"Chaplin's Collaborators"

External Since: Dec 07, 2004 Posts: 222

Jack Spears wrote another piece on Chaplin for FILMS IN REVIEW,
headlined "Chaplin's Collaborators Were Of More Help To Him Than He Has
Ever Acknowledged" (January 1962). Here's an extract.

"It is perhaps significant that Chaplin's dependence upon capable
assistants was greatest during his ventures into drama-- A WOMAN OF
PARIS, MONSIEUR VERDOUX, LIMELIGHT-- a realm in which his talent was
uncertain. His assistants on his comedies, an area in which he felt
completely sure of himself, were, by and large, a court jesterate of
yes men who merely catered to his ego.

"Chaplin has always felt a need for an audience while at work in the
studio. He was curious to know how he looked and liked to try out gags
and story ideas on his assistants. As the years went by he became less
and less responsive to criticism, and suggestions that he received from
others with derision would sometimes reappear later as his own.

"Although Chaplin would be the last to admit it, his awareness of
his technical shortcomings prompted him to employ capable assistants.
After nearly a half-century of filmmaking he is still unlettered in the
mechanics of putting a motion picture together, and he pretends to be
contemptuous of what he calls 'Hollywood chi-chi' -- i.e., expressive
camera angles and lighting, unusual pictorial composition, continuity
in editing and cross-cutting. His knowledge of such directorial
techniques is virtually nil.

"... As a director Chaplin is inclined to overemphasize acting, even
to the exclusion of technical construction, as King Vidor has pointed
out. When he tries he can extract stunning performances from his
players.... The performances of Martha Raye and Marilyn Nash in
MONSIEUR VERDOUX are two of the few assets of that controversial film.

"Except for his ability to direct actors, Chaplin's directorial
talents are minimal. Content, not technique, is his forte, a fact which
many film students, who should know better, fail to recognize.
Chaplin's directorial shortcomings, it should be remembered, in no way
reflect on his own work in comedy, in which his social satire and
expression of the complexities in human character and human
relationship, have the quality of genius."

It's a long article that discusses Chaplin's various assistant
directors in some detail. Buried near the end is a tidbit that David T.
may find amusing:

" 'I do not think Chaplin knows that a camera has more than one
lens,' Robert Florey says, and it's true the photography of Chaplin's
films has been distinguished only for clarity of focus. Chaplin's
cameraman, Rollie Totheroh, who worked exclusively for the comedian for
over forty years, beginning with HIS NEW JOB at Essaney in '15, showed
little if any improvement over the years."

--Shush--
(That's right, "Essaney")

External Since: Jan 16, 2005 Posts: 349

Shush wrote:
> Jack Spears wrote another piece on Chaplin for FILMS IN REVIEW,
> headlined "Chaplin's Collaborators Were Of More Help To Him Than He Has
> Ever Acknowledged" (January 1962). Here's an extract.
>
>
> "It is perhaps significant that Chaplin's dependence upon capable
> assistants was greatest during his ventures into drama-- A WOMAN OF
> PARIS, MONSIEUR VERDOUX, LIMELIGHT-- a realm in which his talent was
> uncertain. His assistants on his comedies, an area in which he felt
> completely sure of himself, were, by and large, a court jesterate of
> yes men who merely catered to his ego.
>
> "Chaplin has always felt a need for an audience while at work in the
> studio. He was curious to know how he looked and liked to try out gags
> and story ideas on his assistants. As the years went by he became less
> and less responsive to criticism, and suggestions that he received from
> others with derision would sometimes reappear later as his own.
>
> "Although Chaplin would be the last to admit it, his awareness of
> his technical shortcomings prompted him to employ capable assistants.
> After nearly a half-century of filmmaking he is still unlettered in the
> mechanics of putting a motion picture together, and he pretends to be
> contemptuous of what he calls 'Hollywood chi-chi' -- i.e., expressive
> camera angles and lighting, unusual pictorial composition, continuity
> in editing and cross-cutting. His knowledge of such directorial
> techniques is virtually nil.
>
> "... As a director Chaplin is inclined to overemphasize acting, even
> to the exclusion of technical construction, as King Vidor has pointed
> out. When he tries he can extract stunning performances from his
> players.... The performances of Martha Raye and Marilyn Nash in
> MONSIEUR VERDOUX are two of the few assets of that controversial film.
>
> "Except for his ability to direct actors, Chaplin's directorial
> talents are minimal. Content, not technique, is his forte, a fact which
> many film students, who should know better, fail to recognize.
> Chaplin's directorial shortcomings, it should be remembered, in no way
> reflect on his own work in comedy, in which his social satire and
> expression of the complexities in human character and human
> relationship, have the quality of genius."
>
>
> It's a long article that discusses Chaplin's various assistant
> directors in some detail. Buried near the end is a tidbit that David T.
> may find amusing:
>
> " 'I do not think Chaplin knows that a camera has more than one
> lens,' Robert Florey says, and it's true the photography of Chaplin's
> films has been distinguished only for clarity of focus. Chaplin's
> cameraman, Rollie Totheroh, who worked exclusively for the comedian for
> over forty years, beginning with HIS NEW JOB at Essaney in '15, showed
> little if any improvement over the years."

Well, I'm not sure I find it all that "amusing," but given that film
(HNJ) as a baseline from which to measure his later achievments, how
could Rollie possibly be expected to show any improvement over what he
was able to bring to Chaplin's first Essanay film in Chicago. I
challenge ANYONE to point to even the SLIGHTEST hint of a flaw in the
work Rollie contributed to His New Job. ;-)