Tag Archives: Charlie Chaplin

“All my life I have been happiest when the folks watching me said to each other, `Look at the poor dope, wilya?” — Buster Keaton

It’s Buster Keaton’s birthday today. As a small boy with a talent for acrobatics (and a high tolerance for pain), Keaton performed with his parents in a family act (an act notorious for its wild violence) before launching off on … Continue reading

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“The rhythm is jazz.” — Hart Crane

“What I want to get is … an ‘interior’ form, a form that is so thorough and intense as to dye the words themselves with a pecularity of meaning, slightly different maybe from the ordinary definition of them separate from … Continue reading

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“All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.” — Charlie Chaplin

“The secret of Mack Sennett’s success was his enthusiasm. He was a great audience and laughed genuinely at what he thought funny. He stood and giggled until his body began to shake. This encouraged me and I began to explain … Continue reading

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December 2023/January-February 2024 Viewing Diary

The Golden Bachelor Watched – in great hilarity – with Karen and Allison during a raucous sleepover, and Carol pulled up on FaceTime. So we could watch together. The whole thing is so ridiculous. Maestro (2023; d. Bradley Cooper) I … Continue reading

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“It is as easy for the mind to think in stars as in cobble-stones.” – Helen Keller

Helen Keller and Charlie Chaplin Today is Helen Keller’s birthday. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life is essential reading. In 1932, a doctor saw a photograph of Helen Keller on the observation deck of the Empire State Building. He … Continue reading

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“The camera is always where it needs to be with him.” — Interview with Dana Stevens, author of Camera Man

I interviewed Dana Stevens about her wonderful book Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century, after a screening of Keaton’s The General last week at the Jane Pickens Theater in Newport, Rhode … Continue reading

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Interview with Jennifer McCabe: On-camera Acting Training and the Actor’s Process

Jennifer McCabe has been teaching acting and directing in various capacities for almost 25 years. After getting her Master’s through the MFA program at the Actors Studio, she first worked with Enact, a not-for-profit arts-in-education company which goes into at-risk … Continue reading

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February 2016 Viewing Diary

X Files, Season 10, Episode 2 “Founder’s Mutation” (2016; d. James Wong) Mythology! Now listen: I haven’t seen the finale yet. I will this Saturday with my partner-in-crime Keith. So no spoilers – it has taken superhuman strength to stay … Continue reading

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On Charlie Chaplin and his Influence on Other Comedians

The Gold Rush has ben playing at The Film Forum for the past week, and here’s a 2011 essay I wrote for Capital New York about Charlie Chaplin.

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Charlie Chaplin: What Lasts Is the Ebullience

This article originally appeared on Capital New York, while “The Gold Rush” had a week-long run at the Film Forum. Charlie Chaplin, “The Gold Rush” All you feel while you’re acting is ebullience. You intellectualize when you go into the … Continue reading

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