Charlie Chaplin: The Beauty of Silence (Impact Biography)

Grade 7 Up. A straightforward and readable biography of the man called "the greatest comedian in the history of the motion picture." Schroeder traces Chaplin's Dickensian childhood in turn-of-the-century London, his brilliant career as actor/writer/director, and his banishment during the McCarthy era. Chaplin's sex scandals and controversial political views receive nonjudgmental airings. While the author reveals little of his subject's inner life, it is obvious that the heartbreak and poverty of the Little Tramp's youth had a profound effect on both his personality and his artistic expression. The portrait's main strength lies in its depiction of Chaplin at work producing such silent-screen classics as The Gold Rush and City Lights; readers come away with a real sense of the artist's cinematic genius. Black-and-white photographs and motion-picture stills are scattered throughout. Although Arthur Diamond's Charlie Chaplin (Lucent, 1995) offers more illustrations, its text is shorter and less detailed.?Pat Katka, formerly at San Diego Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 7-12. Schroeder sets his entertaining biography of the great silent film comedian against the movie history of the time. Chaplin's life gets some attention (including his unhappy childhood, his various stormy marriages, and his exile during the McCarthy period), but the focus is on his art and technique. From the early development of the Little Tramp character to the triumph of such critically acclaimed films as The Gold Rush and City Lights, Schroeder re-creates the classic scenes with loving detail. He shows how, for Chaplin, tragedy and humor were closely allied. There are quotes from Chaplin's autobiography ("Ridicule, I suppose, is an act of defiance"), lots of black-and-white photos from the various movies, and full chapter source notes. Teens into acting, comedy, mime, and movie history will enjoy this. Hazel Rochman