With Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin and his daughter, French Riviera, 1931.
It’s Derby Day here in Kentucky, so I thought I would post one of the few pictures of Charlie on horseback. There aren’t many because he didn’t like horses very much and was afraid of them. This photo was taken in 1931 during boar hunt with the Duke of Westminster. This was the first time Charlie had been on a horse in years and he was enthusiastic about showing off his horsemanship skills. Unfortunately, he arrived ill-prepared for the hunt and had to borrow a jacket & gloves from the Duke, which were too big for him. The first horse that was brought to him “reared up on her hind legs, cavorted and pranced around, then sidled towards me as though desiring to sweep me off the road. But I was too quick for her. I was behind one of the cars in a jiffy.” The Duke brought Charlie another horse.
The hunt was not successful and no boar materialized. It also left Charlie a mess physically, so much so that “it was four in the morning before I emerged from the manipulations of a masseur.”
(Quotes & drawing are from “A Comedian Sees The World” by Charlie Chaplin, Woman’s Home Companion, November 1933. Drawing by Robert Foster.)
French Riviera, 1931.
I’m not sure who the other people are in the photo, probably fellow tourists.
Cover of VU magazine, April 1931.
(the photo is a close up of one of the James Abbe portraits taken for The Pilgrim, c. 1922)
Charlie dances with Lady Doreen Stanley at a party given for him at the Ritz-Carlton in London following the premiere of City Lights, 1931.
Charlie jokes with Lady Astor and George Bernard Shaw, London, 1931.
Charlie originally planned to meet Shaw during his visit to London in 1921, but when he arrived at his doorstep, he suddenly felt “self-conscious and silly”, so he changed his mind. He had read that every visiting movie actor called upon Shaw and he did not want to be like the rest. He was not to meet him for another ten years.
Charlie in his swimsuit, c. 1931.
Charlie being filmed out of costume.
This photo was taken in Vienna, Austria in March, 1931 and shows Chaplin speaking on camera for the first time. He is asked to “speak a little bit” and Charlie’s only response is “Guten Tag” which he says twice.
I posted a video of this last year, but there was a problem with it (the audio and video didn’t seem to match up, but at least you can hear it):
http://chaplininpictures.tumblr.com/post/4729217921/chaplin-speaks-his-first-recorded-words-guten
This was not the first time Charlie spoke into a microphone. He did a radio broadcast to promote A Woman Of Paris at WOR in New Jersey in 1923. He also participated in a national radio broadcast (with other members of United Artists) in 1928.
City Lights (1931)
This film was part of TCM’s mini-marathon of Chaplin films this morning.
Nice, France, 1931
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
“La Violetera” was not the only theme Chaplin used for the blind girl in City Lights. She had two subsidiary themes, including this violin caprice that was used for her more wistful moments, such as the scene where Virginia discovers her rent is overdue.
City Lights (1931)
French Riviera, 1931
Marlene Dietrich & Charlie, Berlin, 1931.
Still from the nightclub scene in City Lights. Jean Harlow is at far left. She was hired to be an extra in this scene, but I’ve read that her appearance didn’t make the final cut of the film. I will also add that Jean apparently had a little fling with Charlie during filming.
