The Circus (United Artists) (1928)

THOMAS BURKE WRITES ON CHARLIE CHAPLIN Charlie Chaplin, star of “The Circus,” at the . Theatre, and Thomas Burke, author of “Limehouse Nights” and “The Wind and the Rain,” were school¬ mates in England. They met again during Chaplin’s last trip to Eng¬ land. Burke, who has written so glowingly of the dank sections of London, took Charlie on a midnight walking tour of the city wherein -Charlie and Syd Chaplin and their widowed mother stuggled years ago against poverty. Writing of that walk, Burke said: “At two o’clock in the morning rested on the curb of an alley- way in St. George’s, and Chaplin talked of his bitter youth and his loneliness and his struggles, and his ultimate bewildering triumph. Al¬ ways, from the day he left London, he had at the back of his mind, vague and formless and foolish, the dreams of a triumphal Dick Whit¬ tington return to the city whose stones were once so cold to him; for the most philosophic temper, the most aloof from the small human passions, is not wholly free from the attitude of ‘A time will come when you shall hear me!’ Like all men who are born in exile, outside the gracious inclosures of life, Chaplin does not forget those early years; and even now that he has made that return it does not quite satisfy. It is worth having—that rich, hot moment when the scoffers are dumb and recognition is ac¬ corded, the moment of attainment; but a tingle of bitterness must al¬ ways accompany it. Chaplin knows, as all who have risen know, that the very people who were clamoring and beseeching him to their tables and receptions would not before have given him a considered glance.” Then Burke discussed the great desire of fine ladies and gentlemen to entertain the famous cinema comedian, Charlie Chaplin. It seemed to the English novelist that the tribute of the rabble, the street gamins, was the great and true en- V 'sement of Charlie Chaplin, ar- ^t' and man. Burke described it thusly: “But twice during our ramble— once in Mile End Road and once in Hoxton—he was recognized, and the midnight crowd gathered and surrounded him. There it was the real thing—not the vulgar desire of the hostess to feed the latest lion, but a spontaneous burst of hearty affection, a welcome to an old friend. He has played himself into the hearts of the simple people, and they love ,him. The film ‘Charlie’ is a figure that appeals to them, for it is a type of thwarted ambitions, of futile strivings and forlorn make¬ shifts for better things. “As I watched the frail, elegant figure struggling against this mon¬ strous burst of enthusiasm, in which voices hot with emotion, voices of men and women, cried boisterous messages of good will to ‘our Char¬ lie,’ I was foolishly moved. No Prime Minister could have so fired a crowd. No Prince of the house of Windsor could have commanded that wave of sheer delight. He might have had the crowd and the noise, but iiot, the rich surge of Every Story Full of Facts CHARLIE CHAPLIN IN “THE CIRCUS” A« Impression In Staccato Form By JOSEPH WARREN Sawdust . . . smell of horse-flesh . . . “Peanuts!” “Peanuts!” . . . kids crawling under tents. . . . “Don’t annoy the animals” . . . “The Circus” is coming to town! Charlie Chaplin’s new comedy comes to the.Theatre. Elephants, tigers. . . . What happened to Frank Stockton? . . . “Come over! Come over! Step inside and see the greatest show on earth!” . . . Barkers’ noise . . . kids shouting ... a little boy lost. . . . “Here come the clowns!” . . . child laughs . . . youth ... the healthy smell of sawdust and pink lemonade. George Washington went to the first circus in America. Abraham Lincoln went to the circus. So did Coolidge—so did Maggie Murphy and Minnie Schwartz—everybody went to the circus. Hurray! Tell him your grandmother died. . . . “Ladeez and gen’lemun! Yore attention is called to the center ring!” . . . Desperate Desmond, ringmaster. . . . Stocky little bareback riders. . . . Clowns in trick flivvers. . . . Kids leaning over railings, eyes stuck on acrobats. . . . Can’t take ‘em off. . . . “He’s falling!” somebody shouts. They all look at the high wire and he doesn’t fall. ... Chunky, little, dainty little Japanese ladies, parasols overhead, flitting gaily up and down wires likes flies on baldheads. . . . Color, noise, high sounds, shrieks, smells. . . . Indian elephants with three toes, African ones with five. . . . The lion tamer. . . . What happened to the one they had last year? . . . “But with a roarin’ lion ah just thought that ah had better go.” . . . Gee, ain’t circuses swell? . . . Rowdy, bawdy splashes of color, smeared on a hot canvas, dripping down the sides. . . . Where do camels live in winter? . . . Are lion tamers henpecked husbands? “Ready? Allez- oop!” .' . . The flying Ginsbergs, flying all over God’s heab’n . . . heab’n, heab’n. ... Do street cleaners enjoy circuses ? . . . Spangled horses’prancing to the lilt of a brassy band. . . . Horses! Horses! HoI*S6S ^ “Lookit! Lookit! There’s Charlie Chaplin!” . . . Ain’t it a grand and glorious feeling? “Ya see, boss, m’ poor old gramma died yesterday. . . . Charlie Chaplin, producer, author, director and star of “The Circus,” now at the . Theatre, learned during his circus research reading that Tony Pastor once was a clown. Back in the gay nineties. Pastor’s famous old music hall, next to Tammany Hall in 14th Street, New York, offered on its bill “The Four Cohans” (one of them being George M.), and Weber & Fields. A sing¬ ing waiter there named Izzy BaJine later became the famous composer, Irving Berlin. And a young usher at Pastor’s went in to films and be¬ came Vice-President and General Manager of Distribution of United Artists Corporation, which releases “The Circus.” The usher was A1 Lichtman. affection. A prince is only a spec¬ tacle, a symbol of nationhood, but this was a known friend, one of themselves, and they treated him so. It was no mere instinct of the mob. They did not gather to stare at him. Each member of that crowd wanted privately to touch him, to enfold him, to thank him for cheering them up. And they could do so without reservations, for they could not have helped him in his early years —they were without the power. “I do not attempt to explain why this one man, of all other ‘comics’ of stage and film, had so touched the hearts of the people as to arouse this frenzy of adulation. It is be¬ yond me. I could only stand and envy the man who had done it.” The New York World recently quoted Thomas Burke as saying he would some day like to write an original screen story for Charlie Chaplin and since the star of “The Circus” never has made a secret of his admiration for Thomas Burke, perhaps ’tis a consummation de¬ voutly to be wished. NO MESSAGE WAS CARRIED TO GARCIA Seldom in a Charlie Chaplin pro¬ duction has there been a character that might be looked upon as a real dyed-in-the-wool villain but the ex¬ ception has arrived in the comed¬ ian’s new United Artists comedy, “The Circus,” at the. theatre. Allan Garcia was selected by Chaplin to enact the character of the “heavy.” It is around Garcia’s character that most of the drama of “The Circus” is drawn. Garcia has been known for many years in the film world and first came into prominence through his work in “The Regeneration of The Apache Kid.” He enhanced his rep¬ utation next when he appeared in the biblical version of “Satan,” fol¬ lowing along with praiseworthy por¬ trayals in “Their Only Son,” “Count of Monte Cristo” and in two Chaplin productions, “The Idle Class,” and “Pay Day.” Years of training on the stage furnished the foundation for Gar¬ cia’s work before the camera. He played the part of George Harris in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” with a troupe that toured the Pacific coast. Next he was a member of the Majestic Stock company in San Francisco and later with Ye Liberty Players at Oakland, California, from which organization he resigned to go to Hollywood. Of French and Spanish extrac¬ tion, Garcia was born in the Golden Gate City of California forty-one years ago. His ancestry dates back to the early settlement of the Gar¬ cias at Albany, N. Y., and the mi¬ gration of that family to Santa Clara Valley, California, in 1837. ’FRISCO YOUTH IN “THE CIRCUS” Harry Crocker portrays the ju¬ venile lead in support of Charlie Chaplin in the comedian’s latest com¬ edy, “The Circus,” at the. theatre. Although Crocker has appeared in several motion picture productions, his big opportunity arrived when he became identified with Charlie Chap¬ lin. Previously he appeared before the camera as an “extra”, or in minor parts, beginning with “The Big Pa¬ rade,” in which he played the part of a private soldier. This was fol¬ lowed by appearances in “Becky,” “South Sea Love,” “Sally in Our Al¬ ley,” and as Mr. Pennyfish with Mar¬ ion Davies in “Tillie, the Toiler.” Crocker is a native son of San Francisco, California. His education was completed at Yale University, from which institution he was grad¬ uated. He then returned to the city of his birth and entered the broker¬ age business. Having had his “fling” at amateur dramatics in New Haven during his college days, young Crocker decided to migrate to Holly¬ wood in 1924, and he soon joined the Los Angeles Playhouse Company. He appeared in three presentations, “The Whole Town’s Talking,” “Spring Fever” and “The Goose Hangs High.” During 1925, Crocker became ac¬ quainted with Chaplin at a social event in Los Angeles and the two Oecame inseparable friends. He then joined the Charlie Chaplin Film Cor¬ poration. When Chaplin began “The Circus,” he selected Crocker as his juvenile leading man and also as¬ signed to him the task of assisting in the direction and story construc¬ tion. Crocker stands a fraction above the six foot mark and his build is that of an athlete. He is fair of complexion and has dark brown hair and eyes. “COMEDIANS MUST BE HUMBLE”-CHAPLIN Charlie Chaplin, whose newest United Artists comedy, “The Cir¬ cus,” is at the.Theatre, recently gave it as his opinion, based on his own experience, that humility, kindliness and ability to make fun of himself are the chief qualities that any aspiring comedian must possess. Pausing during production of a scene in “The Circus,” wherein Merna Kennedy had been appearing as a bareback rider and he as a slack wire performer, Charlie discoursed freely on comedians, good and bad: “Humility is first and foremost. I don’t put even the joy of living first, although that is essential, of course. Naturally, one couldn’t be a come¬ dian without the ability to enjoy mirth,’the light and humorous play upon the picture that life presents. But humility is vital. “Unless he sees how big life is and how small he himself is, a co¬ median can’t grasp the humor of his own situation in the universe. Humor is a sense of proportion. It is Based on seeing the relation be¬ tween bigness and littleness, between the sublime and the ridiculous.”