Chaplin (1992)

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writers (WGA):

David Robinson (book)
Charles Chaplin (book)

Release Date:

8 January 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Everyone has a wild side. Even a legend.

Plot:

A film about the troubled and controversial life of the master comedy filmmaker.

Plot Keywords:

Life | Charlie Chaplin | Cult Favorite | Based On Multiple Works | Film Making

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Robert Downey Jr.	...	Charles Spencer Chaplin
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Hannah Chaplin
Paul Rhys	...	Sydney Chaplin
John Thaw	...	Fred Karno
Moira Kelly	...	Hetty Kelly / Oona O'Neill Chaplin
Anthony Hopkins	...	George Hayden
Dan Aykroyd	...	Mack Sennett
Marisa Tomei	...	Mabel Normand
Penelope Ann Miller	...	Edna Purviance
Kevin Kline	...	Douglas Fairbanks
Maria Pitillo	...	Mary Pickford
Milla Jovovich	...	Mildred Harris
Kevin Dunn	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Deborah Moore	...	Lita Grey (as Deborah Maria Moore)
Diane Lane	...	Paulette Goddard

Also Known As:

Charlot (Italy)

Runtime:

143 min

Country:

UK | USA | France | Italy

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:6 | New Zealand:PG | Peru:14 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Norway:10

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Carolco Pictures

Trivia:

Bryan Forbes's discarded script had a different beginning and focused on some darker elements of Chaplin's life and personality. Although his script was not used, the WGA ruled that Forbes got writing credit because much of the film's framework was derived from his script.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Towards the end of the movie there is a shot of the New York waterfront with the French ocean liner SS Normandie in the foreground, the subtitle showed the year as 1952. The Normandie was seized by the US government in 1942 and as she was being converted to a troop ship, caught fire and capsized at her dock. She was sold for scrap four years later.

Quotes:

Charlie Chaplin: [noticing a pretty girl at the opposite side of a restaurant aisle] Excuse me Miss, do you always eat alone?
Edna Purviance: Only when I'm trying to make a new acquaintance. Actually I'm waiting for my girlfriend.
Charlie Chaplin: Actually I'm a motion picture director, and I'm forming a new company with Bronco Billy over there.
Edna Purviance: And you're looking for a new leading lady. Lucky me.
Charlie Chaplin: Obviously you are an actress, Miss...
Edna Purviance: Purviance. Sorry, just a secretary.
Charlie Chaplin: Don't be sorry. I'm auditioning for actresses who aren't actresses.
Edna Purviance: Well, if you're on the lookout for untalented actresses who aren't actresses, then you couldn't do better than me.
[correcting]
Edna Purviance: Worse than me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Shoulder Arms (1918)

Soundtrack:

SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES

The Best of All Hollywood Biographies

"Chaplin" is an incredible film about one of the most incredible and controversial icons in Hollywood history. Robert Downey, Jr. is perfectly cast as Charlie Chaplin, and it is his brilliant performance which earned the Oscar nomination that he deserved and received. Richard Attenborough did a masterful job directing this masterpiece of biographical films. Two actors who are underrated for their performances are Paul Rhys (who played Sidney Chaplin), and Moria Kelly (who played both roles of Hetty Kelly and Oona O'Neil Chaplin). Kevin Kline is amazing as Douglas Fairbanks. There is one scene in the film where Douglas Fairbanks, knowing he is ill, looks at his reflection in a mirror on the bar. That is one example of the symbolism throughout the film by director Richard Attenborough that is astonishing. Robert Downey, Jr., plays off the great Sir Anthony Hopkins will ease. It is a wonder that with all of his personal problems in his relatively young life that Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't appreciate the opportunities that have been handed to him. There is incredible talent in this film - including a previously Oscar-winning director and actor (Attenborough and Hopkins, respectively) and a female actor who would win an Oscar for another film that same year of 1992 (Marisa Tomei). Even Dan Aykroyd is almost overlooked as silent comedy filmmaker Mack Sennett. Through "Chaplin" we realize that it was Mack Sennett who discovered Charlie Chaplin as well as other comedy greats at the beginning of Hollywood history. "Chaplin" is underrated and sometimes underappreciated, but it is a brilliant film that should be considered a classic when the time is appropriate.