Charlie Chaplin, Part 2: The War Against Hollywood's Most Famous Man — Private Scandals, Political Persecution, and American Exile

About this episode

This episode explores the tumultuous life of Charlie Chaplin during his rise to fame and the subsequent scandals that led to his exile from America.

This is Part 2 of our two-part series on Charlie Chaplin. At the height of his silent-film power, Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous and successful people in the world. He owned his studio, controlled his work, and had transformed the Tramp into a global icon. But the life behind the screen was becoming impossible to keep private. Part 2 of our Charlie Chaplin series follows Chaplin through the collapse of his marriage to Lita Grey, the devastating divorce scandal that threatened his fortune, studio and reputation, and the making of The Circus . It follows his refusal to let the Tramp speak in an industry transformed by sound — and the extraordinary successes of City Lights and Modern Times . Then comes The Great Dictator : Chaplin's first full talking picture, his furious satire of Adolf Hitler, and the film that pushed him into an increasingly public political life. As the war ends and the Cold War begins, Chaplin finds himself under growing scrutiny for his support of the Soviet Union, his refusal to become an American citizen, and the scandals that have long followed him. The episode traces the Joan Barry case, Monsieur Verdoux , the campaign to drive Chaplin from…

People in this episode

Host: Patrick Rankin

Topics covered

• Charlie Chaplin
• silent film
• political persecution
• Hollywood scandals
• American exile
• film history

Keywords

• Charlie Chaplin
• Lita Grey
• The Great Dictator
• Hollywood
• exile
• political persecution
• silent film
• scandals
• film history

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Circus, City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator, Monsieur Verdoux

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