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Limelight

  • 1952
  • G
  • 2h 17m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
21K
YOUR RATING
Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
Watch Official Trailer
Play trailer1:38
1 Video
74 Photos
DramaMusicRomance

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

  • Director
    • Charles Chaplin
  • Writer
    • Charles Chaplin
  • Stars
    • Charles Chaplin
    • Claire Bloom
    • Nigel Bruce
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    21K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Charles Chaplin
    • Writer
      • Charles Chaplin
    • Stars
      • Charles Chaplin
      • Claire Bloom
      • Nigel Bruce
    • 128User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
    • 84Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 7 wins & 4 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:38
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos74

    Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin and Marjorie Bennett in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin in Limelight (1952)
    Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
    Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
    Charles Chaplin and Claire Bloom in Limelight (1952)
    Limelight (1952)
    Limelight (1952)
    Limelight (1952)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Charles Chaplin
    Charles Chaplin
    • Calvero
    Claire Bloom
    Claire Bloom
    • Thereza 'Terry' Ambrose
    Nigel Bruce
    Nigel Bruce
    • Postant
    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • Calvero's Partner
    Sydney Chaplin
    Sydney Chaplin
    • Neville
    Norman Lloyd
    Norman Lloyd
    • Bodalink
    Andre Eglevsky
    Andre Eglevsky
    • Dancer - Harlequin
    Melissa Hayden
    • Dancer - Columbine
    Marjorie Bennett
    Marjorie Bennett
    • Mrs. Sybil Alsop
    Wheeler Dryden
    Wheeler Dryden
    • Thereza's Doctor
    Barry Bernard
    • John Redfern - Calvero's Agent
    Stapleton Kent
    Stapleton Kent
    • Claudius
    Molly Glessing
    • Maid
    • (as Mollie Glessing)
    Leonard Mudie
    Leonard Mudie
    • Dr. Blake - Calvero's Doctor
    • (as Leonard Mudi)
    Loyal Underwood
    Loyal Underwood
    • Street Musician
    'Snub' Pollard
    'Snub' Pollard
    • Street Musician
    • (as Snub Pollard)
    Julian Ludwig
    • Street Musician
    Billy Lee Aimone
    • Little Boy
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Charles Chaplin
    • Writer
      • Charles Chaplin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Academy Award that Sir Charles Chaplin won for composing this film's score is the only competitive Oscar he ever received; his other awards were given to him for special achievement outside of the established categories.
    • Goofs
      In discussing the ballet with the cast, the dance director Bodalink casts a giant shadow in front of the auditorium seats (revealing it to be nothing more than a backdrop).
    • Quotes

      Terry: If all else fails, there's always that little home in the country.

      Calvero: This is my home, here.

      Terry: I thought you hated the theater.

      Calvero: I do. I also hate the sight of blood, but it's in my veins.

    • Crazy credits
      "The glamour of limelight, from which age must pass as youth enters."
    • Alternate versions
      The version of the film that premiered in London in 1952 ran 141 minutes. It had been in distribution for several months, when Charles Chaplin recalled film prints and deleted a scene in which Calvero leaves the sleeping Thereza, and goes to a bar, where he meets his old friend Claudius, the arm-less violin player, who gives Calvero money. The film ran 137 minutes after this scene was edited out for worldwide distribution. In the ending credits, there is still a billing for Stapleton Kent as Claudius, even though he is no longer seen in the film. The DVD includes the deleted scene as an extra feature.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une histoire seule (1989)
    • Soundtracks
      Eternally (Terry's Theme)
      (1952) (uncredited)

      Music by Charles Chaplin

    User reviews128

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Chaplain's last song, offered "his way" without apology
    Most ordinary people fall into a role and a persona in their lives, and tend to not veer very far from it if it provides for them. Perhaps, due to extreme situations, they may find it necessary to reinvent themselves once or twice and rise to the occasion or fall into dissolution.

    An artist like Chaplain had to reinvent himself over and over again over four decades, particularly in a medium that was changing every few years. That's probably why he had so many failed marriages with younger woman; he had to feel like a "player" to keep the flow going and fight back the doubt and anxiety (and the terror of becoming irrelevant) that inevitably begins to haunt creative men in their twilight years. Don't underestimate the power of sex magic!

    Limelight is a film about those demons, and the immense courage (and yes, the love of a much younger woman, too, doesn't hurt), that is required to triumph over them. Still, everyone knows there is one specter that no man can outrun -- Death. Chaplain masks this existential dimension in layers of sentimental melodrama which you will have to decide for yourself is effective, but I think he does this intentionally to smuggle in some deep and darker themes that filmmakers like Bergman would become famous for continually exploring masterfully.

    I found myself going back and forth with Limelight; there are times when the melodrama overpowers the film, and the pedestrian cinematography doesn't help matters. A few times I felt like I was watching the old Abbot and Costello TV show, particularly the apartment scenes. However, Chaplain is such an immense presence you can't help be engaged and encouraged to keep watching because you want so much for his character Calvero to triumph. His co-star, Claire Bloom, is quite effective, too, and she has several "looks" in this film to contrast and mirror the ongoing struggle the old comedian in having internally.

    Getting on in years myself, and feeling washed up and without hope and purpose, Calvero's plight and faltering desire to once again command the Limelight was quite cathartic. I was amazed by his final performance with Keaton; when Calvero starts rocking that violin like Eddie Van Halen in his prime, I was in a state of sublime fascination. Here was a true artist giving everything up for his audience, feeling the peak thrill of having the audience at his command once again for a few fleeting moments; a thrill that, tragically, he will pay dearly for.

    We can only hope that we, too, can earn such an exalted death as Calvero's. Perhaps that is Chaplain's hidden message in this film; that life is, in the final analysis, about striving for a death that ennobles those you leave behind.
    helpful•14
    1
    • jungophile
    • May 23, 2015

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 31, 1952 (France)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Instagram
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Светлости позорнице
    • Filming locations
      • RKO-Pathé Studios - 9336 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Charles Chaplin Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Gross worldwide
      • $9,291
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 17 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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