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Charlie Chaplin as a communist

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on April 15, 1889 in London to parents already established in the entertainment industry. Charles Chaplin Sr. and Hannah Hill taught Charlie to sing and dance from an early age and repeatedly told him that he would one day be the most famous entertainer on the planet. Charlie Chaplin is now considered by many the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen. It was from his humble beginnings that Chaplin built up a certain rapport with the lower classes that was to be reflected in his work. The years of World War One and the Great Depression were to be the years that Chaplin would brighten up the lives of many that were otherwise little but misery. These times harvested fear among the American population of Communism and the destruction of the American way of life. It was also these times that the FBI began extensive files on Chaplin in regards to his political affiliation and sympathy to left wing views. The persecution of Chaplin would continue through to the period of Communist witch hunts headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the domination of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). This unfounded bullying of Chaplin had serious repercussio

So in answer to the question “is Chaplin a Communist?” the answer is almost certainly no. Chaplin surely held leftwing, progressive, liberal and egalitarian political views but none that could be considered communist. Chaplin would never hide his views or conform to the American opinion that it was right to hate a Communist. It was for these reasons that poor Chaplin was labeled a Communist. Chaplin eventually received his knighthood in 1975 two year prior to his death. He was recognized with an Oscar in 1972. This truly was a case of too little too late.

If one accepts the above reading there is one notable problem; Charlie Chaplin was among the wealthiest men in the United States of America and his contracts continued to grow. In 1913 Chaplin signed with Keystone for $125 a week, 1914, Essanay for $1250 a week, 1916 with the Mutual Film Company for $10 000 a week and signing fee of $150 000, finally Chaplin signed with First National Exhibitor’s Circuit for $1 075 000 a year in 1917. Chaplin’s popularity drove the price of his services so high that no film company could afford him and he began to produce his own films. This does not seem to be the sort of wage that a Communist would be happy to lead. It is in direct contradiction to any reading of Communism to have so much money in a time of depression and war.

ns in his personal life, filmmaking ability, and even deprived him of a knighthood in his home country of England. Many would argue that the themes of oppression and working class squalor in Chaplin films were not political commentaries but simply themes that would appeal to his demographic. The question still remains though; Was Charlie Chaplin a Communist?

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