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14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Life, October 7, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Wife of the Life of the Party (Hardcover)
Here is a marvelous book detailing the fascinating and interesting life of LITA GREY CHAPLIN. She of course was the child bride of CHARLES CHAPLIN that mangaged to sue and win a substanial sum when divorcing him in 1927, causing one of the great Hollywood scandals of the 1920's. I enjoyed this book because it clears up all the distortions and inaccuracies of her first ghost-written memoir, "MY LIFE WITH CHAPLIN". In his introduction, author Jeffrey Vance clearly places LITA GREY'S importance in the history of CHARLIE CHAPLIN : She influenced three of CHAPLIN'S greatest films : THE KID, THE GOLD RUSH, and THE CIRCUS. Also included are the divorce documents and helpful notes and afterword. A must for CHAPLIN aficionados.
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11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sad story, but..., February 8, 2006
This review is from: Wife of the Life of the Party (Hardcover)
A few years before her passing, Lita Grey, ex-wife of master comedian Charles Chaplin, wrote a second "autobiography," WIFE OF LIFE OF THE PARTY, in cooperation with silent film enthusiast Jeffrey Vance. According to her son Sydney's foreword, the book was intended as a correction of her 1966-memoir MY LIFE WITH CHAPLIN, which, by all accounts, was filled with exaggerations.
It is a sad story. I must clarify that my admiration for Chaplin goes beyond that of a "fan." His films have meant more to me than the work of any other artist, and needless to say they have had a strong personal impact on me. Despite this, I'll try to stay neutral here and admit that I did feel sorry for Lita as I read this book. It is not hard to recognize that the work of Chaplin is the outcome of a very complex mind, and on a personal level, this complexity was not always to the advantage of neither himself nor his surroundings. To have a creative genius as a husband can't be a preferable situation for everybody, and certainly it wasn't for Lita.
Chaplin first aqcuainted his future-wife in 1920, while working on his first feature-length film THE KID. She was 12 at the time, and got a role in the film after the recommendation from Chaplin's co-director. The book starts off with some interesting recollections of Chaplin's working habits. The two met again three years later, when Lita visited Chaplin's studio in order to impress a friend. Chaplin was captivated by the beuaty of the 15-year old, and signed her once again, this time to play leading lady in his current production THE GOLD RUSH (for which she was later replaced). The two soon began an affair, and eventually, Lita became pregnant. Chaplin became frustrated, and offered her a large sum of money if she would marry another man; however, Lita's mother forced them to marry. In late 1924, the 16-year old Lita became the wife of 35-year old Charles Chaplin, and the rest is a pretty dark story.
Inevitably, most of this book consists of details about the unhappy marriage, putting Chaplin in a far from favorable light. According to Lita, her husband almost had a habit of accusing her of trying to ruin his career. Whenever her parents are not present, Chaplin is quick to adapt harsh name-calling. Lita, on the other hand, is presented as astonishingly naive and inexperienced throughout. Perhaps she was; there is at least no doubt that Chaplin was the adult of the two and should probably have foreseen that starting an affair with Lita wasn't the wisest thing to do. They were divorced less than three years later, which resulted in worldwide headlines for over a year. Lita's divorce complaint (a tiresome read included in the book) became a best-seller, and her lawyers worked with one thing in mind: to ruin Chaplin's career. They did not succeed, but were close at times. Chaplin got a nervous breakdown and was forced to close the studio for months.
However, although there is little doubt that Chaplin must take responsibility for many of the problems that arose during this period, there are parts of this story that remain uncovered in the book. Lita's account really appears a bit too one-dimensional to be fully believable. For one thing, various sources through the years indicate that Lita's family used Chaplin's money in a very inconsiderate manner, something which Chaplin's wealth can't completely justify. Also, during the divorce her lawyers, one of which was her uncle, used some truly mean-spirited and unethical methods. Lita further ignores the difficulties she caused her two sons through their childhood, when she suffered from alcoholism. It is not that I blame her for not wanting to dwell on unhappy things like that, but if she is to present her ex-husband in such a horrendously unflattering manner, I'd have regarded it as fair to admit that she should have done some things differently herself, especially since she stresses that "Chaplin had a tendency to blame all other people for his own troubles and believe that he himself was faultless." The reader should also be aware that Chaplin barely touched the subject of his marriage to Lita in his autobiography, and that his version of the story was thus never really heard publicly.
I usually avoid books on celebrities written by ex-wives, and did an exception because it's Chaplin-related. Although sad, all in all WIFE OF THE LIFE OF THE PARTY stands as not too memorable, and is mostly worth to read due to the recollections of Chaplin's work on THE KID. If you have to read it, I urge you to also check out Charles Chaplin Jr.'s wonderful book MY FATHER CHARLIE CHAPLIN as a sort of counter-balance, or otherwise you'll possibly get a rather one-dimensional view on Chaplin the man.
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8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Her ghostwritten first book was better, September 21, 2004
This review is from: Wife of the Life of the Party (Hardcover)
...and that's saying plenty. Lita Grey Chaplin had at least a hand in producing two books on her brief two-year marriage to Charlie Chaplin. The first book, published in 1966, was ghostwritten, but was much more interesting than this boring, plodding effort. If you're looking for lurid sexual escapades and revelations, opt for the 1966 offering, for there is nothing interesting contained in this book. In fact, the majority of the book is taken up with the complete divorce complaint of the Chaplins from 1927, which makes for stilted, uninspired reading. The photographic section is similarly flat and uninspired. The only thing worth reading in the entire book is the introduction written by Sydney Chaplin, Lita and Charlie's second born son.
One other reason for investigating the book is that it shows the unflattering side of Charlie, one which Chaplin addicts (like me) try to avoid confronting. Chaplin was a man of extreme moods and he could be enormously seductive, charming and adorable one minute, and a crude, insensitive cad the next moment. In fairness, Lita trapped Charlie into marriage when she got pregnant at the age of 16. Chaplin was interested in a torrid affair and not a permanent relationship; he demanded she get an abortion, she refused, and he was stuck in a loveless marriage. The whole arrangement was screwy from the get go, but Charlie's notorious aversion to contraceptives again did him in. Chaplin comes off very badly throughout the narrative and Lita even claims she never even loved him. Again, ths is in direct contrast to her 1966 book which shows her to have been a nymphmaniac/besotted Chaplin chick all the way.
I'd recommend this only to people who have a mania to read everything ever printed on Charlie; for casual fans, there's no necessity to bother over this tepid trifle.
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