Rent Young Charlie Chaplin (1989)
3.6 of 5 from 47 ratings
2h 38min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
'Young Charlie Chaplin' is an epic mini-series charting the meteoric rise of the silent screen's greatest star. Featuring Twiggy as Charlie's mother, 'Young Charlie Chaplin' is fascinating chronicle of Chaplin's extraordinary childhood, from the horrors of the workhouse and the orphanage, to the bright lights of the music hall stage and the start of a legendary movie career. 'Young Charlie Chaplin' is a unique and powerful insight into the development of a rare comic genius, dramatically capturing the raw humour and hard-edged childhood that influenced Chaplin throughout his extraordinary life. London at the start of the 20th century. Young Charlie Chaplin stands in the wings admiring his father (Ian McShane) - a handsome popular music hall star. But the music hall is an uncertain life and when Dad loses a job the lack of money means the family face an insecure future. Charlie Chaplin was one of the greatest comedians of all time - some say the greatest. A pioneer in his chosen field, he was a man who influenced more than anyone else the public's awareness of the comic art. His tramp character, believed throughout the world, embraced pathos, innocence, compassion, high comedy and robust slapstick. All these qualities stemmed from his experiences as a child in South London, where both happiness and tragedy moulded the character we know and love today. Young Charlie Chaplin chronicles his extraordinary up to the age of fifteen, encompassing his poverty-stricken family and his slow but sure progress as actor and comedian. - Actors:
- Joe Geary, Lee Whitlock, Twiggy, Ian McShane, Paul Bigley, David Kossoff, Derek Royle, Kevin Lloyd, Paul Mark Elliott, Amber Bezer, Elaine Lordan
- Directors:
- Baz Taylor
- Producers:
- Colin Shindler
- Writers:
- Stan Hey, Andrew Nickolds, Colin Shindler
- Aka:
- Wonderworks: Young Charlie Chaplin
- Studio:
- Delta Home Entertainment
- Genres:
- Classics, British TV, TV Classics, TV Comedies, TV Documentaries, TV Dramas
More like Young Charlie Chaplin
Reviews (1) of Young Charlie Chaplin
Highly enjoyable and watchable biopic of Charlie Chaplin's early London music hall years - Young Charlie Chaplin review by PV
This is from 1989, back when TV could make drama for kids (or adults) that did not think its sole purpose was to preach and lecture a 'correct' way of thinking whilst shoehorning in social issues clunkily.
This 2 and a half hour drama series - all in one segment - is a great watch and puts the story and characters first/. I dread to think what TV would do with the story these days, what with colourblind pc woke casting. Some music hall jokes here would be deemed 'offensive' too, no doubt.
Thankfully we have good old-fashioned children;s TV to watch on DVD - and this should be watched with the Richard Attenborough 1992 movie 'Chaplin; which I also loved.
I loved the music hall routines - which still inform some good modern comedy, and esp the best TV comedy (much from the 1970s).
This may be a bit sanitised for the young audience, but nevertheless, it's a great and highly entertaining watch. It also never mentions that probably Charlie's real father was not Mr Chaplin senior (who in real life died of alcoholic liver failure aged 38).
The young actors do well - Lee Whitlock from from the classic TV Scene 'Two of Us' (1987) is 20 years old or almost 21 but plays down for 17. Joe Greary who plays the young Chaplin is 15 here and also plays down to age 12/13 - he did not do much acting after this, I think.
Twiggy is Twiggy and Ian McShane is superb as always (watch 'Deadwood').
Good to see Stan Laurel in music hall - he was the brains behind Laurel and Hardy - and other acts.
One interesting fact: 'silent' film grew from music hall slapstick which had no dialogue so as to avoid the wrath of any censors. These days, the censors would want woke pc cuts - as with some of the impressions of Chinamen and Japanese. Sigh...
Anyway, for kids or adults, this is a solidly entertaining 2 and a half hours - I loved it.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.