The Great Dictator  1939   1940   next   previous

The Great Dictator Clippings 340/369

Charles Daggett, Variety, New York, January 7, 1942

„I never got rid of the cane“

Editorial content. „Chaplin Salutes Karno

      Comedian Calls His English Mentor Greatest

      Of ‘Em All

      By Charles Daggett

                                                   Hollywood, Jan. 4.

      When a little boy of 17, foppish, cocksure, none too

pleasant to be around because of his insufferable

ego, walked into the late Fred Karno‘s office in London back

in 1902 and said he most certainly could play any

role he was required to play, Karno was chermed enough

by the kid‘s effrontry to give him a job.

      It was fortunate for the world. The insufferable little boy

was Charlie Chaplin.“ (...)

      „Karno‘s first piece in pantomime, according to Chaplin,

was The New Woman‘s Club, a satire on the suffragettes

of the day. Others that rapidly followed were The Mummers,

The Jail Birds, A Night in the Slums of London, The

Early Birds and A Night in an English Music Hall, in which

Chaplin toured the United States.“ (...)

      „Chaplin says that his brother, Sid, was responsible for

his getting a in one of Karno‘s shows.

      ,Sid thought I was the greatest actor in the world. Karno

got sick finally of hearing about Sid‘s brother. Sid

wanted to leave the company, and asked that I be given

a chance. In order to save expenses Karno finally

gave me a try.

      ,The part was that of the comedy villain. I was just there

to feed the comedian, but I didn‘t know that at first.

When I found out I put in some new business. The show

opened at the Coliseum, in London. After the third

night they started to applause my entrance.‘

      In explaining the careful way in which Karno staged his

pantomime, Chaplin used his entrance as an example:

      ,I came on with my back to the audience. I was wearing

a frock coat and a great false nose. I went through

all of the cliches of the villain and then turned round slowly,

with all of the unction in the world. I tangled my finger

in my watch chain and I used a cane to good advantage.

      ,I never got rid of the cane.‘     

      Birth of a Technique

      Chaplin is convinced that his work with Karno gave him

the basis for his motion picture technique.“ (...)     

Redaktioneller Inhalt

 The Great Dictator  1939   1940   next   previous