Tramp: The Life Of Charlie Chaplin [Paperback]

Joyce Milton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 21, 1998

Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) was one of the most loved, hated, and gossiped-about figures in film history. On screen the handsome actor delighted viewers with his "Tramp" character, but off screen he betrayed friends and colleagues, stole ideas, evaded taxes, and developed a reputation as a seducer of startlingly young women. Tramp traces Chaplin's life and career, from his childhood in the slums of London, through his early days as a music hall entertainer, to his meteoric rise and astonishing success in the American film world (including seventy-one films by age thirty-three), and his exile in Europe in the McCarthyist 1950s. Attributing some of his disturbing behavior to manic-depression, Milton confronts his troubling views, especially on politics, while celebrating his artistic genius in this probing and revelatory biography.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Charlie Chaplin is an enigmatic figure: famous throughout the world in the early days of Hollywood, his celebrity as the silent movie tramp/clown endures; yet he was also active in radical social politics, and later went into exile amid a swirl of rumor and invective concerning his Communist Party connections. Chaplin wrote his own rather selective autobiography, and has been the subject of several memoirs. Milton deals with his tempestuous marriages and with his work, but concentrates on his political life. She analyzes his political naiveté and inconsistency, while locating the source of his left-wing sympathies. The image of the tramp, it transpires, was no accidental movie persona. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Despite its title's potential as a double entendre, Milton's substantial biography of Chaplin is hardly dirt-dishing. Eschewing what she calls "pathography," Milton presents a well-researched, evenhanded portrait of a troubled entertainment genius. Starting with Chaplin's roots in late-19th-century British poverty?a history the actor himself obscured?the author traces his complex relationships to a manic-depressive mother, vaudeville theater and the infant film industry, as well as to the celebrity, controversy and exile that marked his later years. Chaplin, a socially awkward man of erratic moods and creative spurts, suffered internal conflicts over money?though immensely wealthy, he was a notorious penny-pincher?as well as over his liaisons with startlingly young women. Milton tackles these exploitable topics with respect, however, depicting the actor/director as a man whose ambition, fortune and left-leaning political sympathies have had far-reaching effects on the business and PR structure of Hollywood today?as has the public aftermath of his seemingly unsavory marriages and love affairs. Milton's clear rendering of one of the first film superstars, and of the fickle public scrutiny that followed him, doubles then?as did her superb life of the Lindberghs, Loss of Eden (1992)?as a sweeping look at the first half of the 20th century. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour; U.K., translation, first serial, dramatic rights: Barbara Lowenstein.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 588 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306808315
• ISBN-13: 978-0306808319
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,606,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A life reviewed from all angles., December 18, 1999

By 

Deborah Lovelace - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tramp: The Life Of Charlie Chaplin (Paperback)

Although parts of this biography of Sir Charles Chaplin are very. . . distrubing, it does also present Chaplin at his best. It is a great read for one wanting a little more of the personal take on the early history of Hollywood, and its colorful characters. The biography also deals with the blacklisting that occurred during the McCarthy communist inquisition, and Chaplin's stance and involvement. If you want to read nothing but the nice things in Chaplin's life, do not even open the front cover of this copy. If your admiration of Chaplin is for his work, and you can handle a tarnished side of Chaplin, then by all means, read this book!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There ought to be a law . . . or at least a Fatal Mallet!, August 15, 2005

By 

Mark L. Lowentrout (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tramp: The Life Of Charlie Chaplin (Paperback)

This merciless attack is filled with unsubstantiated pronouncements (not to mention typos) about Chaplin including a diagnosis of manic-depressive personality disorder offered nearly twenty years after his death and with no research nor expertise to support it. And is Joyce Milton herself qualified to make this judgment? Of course not. While this discourse is passed off as well-researched, one look at the notes and citations shows a limited selection of sources with a clear intention--to topple Chaplin whom Milton simply does not like. It seems as if the thesis of this book was in place well before the "research" began. Such is the tone of personal invective Milton fobs off as insight. I would never claim that Charlie Chaplin was a saint; no one can reasonably make that assertion about anyone. Unfortunately, Joyce Milton shows how imperfect a writer can be. Sadly for her, she picks up where Kitty Kelly leaves off. Shameful.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tramp - no insight into Chaplin as a filmmaker, August 16, 2004

By 

Cesar Cruz (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Tramp: The Life Of Charlie Chaplin (Paperback)

I wish I had done a little research on this book before reading it. As it turned out when I was near the end of the book it struck me that I wish I hadn't bought or read it. Undoubtedly the author is a talented writer and an impressive researcher, but the book's almost nonexistant focus on Chaplin as a filmmaker should be a caution to any reader.

Before getting to the bulk of the book I will point out the one positive aspect of the book. Chaplin's childhood left me in awe. To say that it was tough doesn't even come close, and I couldn't help thinking how lucky he was to rise from nothing to the succesful filmmaker that he became. Then there is the rest of the story.

In the +500 pages of 'Tramp,' Joyce Milton concentrates on two aspects of Chaplin's life. First, the author details the many sad and destructive relationships Chaplin had with his wives, mistresses, and countless others in Hollywood. Almost no one comes out looking good in any of these relationships - not Chaplin or most of the women. For about thirty years, until his marriage to Oona O'Neill, it is one tarnished and ruined experience after another. Paulette Goddard is one of the few who comes out in any positive light. And of Oona O'Neill, the one woman that Chaplin seemed to be able to have anything resembling a successful relationship, we end up learning the very least.

Second, the author dedicates an excessive amount of space on Chaplin's Marxists views. The point is clear - it is the highest irony that a multimillionaire actor had such strong opposition to free enterprise. A lot can be said of that, and Milton takes every opportunity to do so. The endless cast of insigificant Communist sympathizers goes on and on. What a boring lot they were! Eventually I read over these parts with no care to retain any of the information. In the end it was just plain tiresome.

It was largely surprising how little space Milton spent on Chaplin as a filmmaker. Many of the chapter titles are Chaplin's own movie titles. Yet, for example, in the nearly 30-page chapter 'City Lignts,' if you were to string together the few paragraphs that actually deal with the movie 'City Lights' you'd be lucky to put together 2 or 3 pages. At the end of the book, Milton makes the point that if you want to know Chaplin as a filmmaker, watch his videos, they are readily available. I second that - rent or buy his videos, skip this book.