Author Question: What made Charlie Chaplin the most critically-acclaimed actor in his day? What will be an ideal ... (Read 89 times)

sjones · **on:** Aug 11, 2018

What made Charlie Chaplin the most critically-acclaimed actor in his day?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

Discuss the use and practice of typecasting in the silent film era.

What will be an ideal response?

nyrave · **Reply #1 on:** Aug 11, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The most popular and critically admired player of the silent cinema was
Chaplin. The wide variety of comic skills he developed in his early years of
vaudeville made him the most versatile of the clowns. In the area of pantomime, no
one approached his inventiveness. Critics waxed eloquently on his balletic grace, and
even the brilliant dancer Vaslav Nijinsky proclaimed Chaplin his equal. His ability to
blend comedy with pathos was unique.

Answer to Question 2

Typecasting was almost invariable in the silent cinema. In part, this was
because characters tended toward allegorical types rather than unique individuals and
often were even identified with a label: The Man, The Wife, The Mother, The
Vamp, and so on. Blonde players were usually cast in parts emphasizing purity,
earthy brunettes in erotic roles. Eisenstein insisted that players ought to be cast
strictly to type and was inclined to favor nonprofessionals because of their greater
authenticity. Why use an actor to impersonate a factory worker, he asked, when a
filmmaker can use a real factory worker instead?