched. The following month, it's time to return to London to promote the kid. Perhaps things will be calmer there. It's spring, 1921. As Chaplin's train chugs into Platform 14 at Waterloo Station, he realizes there is no chance of slipping quietly to his hotel. Approaching the station exit with his entourage, he first sees the ocean of handkerchiefs and hats. Cloth caps, straw boaters, bowlers, bonnets, thousands of them, waving in the air. There are cries of recognition and appreciation. Hundreds of people calling out his name. Beyond that, he hears a low music drifting across the city. They are even ringing the church bells for him. But this is no time to breathe it all in. Harassed looking police officers are struggling to hold back the reporters and cameramen bearing down. And it's hard to see which path he might take away from the throng. Pushing through, he fears he might be submerged. When he feels hands upon his own slender arms, his feet leave the ground and he is unceremoniously bundled into a waiting limousine. Three policemen on each running board. They speed him to the Ritz in Piccadilly where another vast crowd awaits. Preparing to run the gauntlet again. He smooths his disheveled hair and brushes imaginary dust from his gray overcoat. Stepping from the car, he smiles and blows kisses. The crowd roars back, back its love. The hotel has had to close its doors to keep the public out. But now he is swept in and taken to his room. Still he hears the chanting of his name. He grabs the roses from a vase and marches to the window, waving and blowing kisses. He starts to throw stems into the crowd. A police officer rushes over and begs him from below the open window to for fear he'll start a stampede. He retreats from the window and takes a moment to wash and change his clothes. And after a little while, the crowd disperse. When he's sure he's safe, he takes himself out to a service entrance at the back of the hotel where a cab waits for him. As the engine roars into life, Chaplin directs the driver across Westminster Bridge and down into Kennington. Outside the Canterbury Music hall on Westminster Bridge Road, he spots a blind beggar he used to know. And there is the barber's, where he worked as a lather boy. Here, the public baths where he'd once gone swimming for threepence he could hardly afford. Over there, the stone trough outside a pub where he washed himself in harder times. He asks the driver to stop and he goes for a walk. A familiar odor of fish and Chips wafting in the air. He stops at the Horns, a pub where, as a child he used to bump into the stars of the music hall and orders a ginger beer. The drink is delivered by a woman he last saw as a servant girl in her teens and he realizes just how unkind the years have been to those he left behind. He drinks quickly, conscious of the murmurs around the pub, the increasingly shameless stares. Getting up, he continues his walk. But soon he's conscious of a crowd gathering behind him. Though they keep at a respectful distance, he asks a policeman for assistance. And though the officer assures him that these people mean him no harm, Chaplin is uneasy. Soon he's safely confined in another cab, speeding back to the luxury of the Ritz. Back in America, Chaplin builds himself an estate over several acres of the Hollywood Hills. His home has no fewer than 40 rooms, plus a cinema and a bowler hat shaped swimming pool. But he's well aware he must keep the wheel turning if he is to maintain his preeminent position. Figures like Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd are only too ready to usurp him. Fortunately, his Midas touch seems as strong as ever. In February 1924, he opens production on the Gold Rush, a movie inspired by the Klondike Gold Rush of the previous century. He casts as his leading lady one Lita Gray, who is in fact Lilita McMurray, who had so entranced him on the set of the Kid. She is still not yet 16, so she brings her mother with her when filming begins in the Sierra Nevada. Chaplin, though, will not be discouraged by something as trifling as her age. Not content with his catalog of other affairs, he now adds the teenage Leta to his list of conquests. When she tells him she is pregnant, he panics. He could get a 30 year prison sentence for having relations with a minor. So instead he makes plans to marry her. Under the guise of a scouting expedition for filming locations, the couple tie the knot in Mexico in 1924, when Lita is 16. Marrying outside of the US means the ceremony doesn't attract the coverage it would have drawn in California. And it also gets the authorities off Chaplin's back. No one wants to prosecute a man for sleeping with his wife, but Chaplin feels trapped and behaves abominably. When they're still on the train home, he calls her terrible names and even suggests that they would be better off if she jumped onto the line. The next year, he completes edits on the Gold Rush, which costs nearly $1 million but makes back six times as much. It becomes known as the most expensive, biggest grossing and quite possibly best loved movie of the silent era. Privately, though, Chaplin is deeply unhappy. He is constantly fearful of contracting venereal disease, and with good reason. He suffers from insomnia and is increasingly paranoid too, even fitting a listening device in his wife's bedroom. By the spring of 1926, Chaplain the couple have two sons. But it's a turbulent year for Chaplin. His current film circus is a disaster, not least when a fire rips through the film set. Then news reaches him that he is being investigated by the Internal Revenue for suspected tax evasion and fraud. Incidentally, he is by now having an affair with another leading lady, Myrna Kennedy, who happens to be his wife's best friend. Lita files for divorce in January 1927. In a statement running to several dozen pages, she accuses him of various misdemeanors, including pulling a gun on her, trying to persuade her into an abortion, and having unnatural sexual preferences. The complaint of Lita, as it is known, is soon being sold for 25 cents on the street corners of LA. Chaplin endures a nervous breakdown, but Lita secures the biggest divorce settlement in US History.

B (45:57)

Now well into his 40s, in 1934, he begins work on Modern Times. It's the last outing for his Tramp character in a story he hopes will act as a critique of a way of life in which humans have been turned into machines. It also provides him with his next wife, a minor actress called Paulette Goddard, who initially claims to be 17 but is actually 22. They claim to have married in Honolulu in 1936, but no legal documentation is ever produced. Regardless, the relationship soon runs its course, seemingly hitting the buffers after Paulette narrowly misses out on the role of Scarlett o' Hara in Gone with the Wind. In 1938, with Europe on the brink of war, Chaplin makes his most overtly political film, the Great Dictator, a satire on tyranny. Ironically, it is suggested that Hitler had styled his mustache on chaplains, perhaps wishing to tap into that image of the everyman hero fighting the system. His first full dialogue movie, it costs $2 million and opens in October 1940, but fails to sparkle. It seems curiously old fashioned. The Nazis represented as a version of the calamitous Keystone Cops and Chaplin's closing monologue managing to be both over earnest and trite. More impactful, however, are the political speeches. Chaplin Starts to give in public, sometimes to audiences of thousands. With the Second World War now underway, he comes out in support of Russia and calls for a second front to aid them. He denies being a communist himself. He is after all, on a seven figure salary. But his willingness to stand in support of Stalin and the Kremlin is widely noted by the American establishment. For now, his political life remains much less complicated than his love life. In 1941, he starts a romance with 22 year old starlet Joan Barry, 30 years his junior. But by late 1942, he has grown tired of the relationship and calls it off. Two nights before Christmas, Barry arrives at his mansion waving a pistol around and threatening to kill herself. Chaplin drops her at a police station, but she is back the next night and again the police are called. Fast forward to May 1943 and Barry still cannot let go. Now claiming to be pregnant Barry, she arrives one evening at the mansion out of the blue. Only to discover a 17 year old aspiring actress in Chaplin's bed. This, it turns out, is Oona o', Neill, daughter of the celebrated playwright Eugene. The distraught Barry now starts leaking details of Chaplin's alleged cruelties to the press while her family attempt to sue him for upkeep of the unborn child. He marries O' Neill in June 1943 and Barry gives birth to the child she maintains is his a few months later. By now the FBI are involved and charge Chaplin with having transported Barry across state lines for immoral purposes. He insists he originally brought her to California to work in his films, but the authorities claim this was never his real intention. He's also accused of conspiring with the LAPD to have her wrongfully imprisoned. His trial opens in February 1944 and causes a sensation. Facing up to 20 years in jail if he is found guilty, he takes the stand and puts on a dazzling performance, denying any wrongdoing. It is enough to see him acquitted, but his reputation has taken a pounding when a subsequent paternity trial finds him to be the father of Barry's child. Despite blood test evidence to the contrary, his public image is changed forever.