Charlie Chaplin vs. America
When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided
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Charlie Chaplin vs. America
Narrated by:
Phil Thron
Buy Now for $26.99
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Narrated by:
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Phil Thron
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By:
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Scott Eyman
About this listen
Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin’s fall from grace. In the aftermath of World War II, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold.
Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs. In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the US after a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland and made his last two films in London.
In Charlie Chaplin vs. America, Scott Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times. “One of the finest surveys of the man and the artist ever written” (Leonard Maltin) this book is “a sobering account of cancel culture in action.” (The Economist).
Critic Reviews
"Scott Eyman, literary critic for the PALM BEACH POST, offers a biography of Hollywood icon Charlie Chaplin. The British actor bridged the transition from silent to talking films and started his own studio. Deep-voiced Phil Thron provides a workmanlike narration. While the audiobook is a biography overall, it focuses on the politics and personal circumstances that caused Chaplin’s somewhat self-imposed exile from the U.S. Background information is shared about Chaplin’s films CITY LIGHTS, MODERN TIMES, MONSIEUR VERDOUX, and, during his exile, the poorly received COUNTESS OF HONG KONG. While Tron’s performance is unadorned, his anchorman style clearly recounts the turbulent times surrounding the genius that was Chaplin and his alter ego, The Little Tramp."
Thrust into a pseudo-patriotic theatre spectacle, and cast as a villain, the reality was for him, it was always about the art - and the next film.
This biography explores Charlie's life, without posing or hypothesising on motive or drawing too many conclusions, allowing the listener to consider the implications and ways in which the events manifested in his art.
A worthy read for anyone interested in Charlie Chaplin, and the Hollywood of the middle century.
A singular artist
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