Chaplin and World War I

Constance Kuriyama (do481@FreeNet.Carleton.CA) writes:
> My husband recently asked me a question that I couldn't answer in any
> detail. We know what Chaplin thought about World War II, from _Dictator_,
> his Second Front speeches, and many other sources. But what did he think about
> World War I?
>
> Apart from _Shoulder Arms_, _The Bond_, and his personal appearances in
> the Liberty Bonds drive, I can't think of any source of information. He
> wrote a letter to Syd in 1914 in which he described the war as "terrible"
> and hoped that Syd would not be drafted, but that doesn't tell us much.
> One of the interviews in the _Chaplin Interviews_ book mentions that he
> bought British war bonds as well as US bonds. He was criticized for not
> enlisting, though he did register and was classified as underweight, which
> probably means he weighed less than 120 pounds. He doesn't seem to have
> made any effort to gain weight or bypass the requirement, as Jimmy
> Stewart did during WWII.
>
> Have I missed something?
>
> And if _Shoulder Arms_, _The Bond_, and the Liberty Bonds appearances are
> all we have, what do we make of them? Did Chaplin enthusiastically support
> the war effort, or did he just hope the war would end . . . .

Well, I decided to follow up bachusio's reference to the discussion of
WWI in _My Autobiography_, Chapter 15. It is true that he wrote the
description of WWI that opens the chapter years later. It is also true that
his discussion of his war bonds tour contains some interesting details.

For one thing, he reports part of one of his speeches, and it doesn't sound
to me like something he concocted years later:

"The Germans are at your door! We've got to stop them! And we _will_ stop
them if you buy Liberty Bonds! Remember, each bond you buy will save a
soldier's life--a mother's son!--will bring this war to an early victory!"

The two key points are stopping German aggression, and saving lives.

Chaplin also reports that his companion on the tour was none other than
Rob Wagner, and he includes a picture of himself with Wagner and Upton
Sinclair, whom he identifies as "my mentors." The picture isn't dated,
but Charlie looks very young. I'd like to know when he first met Sinclair.
It seems to have been well before EPIC.

Later in the same chapter, he reports on his last appearance on the tour in
New York:

"New York was depressing; the ogre of militarism was everywhere. There was no
escape from it. America was cast into a matrix of obedience and every thought
was secondary to the religion of war. The false bouyance of military bands
along the gloomy canyon of Madison Avenue was also depressing . . . ."

This does not sound to me like a man remembering a time when he was full of
jingoistic fervor.

I think Chaplin already had a distaste for militarism in 1918, but regarded
it as a necessary means to prevent worse evils.

Connie K.