The Circus

"The Circus" is Charlie Chaplin's unsung masterpiece. It isn't as well known as "The Gold Rush", "City Lights","Modern Times", or "The Kid", even though it was quite popular when first released. Chaplin actually won a special Academy Award for it in 1927 for writing, directing, and starring in the film.

However as time went by , "The Circus" has been thought of as a minor Chaplin work, however, it remains poignant, and it has a final image of The Tramp that could rival the ending of "City Lights".

"The Circus" is a story of high comedy but also of unrequited love; we begin with seeing a girl (Merna Kennedy) who works as a horse jumper at the circus, we also find out she is the daughter of the circus owner, a tyrannical man who starves his daughter when she messes up on a trick.

Meanwhile The Tramp wonders into the circus after being mistaken as a pickpocket and is chased by the cops. The police chase him into the center ring and his natural clumsiness is mistaken for a real clown act. The audience love him so the manager hires The Tramp on as a clown.

The Tramp tries to learn several clown routines (All of which Chaplin himself would've know with his years in vaudeville), but despite his best efforts, he is fired soon after. Another incident happens where Chaplin is chased by a donkey into the centre ring and once again the audience love him. The manager decides to keep The Tramp on as a maintenence worker without letting him know he's the star of the show.

The Tramp then connects with the girl giving her some of his food, he is soon smitten and the two become close friends. When The Tramp finally does find out he is the star of the show, he's able to make demands on the manager for a higher salary and no longer harming the girl.

However The Tramp's fairy tale life is threatened with the arrival of a handsome tightrope walker (Harry Crocker) who the girl falls in love with. In the climactic finale, Chaplin tries to prove he's just as brave by taking the tightrope walker's place and risking his life.

I find everything that happens between The Girl and The Tramp all leads down to the final scene in the film. It's a solitary Tramp who is left behind after the circus leaves town. Chaplin was a master of the close-up, and he gives himself one of the greatest in movie history. He is sitting in the middle of where the big top once was, his face is that of sadness and longing, but also hopeful. This shot sums up what Chaplin's whole philosophy of who and what The Tramp is. The Tramp is a character, but he's also an idea, he's a symbol of the little guy, someone who must face hardships, and lonliness, but also someone who is able to walk on in the face of uncertainty. With The Tramp, Chaplin gave audiences someone to root for, very often in his films, The Tramp did get the girl, but in this one he doesn't, despite it though, he's able to put on a brave face anyway and walk away with his dignity in tact.

Chaplin had a sentimental streak about him, which some critics unfairly use to deem him passe in favour of a more contemporary Buster Keaton. However I feel Chaplin will always be around, he was the biggest star of his period, and you can recognize the face of The Tramp just in sillouette. With "The Circus", Chaplin brilliantly combines high comedy and pathos and in all of his films with The Tramp did it better than anyone else.