The Circus (1928)

Charlie Chaplin’s “The Circus”

Thematic Elements: 

Charlie Chaplin is no stranger to circus life. In 1906 at age 17, Chaplin joined a juvenile act at Casey’s Circus after spending his childhood being a young performer for Victorian Music Halls and West End productions. Chaplin’s film, The Circus, presents not only the circus life that Chaplin has been familiar with throughout his life, but also the entertainment industry in general.

The film begins with the image of a star. At the next moment, a woman crashes through the star to reveal that it was the image of a star of a paper circus prop. The viewer sees that they are in a performance in which clowns are running around the ring while a girl stands on a horse as it encircles it. Perhaps the image of the star then cutting to the performance itself if Chaplin suggesting the stardom that comes from performing for an audience – the lights, the attention, and the applause. However, as the show concludes and the woman gets off the horse, she is chastised by her father, the ringmaster, for not being funny or entertaining enough and he strikes her to the ground into another paper circus star. Chaplin seems to contrast the thrill of the entertainment with the harsh cruelty of being a member of the troupe as he uses the star again but this time to show the women being crashed through it in an entirely different way. Chaplin uses this star image to dually signify the stardom that comes with the job, but also the suffering. 

When then are introduced to the Tramp who has wandered into the circus carnival. He spends his time admiring the attractions and stealing food from children. After a pickpocket places a stole wallet in the Tramp’s coat to hide it from the police, the Tramp is then accused of theft. The police then chase after him until he is chased into the circus ring during a live performance. He humorously excites the crowd as the cheer him on while he is pursued. Because of the roaring reception from the crowd, the ringmaster invites the Tramp to audition for his circus. Obviously, the Tramp agrees as Chaplin has evidently laid the world outside the circus plainly for the audience. It is a world in which hunger, pickpockets, and police oppress the Tramp, a chaotic world in which the Tramp and his fellow citizens must fight for survival. The circus offers security from this chaos to the Tramp.

As the Tramp is waiting for his audition, he tries to make himself a meal with a loaf of bread and an egg that he stole from a chicken. As he temporarily leaves his meal, the young woman from the beginning of the film happen open the scene and begins to eat the bread. The flustered Tramp stops her until he recognizes that she lives here at the circus and that she too is starving due to her lack of income or resources. Members of the staff quit the circus because they are not being paid for their work as well. Chaplin portrays the circus as not being entirely different from the outside world. Even though they have employment, the lack of money or food seems to be evident here as well.

During the Tramp’s audition, it is clear that the Tramp is not funny at all. He does not understand the comedy routines that the clowns are doing, and he cannot by himself be funny either, so the ringmaster forces the Tramp to leave. However, because some of the staff members just quit, the Tramp is taken in as a helper. He begins by trying to carry dishes up until a horse begins to chase him into the ring and he falls into the crowd throwing the plates everywhere. This causes the crowd to ring with laughter. The ringmaster notices that the Tramp is only funny when he is not trying to be. The ringmaster continues to utilize the Tramp’s incidental humor without the Tramp knowing he is the star of the show. Chaplin shows just how manipulative the industry can be, as the ringmaster purposefully tricks the Tramp into being the star entertainer without having to pay him. The Tramp eventually uncovers the truth and uses his newfound realization of his star power to get an increase in pay and even protects his love interest.  

A new act comes along in the form of a tightrope walker. The tramp’s love interest falls for this tightrope walker, whom also steals the show from the tramp – as the Tramp’s eventually falls out of the good graces from the crowd. Chaplin illustrates just how little humor and star power matter to a crowd when a new shiny performer comes along. The crowd loses interest in the Tramp’s clowning because of the death-defying performance of the tightrope walker. 

The love interest and the tightrope walker eventually end up marrying and moving along with the circus. The Tramp, however, stays behind as there is nothing left there for him. He is no longer the star of the show and is no longer invested in the girl who married another man. The business packs up and leaves as he does not follow. Show business has both literally and figuratively moved on without him. Chaplin utilizes The Circus to illustrate the machinations and heartaches of show business while also providing us with laughter, drama, and heartache. 

Camerawork: 

Tracking Shot: As the Tramp is running away from the police, the pickpocket who left the stolen wallet in his coat pocket is also running away from the police. As the two being to run side by side, a tracking shot is used by Chaplin. The Tramp and the pickpocket are running towards camera and the camera tracks parallel to their running direction. Chaplin uses this shot to comedic affect, displaying the two characters in congruence with their respective situations. Chaplin presents the outside world as chaos and oppression. 

Real Life Danger: In the scene in which the Tramp is stuck inside the lion’s cage, Charlie Chaplin did not use an effect. Chaplin was actually inside the cage with the lion. This also lends itself to one of the themes of the story in which the Tramp must put himself in danger in order to win the affections of his audience. 

Best Shot: The best shot of the film is when the Tramp tries to replace the tightrope walker. The Tramp is attempting to win over the affections of both the crowd and his love interest by performing this dangerous stunt. On top of that, several monkeys climb up and begin to mess with him. This scene illustrates one of the larger points of the film – that a performer will do just about anything to win over their audience even at their own peril.