OPEN LETTERS
An Open Letter to My Favorite Tramp
Charlie Chaplin, the master of laughter and tears
Dear Charlie,
If you were here, I would ask you many questions. Like why did you make so many mistakes with women? Why did J. Edgar Hoover think you had communist connections? And how did you cope with being exiled from the United States and then choosing to live in Switzerland? But that’s not what I want to express in my letter.
Thank you for some of the most enjoyable and innovative comedies: City Lights, The Kid, and The Circus, to name a few. I appreciate how much effort went into making these silent comedy classics with your limited technology. And they all seemed to have some underlying political and social messages — in addition to being hilarious.
It was remarkable what you accomplished; how you changed the face of the movie industry, surpassing your crusty predecessor, Mack Stennett’s Keystone Cops. You made movies with heart. Your humorous soul made us smile, while your acrobatic slapstick gags made us roll on the floor with laughter. Moreover, the films spoke much about your intelligent perception of the world.
W.C. Fields once said about you: “Best goddamn ballet dancer I ever saw.”
