Limelight (1952)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

29 October 1952 (Argentina)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

The masterpiece of laughter and tears from the master of comedy!

Plot:

A fading comedian and a suicidally despondent ballet dancer must look to each other to find meaning and hope in their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Dancer | Ballet Dancer | Ballet | Legs | Love

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Calvero
Claire Bloom	...	Thereza
Nigel Bruce	...	Postant
Buster Keaton	...	Calvero's Partner
Sydney Chaplin	...	Neville
Norman Lloyd	...	Bodalink
Andre Eglevsky	...	Dancer
Melissa Hayden	...	Dancer
Marjorie Bennett	...	Mrs. Alsop
Wheeler Dryden	...	Thereza's Doctor
Barry Bernard	...	John Redfern
Stapleton Kent	...	Claudius
Mollie Glessing	...	Maid
Leonard Mudie	...	Dr. Blake (as Leonard Mudi)
Loyal Underwood	...	Street Musician
'Snub' Pollard	...	Street Musician (as Snub Pollard)
Julian Ludwig	...	Street Musician
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Chaplin Jr.	...	Clown (uncredited)
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Little Girl in Opening Scene (uncredited)
Josephine Chaplin	...	Child in Opening Scene (uncredited)
Michael Chaplin	...	Child in Opening Scene (uncredited)
Oona Chaplin	...	Extra (uncredited)
Harry Crocker	...	Music Hall Patron (uncredited)
Billy Curtis	...	Midget in Agent's Office (uncredited)
Jack Deery	...	Emissary - Dress Circle (uncredited)
Cyril Delevanti	...	Griffin - a Clown (uncredited)
Tim Durant	...	Music Hall Patron (uncredited)
Dorothy Ford	...	Patrician Lady in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Charlie Hall	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Old Fogey in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Pub Extra (uncredited)
Colin Kenny	...	Music Hall Performer (uncredited)
Judy Landon	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Dinner Guest (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Man in Music Hall Audience (uncredited)
Sherry Moreland	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Milicent Patrick	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Edna Purviance	...	Mrs. Parker (uncredited)
Charley Rogers	...	Man in Saloon (uncredited)
Elizabeth Root	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Gus Taillon	...	Derelict (uncredited)
Valerie Vernon	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Eric Wilson	...	Extra in Dress Circle (uncredited)
Eric Wilton	...	Major Domo at Dinner (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin

Writing credits
Charles Chaplin		(original story and screenplay)

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin

Cinematography by
Karl Struss		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joe Inge		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Eugène Lourié		(as Eugene Lourie)

Costume Design by
Riley Thorne		(wardrobe designed by)

Makeup Department
Ted Larsen	....	makeup
Florence Avery	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Production Management
Lonnie D'Orsa	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Aldrich	....	assistant director
Jack Verne	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Hugh McDowell Jr.	....	sound (as Hugh McDowell)
Harold E. McGhan	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Monroe P. Askins Jr.	....	second assistant camera (uncredited)
Wallace Chewning	....	camera operator (uncredited)
George Hommel	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Dick Johnson	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)
W. Eugene Smith	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Frank Testera	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elmer Ellsworth	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Drew Tetrick	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Ted Tetrick	....	tailor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Edward Phillips	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Charles Chaplin	....	music arranger
Ray Rasch	....	music arranger
Keith Williams	....	conductor
Larry Russell	....	music arranger (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles Chaplin	....	choreographer
Wheeler Dryden	....	assistant: Mr. Chaplin
Andre Eglevsky	....	choreographer
Jerome Epstein	....	assistant: Mr. Chaplin (as Jerome L. Epstein)
Melissa Hayden	....	choreographer
Carmelita Maracci	....	corps de ballet
Roland Totheroh	....	photographic consultant
Oona Chaplin	....	double: Claire Bloom in extreme long-shot (uncredited)
Hal Court	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Harry Crocker	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Alfred Lewin	....	production accountant (uncredited)
Maurice Marks	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Kathleen Pryor	....	secretary (uncredited)
Lisl Valetti	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Celebrated Productions (copyright holder) (as Celebrated Films Corp.)

Distributors

• United Artists (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (as A United Artists release)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• Park Circus (2011) (UK) (DVD)
• Soul media (2011) (Denmark) (all media)
• Warner Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound Company  sound re-recording (uncredited)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

137 min | USA:141 min (initial release) | UK:147 min (London premiere)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G (re-rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Spain:T | West Germany:12 | Germany:6 (re-rating) | UK:U | South Korea:All | Japan:G (2010) | USA:Approved (PCA #16080) | USA:TV-G

Filming Locations:

RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Celebrated Productions

Trivia:

Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton had an interesting relationship. Long considered rivals but always having avoided commenting about each other in the press, Chaplin hired Keaton for a part in Limelight (1952). Keaton, who was flat broke at the time, went into a career decline after having been signed by MGM in 1928, as the studio would not let him improvise in any of his films nor allow him any writing or directorial input, and he was eventually reduced to writing gags - often uncredited - for other comedians' films. Chaplin, at this point, felt sorry for Keaton due to his hard luck, but Keaton recognized that, despite Charlie's better fortune and far greater wealth, Chaplin was (strangely) the more depressed of the two. In one scene in Limelight, Chaplin's character was dying. While the camera was fading away, Keaton was muttering to Chaplin without moving his lips, "That's it, good, wait, don't move, wait, good, we're through." In his autobiography Keaton called Chaplin "the greatest silent comedian of all time."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Calvero has returned to the flat after his failure to revive his career at the Middlesex Music Hall, Thereza is sitting in an armchair, which has a blanket draped over the back. For most of the scene, when you see her in close-up, the blanket is folded over the middle of the chair-back, and so part of the chair-back is visible. In the long shots, however, the blanket is unfolded and draped fully, covering the chair-back. Towards the end of the scene of Calvero and Thereza's conversation, this is fixed so that the blanket is always folded and draped over the middle.

Quotes:

Calvero:My home is the theater.
Terry:I thought you hated the theater.
Calvero:I also hate the sight of blood, but it's in my veins.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Love Hitler (1984)

Soundtrack:

Spring Is Here

Chaplin's Best Talkie. 9/10

Charlie Chaplin is one of the undisputed masters of the cinema. He was one of the funniest actors of the cinema, and he was also one of the greatest directors. Of course, the films that he is most famous for are his silent comedies, especially The Gold Rush, City Lights, and Modern Times. The latter two were the product of Chaplin's stubborn clinging to the format and conventions of the silent cinema, though everyone else had gone to sound. This stubbornness was certainly sound. His contemporaries such as Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd lost popularity when they moved to sound. Chaplin's last two silent films were popular and made a lot of money. Audiences may have craved sound, but they craved Chaplin, too, and did not disdain his silence. He was one of the silent artists who thought that they were just achieving the peak of their medium when sound came in. He proved himself right, since City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) are probably his two best films, and both are two of the best films ever made.

Finally, in 1940, Chaplin directed and starred in his first talkie, The Great Dictator. Three more followed, Monsieur Verdoux, then Limelight, then King of New York, which happens to be the only one of these four I have not seen. The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux were both good films in their own way, but perhaps Chaplin's in depth political commentary in these films detracted from them. The type of comedy that you find in his silent films did not mix well with this social commentary. The simple juxtapositions of the worlds of the poor and the rich in City Lights and Modern Times were far more powerful than what his first two talkies had to offer.

Then came Limelight, one of the most bittersweet films ever made. It is not perfect, but it achieves a grand melodramatic beauty that few films have ever even approached. The story is simple: a washed-up, old vaudvillian rescues a young ballet dancer from suicide. He takes care of her until she is healthy again, and even restores her confidence. The story may be simple, but the character dynamics are very complex. As the dancer, Theresa, is recovering, Calvero is not only rebuilding her confidence, but also his own. Theresa, because of his kindness towards her, finally believes she has fallen in love with him, even going so far as proposing marriage to him. Whether she actually loves him or not, and Calvero strongly asserts that she shouldn't and doesn't, these two characters have a constantly evolving relationship that does not end until the credits role. It is utterly fascinating, captivating, and dramatic.

There are a couple of problems, and though they're small, they deserve attention. Perhaps the biggest problem is that Claire Bloom is quite guilty of overacting. Her line delivery is bizarre and overdramatic. This isn't a big deal, since you ought to be keenly aware that the film takes place in the world of melodrama, and is thus exaggerated. Another thing that irked me is Buster Keaton's role. It is little more than a cameo. In fact, his character doesn't even have a name in the credits. This is truly disappointing, seeing that he, although Chaplin may have had the most heart, was the all-around funniest silent comedian.