Shoulder Arms - Charlie Chaplin
Mar 21, 2013 22:26:14 GMT
Post by shred on Mar 21, 2013 22:26:14 GMT
I thought twice about posting this, but:
1) It is sheer comedy genius.
2) The serving men/ex-servicemen flocked to see it at the time.
A little background:
Read more here.
Clip:
Full film:
1) It is sheer comedy genius.
2) The serving men/ex-servicemen flocked to see it at the time.
A little background:
When Chaplin signed his contract with Mutual, it included a clause stipulating that he could not leave the United States without the corporation’s approval. The British press criticized the provision since it meant that Chaplin, who was only twenty-seven years old, could not join the British Army. Two years later, when he signed a million-dollar contract with First National pictures, he faced similar criticism in the United States, which had recently entered the war. Chaplin apparently tried to enlist in the U.S.army; only when he was rejected as underweight did the criticism abate—although some in Britain still felt that he should join their military forces.
When Chaplin did finally appear in army khaki, it was in his classic film comedy Shoulder Arms. Although the idea of sending Charlie to war seems obvious in retrospect, many at the time advised against it. Movie producer Cecil B. De Mille, mindful of the criticism directed at Chaplin for not joining the Army, told him: “It’s dangerous at this time to make fun of the war.” But Chaplin persisted with the project.Originally planned as a five-reel or feature-length, film under the title Camouflage, he finished a three-reel (40-minute) version in September1918 and retitled it Shoulder Arms.
But Chaplin momentarily lost confidence in the project and considered scrapping it. Only after he showed it to his friend and fellow actor Douglas Fairbanks, who responded, Chaplin writes in his autobiography, with “roars of laughter,” did he reconsider. Released in October, shortly before the end of the war, it proved to be a huge hit—particularly, Chaplin says,with soldiers who appreciated his gentle mockery of heroic conventions of war.Moreover, when the war ended, advertisements for the film could invite everyone to enjoy a respite from wartime seriousness: “Shoulder Arms has come at the right time. People can laugh at it without any guilt feelings now.”
The film opens with Charlie in boot camp mocking the regimentation of military formations and drills. Almost immediately, he finds himself overseas in the mud, muck, and lice of the trenches. (When Chaplin re-released the film a half century later, he preceded the dramatization with the film footage of actual trench warfare in order to highlight the realism of his staged version.)Feigning heroism, Charlie prepares to go “over the top” (out of the trench and into the line of fire), only to lose his nerve at the last minute.Another memorable scene shows him reading a letter over the shoulder of another soldier and perfectly mimicking his reactions of apprehension and relief.
When Chaplin did finally appear in army khaki, it was in his classic film comedy Shoulder Arms. Although the idea of sending Charlie to war seems obvious in retrospect, many at the time advised against it. Movie producer Cecil B. De Mille, mindful of the criticism directed at Chaplin for not joining the Army, told him: “It’s dangerous at this time to make fun of the war.” But Chaplin persisted with the project.Originally planned as a five-reel or feature-length, film under the title Camouflage, he finished a three-reel (40-minute) version in September1918 and retitled it Shoulder Arms.
But Chaplin momentarily lost confidence in the project and considered scrapping it. Only after he showed it to his friend and fellow actor Douglas Fairbanks, who responded, Chaplin writes in his autobiography, with “roars of laughter,” did he reconsider. Released in October, shortly before the end of the war, it proved to be a huge hit—particularly, Chaplin says,with soldiers who appreciated his gentle mockery of heroic conventions of war.Moreover, when the war ended, advertisements for the film could invite everyone to enjoy a respite from wartime seriousness: “Shoulder Arms has come at the right time. People can laugh at it without any guilt feelings now.”
The film opens with Charlie in boot camp mocking the regimentation of military formations and drills. Almost immediately, he finds himself overseas in the mud, muck, and lice of the trenches. (When Chaplin re-released the film a half century later, he preceded the dramatization with the film footage of actual trench warfare in order to highlight the realism of his staged version.)Feigning heroism, Charlie prepares to go “over the top” (out of the trench and into the line of fire), only to lose his nerve at the last minute.Another memorable scene shows him reading a letter over the shoulder of another soldier and perfectly mimicking his reactions of apprehension and relief.
Read more here.
Clip:
Full film:
