Any time you
>were collecting money for a left cause you made sure to ask Charlie
>Chaplin, because you could count on him to give.
>
>
Well, they threw him out of the U.S. didn't they...mainly for political
stuff right?
Joanna
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CharlieChaplinDictator.jpg> Enlarge Charlie Chaplin (not as a Jewish barber, but as himself) in "The Great Dictator" (1940)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin
Politics
Chaplin's political sympathies always lay with the left <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-wing_politics> . His politics seem tame by modern standards, but after the 1940's his views (in conjunction with his influence and fame) were seen by many as dangerously radical. His silent films made prior to the Great Depression <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression> typically did not contain overt political themes or messages, apart from the Tramp's plight in poverty and his run ins with the law. But his films made in the 1930's were more openly political. Modern Times <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_Times_%28film%29> (1936 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_in_film> ) depicts the dismal situation of workers and the poor in industrial society. The final dramatic speech in his 1940 film The Great Dictator <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Dictator> , which was critical of patriotic nationalism, was highly controversial, as was his vocal public support for the opening of a second European front in 1942 to assist the Soviet Union <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union> in World War II <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II> . The critical view of capitalism <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism> in his 1947 black comedy Monsieur Verdoux <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsieur_Verdoux> was hugely controversial, with the film being protested at many US cities.
Charlie Chaplin and Mahatma Gandhi. Concidentally, both of these men had biopics made about them by Richard Attenbourough. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CharlieChaplinAndGandhi.jpg> Enlarge <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:CharlieChaplinAndGandhi.jpg> Charlie Chaplin and Mahatma Gandhi <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi> . Concidentally, both of these men had biopics made about them by Richard Attenbourough. [edit <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charlie_Chaplin&action=edit§i on=9> ]
McCarthyism
Although Chaplin had his major successes in the United States <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States> and was a resident from 1914 to 1952, he retained his British nationality. During the era of McCarthyism <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism> , Chaplin was accused of "un-American activities <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Un-American_activities> " as a suspected communist <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism> ; and J. Edgar Hoover <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover> , who had instructed the FBI to keep extensive files on him, tried to end his United States residency. FBI pressure on Chaplin grew after his 1942 campaign for a second front in the war, and reached a critical level in the late 1940's, when Congressional figures threatened to call him as a witness in hearings. This was never done, probably because of fear of Chaplin's ability to ridicule and lampoon the investigators.
In 1952 , Chaplin left the US for a trip to England; Hoover learned of it and negotiated with the INS to revoke his re-entry permit. Chaplin then decided to stay in Europe , and made his home in Vevey <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vevey> , Switzerland . He briefly returned to the United States in April 1972 , with his wife, to receive an Honorary Oscar <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Honorary_Award> . Even though he was invited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Academy Awards ), he was only issued a one-time entry visa valid for two months.
