Charlie Chaplin’s Red Letter Days: At Work with the Comic Genius

Though unlikely to appeal to a broad audience, this compilation of articles, republished exactly as they appeared in the English movie-fan magazine Red Letter in 1916, is of significance for students of Charlie Chaplin and the history of film. Goodwins, a member of Chaplin’s acting troupe, gives a weekly account of the screen’s first superstar. His praise can be fawning, but his account makes Chaplin’s genius undeniable as the comic brings a deft comic twist to commonplace situations while also filling the roles of writer, director, editor, set designer, and prop master. Chaplin’s artistic development is chronicled as he moves from mere slapstick to romance and even drama tinged with social criticism, with his Little Tramp character taking on upper-class villains. For context and a more dispassionate perspective, editors’ notes are sprinkled throughout. The only real criticism here, offered by the editors, is that Chaplin rarely gave credit to others for providing him with ideas. Despite Goodwins’s lack of objectivity, his look at the mechanics and techniques of silent filmmaking is informed and informative. Though he gives too many superfluous accounts of the supporting actors’ off-set hijinks, his access makes the book enjoyably breezy and personal.[em] (Apr.) [/em]