“How Charlie Chaplin Influenced Comedy Films’

Charles Chaplin, born in London in 1889 became one of film’s first and most influential actor directors. Although he did take on drama and wrote much of the music in his films, he is best known for comedy.

As his most famous character, the Tramp, Chaplin could easily bring out slapstick and pathos just as easily in one film and one character. His tramp was the epitome of comedy, whether the house in “The Gold Rush” was about to fall, or he mistook a bald head for a melon.

Chaplin had the rare ability to instill his tramp character with a genuine compassion no other comedian of the time was able to do. In films like “The Kid” and “City Lights”, the tramp’s soft and gentle nature was truly a huge part of his character’s overwhelming success. No other comedian could evoke the heartwarming feel of Chaplin’s character in those films and others like it.

However, in “The Dictator”, Chaplin took on Adolph Hitler, not in history, of course, but as a present day, in that time, political manipulator. When Hitler was climbing to power and slowly inciting fear, Chaplin had the courage to address it in a comedy film.