Film Review: The Circus (1928)

The author of this review lives in the part of world where the saying "the life of us artists is hard” is often used in ironic context. But, for some artists such words rang true, and, sometimes, even artists at the top of their game and global popularity. One such artist was Charles Chaplin, legendary icon of silent cinema who experienced what could be easily described as the darkest point of his life while making his 1928 film The Circus, which, despite all the drama behind the scenes, turned out to be a huge commercial success and one of the last big hits of silent Hollywood.

Chaplin repeated his signature role of the Tramp and the beginning of the film shows him, like in so many of his earlier films, penniless and hungry. While at the fairground he is taken advantage by opportunistic pickpocket (played by Steven Murphy) who stashes stolen wallet in Tramp’s clothes and, as a result, becomes chased by police. While trying to escape he stumbles into circus where he ruins the clown’s act, but, inadvertently, causes the laugh riot among the audience. Ringmaster (played by Al Ernest Garcia) decides to hire him, hoping to turn him into clown and repeat the same success. Tramp, however, has problems adapting to new circumstances, but he becomes attracted to Merna (played by Merna Kennedy), a circus rider and ringmaster’s daughter, who is often verbally and physically abused by his father. Tramp stays in circus in a vain hope that the friendship with Merna might evolve into something more, but she sets sights on Rex (played by Harry Crocker), a dashing tightrope walker.

The Circus is often considered one of Chaplin’s lesser works, yet it showcases im at the peak of his silent era stardom, highlighting his talents as the main actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. Additionally, Chaplin's role as a score composer in the 1967 version adds to his multifaceted abilities. The film builds on Chaplin's experience in short comedy and features the well-defined character of the Tramp as the protagonist, blending slapstick, sentimentality, and subtle social commentary. The latter can be seen in gags that feature Tramp, Merna and other characters investing a lot of effort and using any opportunity to merely east some food.

Chaplin's direction in The Circus is commendable, incorporating innovative gags that include risky scenes like the Tramp in a lion's cage. The film maintains a quick pace, making it accessible even to audiences not accustomed to silent cinema. However, the plot is relatively weak, and the ending falls somewhat short due to Harry Crocker's character of Rex not convincingly serving as a proper romantic rival to the Tramp.

Many scholars have often interpreted The Circus as autobiographical work of Chaplin, at least partially inspired by his own growing up in show business family. The ending of the film, portraying the Tramp sitting alone as the circus departs, might, on the other hand, be interpreted as reflection of Chaplin’s concerns about his own future. The messy production, which took almost three years and was affected by studio fire, loss of negative, Chaplin’s trouble with tax authorities, scandalous divorce with Lita Grey and death of Chaplin’s mother, coincided with the The Jazz Singer, film that brought sound on screen and thus marked the beginning of the end of silent cinema. Chaplin had reasons to believe that his own stardom, like stardoms of so many screen icons of his time, might end with the arrival of sound. Thankfully, his fears proved to be unfounded. Just as he had triumphed over adversity and delivered another good film with The Circus, Chaplin ultimately managed to maintain his popularity and his iconic status was confirmed by number of remarkable films in the first years of the sound era.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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