Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
There is a melancholic and hopeful spirit about the Little Tramp, the most famous character created during the silent film era by the great Charlie Chaplin. Here is a guy who is homeless and trying to get by and his needs are not great. He is a sentimentalist, not unlike the actual Chaplin, and believes in love and humanity which also makes both creator and character one of the great humanists of cinema. "The Circus" has such a deeply melancholic yet upbeat finish that I am almost ready to say it rivals his "Modern Times" or "City Lights" but I am not sure - it is certainly his finest and funniest achievement during the silent film era.
Right from the start of this rollicking comedy, the Little Tramp is already causing a ruckus. He inadvertently finds himself the butt of all jokes at a traveling show circus where he's chased by the police and a pony! The audience is doubled over with laughter especially in a priceless gag (an old one but it stands repeating if it is done well) where the cop and the Tramp are on a revolving platform yet neither can move very far. There's also the Tramp eating a hot dog belonging to a child, the hall of mirrors gag and the terrifically timed gag where Chaplin pretends to be an automaton (it is so good that I can see myself being fooled by this as well). This whole opening sequence occurs like a comic maze of epic funny gags because the Tramp is wrongfully accused of being a pickpocket, and all this is in the first 14 minutes!
The rest of "The Circus" has Chaplin as the new comic wonder of the circus, easily making the seasoned clowns look like amateurs. Of course, the Tramp is no seasoned comic or clown - it is all pure happenstance and the joke is that he cannot summon laughter by studying the clowns' routines like the William Tell bit involving an apple. The Tramp eats the apple and angers the circus owner (Allan Garcia) immensely since the little guy cannot do the routines and has no comic timing. Of course, love is around the corner when the Little Tramp falls for the owner's own stepdaughter, Merna (Merna Kennedy), an acrobat who sometimes fails to receive applause and has to be punished by not being fed by her mean stepfather. Merna likes the Tramp but then there's the handsome tightrope walker who steals her looks.
"The Circus" is simply a wonderful, sprightly and delectably made romantic comedy with unbelievable stunts and scenes of impending terror that will have you grabbing your seat. The tightrope walking moment with Chaplin and a couple of intrusive monkeys on him will be enough to make you fall out of your chair laughing and terrified as well. A lion cage scene has to be seen to be believed, and all this is further proof that Chaplin has better comic timing than the Tramp himself. The last image of Chaplin doing his famous awkward walk to the sunset after giving up his love for Merna and for any further circus misadventures is about as sad and lonely a moment you will find in most silent cinema. I loved him for being that selfless and for Chaplin to have given us such a glowing comic creation and persona in so many films. Bravo!
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