According to Keaton's biographer Rudi Blesh, Chaplin eased his notoriously rigid directorial style to give Keaton free rein to invent his own comic business during this sequence. A close associate of Chaplin claimed that Chaplin not only did not feel threatened by Keaton's performance, but also heavily edited his own footage of the duet while enhancing Keaton's. A rumor has persisted, fueled by the intense rivalry among fans of the two comics, that Keaton gave such a superior performance that Chaplin jealously cut his scenes so he would not be upstaged by his rival. It was not until he learned that Keaton was going through hard times that Chaplin insisted Keaton be cast in the film: Before Limelight, Keaton had gone through a disastrous marriage, lost most of his fortune in the divorce process, and had appeared infrequently in films in the preceding years. Chaplin, at first, had not written the part for Keaton, because he believed that the role was too small. The pairing of Chaplin and Buster Keaton in the final musical number is historic for being the only time the two performed together on film.
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Limelight was made during a time where Chaplin was starting to lose his audience, too in many ways, the movie was highly autobiographical. In both his 1964 autobiography and his 1974 book, My Life in Pictures, however, Chaplin insists that Calvero is based on the life of stage actor Frank Tinney. Chaplin biographers have assumed that his character in the film was based on his father, Charles Chaplin Sr., who had also lost his audience and became an alcoholic, which led to his death in 1901. By all accounts, he was very happy and energized during production, a fact often attributed to the joy of recreating his early career in the music hall. Chaplin told his older sons he expected Limelight to be his last film. Chaplin chose stage actress Claire Bloom for the role of Terry, her first major film role. Chaplin prominently featured members of his family in the film, including five of his children and his half-brother Wheeler Dryden. The street where Calvero lives was a redressed set at Paramount Studios, the music hall scenes were filmed at RKO-Pathé studios, and some exterior scenes use back-projected footage of London.
He suffers a heart attack during a routine, however, and dies in the wings while watching Terry, the second act on the bill, dance on stage.Ĭharlie Chaplin and Claire Bloom in LimelightĪlthough the film is set in London, it was entirely filmed in the Hollywood area, mostly at the Chaplin Studios. Reunited with an old partner ( Buster Keaton), Calvero gives a triumphant comeback performance. Terry, now starring in her own show, eventually finds Calvero and persuades him to return to the stage for a benefit concert. In order to give them a chance, Calvero leaves home and becomes a street entertainer. Terry says she wants to marry Calvero despite their age difference however, she has befriended Neville ( Sydney Earl Chaplin), a young composer who Calvero believes would be better suited to her. In doing so, he regains his own self-confidence, but an attempt to make a comeback is met with failure. Nursing her back to health, Calvero helps Terry regain her self-esteem and resume her dancing career. Calvero ( Charlie Chaplin), once a famous stage clown, but now a washed-up drunk, saves a young dancer, Thereza "Terry" Ambrose ( Claire Bloom), from a suicide attempt. The movie is set in London in 1914, on the eve of World War I, and the year Chaplin made his first film. His character, Calvero, is an ex– music hall star (described in this image as a "Tramp Comedian") forced to deal with his loss of popularity. Limelight (1952) was a serious and autobiographical film for Chaplin. Today, the film is sometimes regarded as one of Chaplin's best and most personal works, and has attained a cult following. This allowed the decades-old film to be in contention for the 45th Academy Awards where Chaplin won his only competitive Oscar. However, the film was re-released in the United States in 1972, which included its first screening in Los Angeles. Upon the film's release, critics' reception was divided it was heavily boycotted in the United States because of Chaplin's alleged communist sympathies, and failed commercially. In dance scenes, Bloom is doubled by Melissa Hayden. The film stars Chaplin as a washed-up comedian who saves a suicidal dancer, played by Claire Bloom, from killing herself, and both try to get through life additional roles are provided by Nigel Bruce, Sydney Earl Chaplin, Wheeler Dryden, and Norman Lloyd, with an appearance from Buster Keaton. The score was composed by Chaplin and arranged by Ray Rasch. Limelight is a 1952 American comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, based on a novella by Chaplin titled Footlights.
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