The Unique Skills of Charlie Chaplin

A detailed Summary of The Unique Skills of Charlie Chaplin

The Unique Skills of Charlie Chaplin

"Even today, Charlie Chaplin remains one of history's most well known, and also most criticized members of the film industry. Though he established himself as a stage performer in England, it wasn't until he walked into Mack Sennett's Los Angeles office in 1913 that he began his meteoric rise to cinema fame. On this day, Chaplin chose to wear "baggy pants, big shoes, and a derby hat" (Chaplin 144). He also "added a small mustache, which [he] reasoned, would add age without hiding [his] expression" (Chaplin 144). When he walked into Sennett's movie studio, Chaplin "assumed the character and strutted about swinging [his] cane" while "gags and comedy ideas went racing through his mind" (Chaplin 144). At that moment Chaplin created one of the most recognized characters of all time, the little tramp. The development of the little tramp and many personal skills aid in the achievement of Chaplin's future fame. In fact, three important skills, leading and managing, performing, and creativity, allow Chaplin to achieve success in the film industry.

First, the skill of leading and managing aids Chaplin throughout his life. One key part of leading and managing that Chaplin demonstrates involves taking

music, he wanted the music "to be a counterpoint of grace and charm, to express sentiment, without which...a work of art is incomplete" (Chaplin 328). Finally, the skill of being an idea person appears evident in Charlie Chaplin. The miracle of Charlie Chaplin "is to have brought into communion people who think quite differently" (Robinson 73). He makes it possible for masses of people to "believe that they understand one another, even though they are perfect strangers on to another" (Robinson 73). Critics say that Chaplin's "great farce with the moving sadness produce...a mixture of sorrow and joy," while other believe the "power of [Chaplin]...is what he achieves through silence on the screen" (Robinson 73). Charlie Chaplin's ability to reach such a wide audience and appeal to their senses, in both happiness and sorrow, makes his effect on the world, but more specifically, the entertainment industry, timeless.

Not only did Chaplin display the skill of leading and managing, he also demonstrates the skill of performing. Chaplin exhibits one important aspect of performing, the skill of acting. Chaplin first began acting at an early age. Ironically, his very first performance occurred at his mother's final act. At the age of five, when his mother's voice failed her, Chaplin "was induced to go on in her place" (Manvell 42). His outstanding performance marked the beginning of his fabulous career. As a grown man, Chaplin started to wear "a battered derby hat, a coat too small and baggy pants" (Sklar 1). He created a legendary character, one that he would act as in many movies, such as The Kid and The Gold Rush. His acting made such an impression on audiences, he received an Academy Award in 1972 "for the incalculable effect he [had] in making motion pictures" (Sklar 1). Another specialty of Chaplin's performances concerns making people laugh. Chaplin's primary goal in making movies "was to scatter the laughter" (Robinson 49). Chaplin once said "two or three bursts of laughter are better than a continuous bubbling of amusement or the e

Some common words found in the essay are:
MS SZ, Los Angeles, Americans Depression, Rush Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin, Tramp Movie, Shakespeare Robinson, Academy Award, Switzerland Chaplin, Charlie Chaplin's, leading managing, charlie chaplin, skill leading, skill leading managing, jm ms, robinson 73, ms sz, jm ms sz, leading managing performing, managing performing, sklar 1, chaplin 144, risk chaplin, skills leading managing, managing performing creativity,

Approximate Word count = 1381
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English