There are debates over whether Chaplin or Keaton is the greater comedian. The argument seems unnecessary and to some degree silly. There is no absolute way to measure such things. Walter Kerr says they saw the world differently and argues that Chapin will always be more popular because his comedy is more accessible, whereas Keaton’s requires more “work” on the part of the viewer.
Chaplin was born Charles Spencer Chaplin. He grew up in London with a missing father and a mother who struggled to get along financially. Twice he was sent to a work house – a place where people who were unable to support themselves financially were given a place to stay and work. They were generally considered harsh to discourage able bodied people not to apply, but only those who were truly needy. When he was 14 his mother was committed to a mental asylum.
Chaplin began to work in Music Halls and later as a stage actor and comedian. He was signed at the age of 19 by the Fred Karno Company, a well-known as respected “impresario” in Britain who made the “pie in the face” gag popular. Chaplin’s understudy in the Karno productions was Arthur Jefferson, who would later adopt the stage name Stan Laurel.
The Karno Company brought Chaplin to the US where he was scouted by the film industry He appears in a large number of Keystone short films in 1914 and the first feature length comedy Tillie’s Punctured Romance. Shortly thereafter, he developed the “Tramp” persona for which he is best known.He left Keystone for Essanay company (George K Spoor and Gilbert M. Anderson).
Involved with D. W. Griffith, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Mary Pickford in forming United Artists studio in 1919. (The UA Theaters had their roots in the same company but were always a different legal entity. Joe Schenk became involved in 1924. In 2002 the UA Theaters, the Edwards Theater chain and the Regal Theaters were all taken over by Philip Anschutz and became the Regal Entertainment Group.
United Artists gave him complete control over his films and the first full length film he made under these conditions was The Kid in 1921.
By 1927 films had changed forever. Synchronized sound had arrived in a special way. There had been all sound films (shorts) earlier, but they had only been with performers acting in effect on stage addressing the camera. Jolson actually appeared in a short talking and singing throughout the film. The Jazz Singer on the other hand is not a film with synchronized sound throughout. In fact in many ways it is a silent film with some moments of sound. What made it unique was that it is the earliest film in which characters talk to one another rather than the camera and the result is that the audience feels itself to be an invisible presence in the seen eavesdropping as it were on the people in the film.
Although Chaplin felt sound was a “fad”, and he continued making silent films after the sound era began, silent films were basically doomed. For the 4 great silent film comedians, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and Harry Langdoen, their days were numbered. Although both Chaplin and Keaton made the transition to sound, and even appear in a film together (Limelight) those films are generally seen as not as great as their heyday in the silent. Some have felt that Chaplin’s sound films are rather episodic silent films with some sound added.
Although Chaplin’s greatness is hard to deny, his personal life was a tragedy with paternity suits resulting in unhappy marriages and a decision to include progressively more and more overt political messages in his films. Modern Times caused some serious controversy on several levels. One was that it satirized American Industry. As Frank Nugent of the NY Times pointed out, however, “as social commentary it is plain that he has hardly passed his entrance examination, his comment is so trivial”. Brooks Atkinson declared that “As an actor, he has never been more brilliant” (perhaps something that applies to many actors even today)
On a different level there were problems with the fact that Chaplin had shown several scenes in the film before its opening to B.C. Shumiatsky, the head of Russian film production. The Russian paper Pravda, declared the film was “filled with fearful accusations”.
Critics however, claimed it was a burlesque and not a satire. (Dictionary.com gives the following)