An Everyman who expressed the defiant spirit of freedom, Charlie Chaplin was first lauded and later reviled by the audience that made him Hollywood’s richest man. He was a figure of multiple paradoxes, and Chaplin looks afresh at this classic comedian and his most recognizable character: The Tramp. Louvish charts the tale of the Tramp himself through his films—from the early Mack Sennett shorts through the major features (The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator) and weighs the relationship between the Tramp, his creator, and his worldwide fans. Chaplin is an epic journey, summing up the roots of Comedy and its appeal to audiences everywhere, who revelled in Chaplin’s raw energy, his ceaseless struggle against adver sity, and his capacity to represent our own fears, foibles, dreams, inner demons and hopes.
