Limelight

London, 1914. Calvero, a comedian whose career is over, saves Terry, a dancer, from a suicide attempt. While working to get her back on her feet he tries to return to the stage himself. Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed, produced and starred, from his own novella Footlights. Claire Bloom takes her first major film role as Terry. Five of Chaplin's children appear uncredited. It is the only film in which Chaplin and Buster Keaton appear on screen together. The shoot was completed around Hollywood in 55 days. Chaplin thought it would probably be his last film and was said to be energised by recreating his own early music hall years. It opened on 23 October 1952 and hit a wall in America: Chaplin was denied re-entry to the country over suspected communist sympathies and American theatres largely refused to show it. It succeeded internationally and took only 1 million dollars domestically until 1972. The 1972 reissue finally brought it to Los Angeles, which made it eligible for the 45th Academy Awards, where Chaplin won his only competitive Oscar, for Best Original Dramatic Score. Who it is for: viewers who like late Chaplin and stories set backstage. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the Tramp. This is not silent comedy but a long, talking melodrama in which Chaplin narrates his own ageing.