The Circus (1928)

Starring: Charlie Chaplin
Grade: B

The Circus may have been one of the earliest depictions of the friend zone in cinema history.

Summary

At a local circus, we see pieces of a wonderful show with everything you would expect. Once horse rider Merna (Merna Kennedy) is finished with her performance and walks off, her stepfather and the Ringmaster (Al Ernest Garcia) angrily approaches her over how she missed the hoop again. Tearing up, Merna swears she couldn’t help it, but he angrily throws her down. Because of her failure, he tells her that she’s not eating tonight. The clowns finish their part of the performance and walk over, but the Ringmaster looks at them in disgust. He can’t believe these guys are supposed to be considered “funny” and points out how empty the show is. He continues to lay into them while they sit down in sadness. Then, he leaves.

Around the side shows hungry and broke, The Tramp (Chaplin) walks over to a crowd outside to see what’s going on. A pickpocket (Steve Murphy) next to him steals another guy’s wallet. When the guy turns to the pickpocket, the pickpocket puts the wallet in the Tramp’s pants pocket. The guy accosts the pickpocket and searches him, not finding anything. So, the pickpocket acts like he’s mad at the guy for accusing him and walks away. The Tramp turns to leave, so the pickpocket follows him to get the wallet back. He hides once the Tramp goes by a food stand and looks around. A man holding a baby starts talking to another guy, and the baby faces the Tramp while holding a hamburger. Seeing his opportunity, the Tramp makes funny faces at the baby before taking a bite out of the hamburger. Since no one notices, he puts some ketchup on it and bites it again while the baby holds it. The baby holds it closer for him, so he takes a couple of more bites before the father turns around to see the Tramp. He stops chewing and just uses the baby’s bib to wipe its mouth. The father doesn’t think anything of it and turns back around. The Tramp turns around, and the pickpocket tries to reach in his pants pocket to get the wallet. Before he can get it though, a cop shows up, stops the pickpocket, and hands the wallet back to the Tramp. The Tramp is in shock seeing it, and the cop asks him to count it to see if it’s all there. The Tramp counts it and nods, taking the wallet for himself. After the cop takes the pickpocket away, the Tramp orders a load of hotdogs. At the same time, the pickpocket is able to escape the cop and runs off. The old man who had his wallet stolen comes over to the food stand and sees the Tramp use his wallet, so he grabs him and gets another cop’s attention. Realizing he’s screwed, the Tramp starts running and the cop follows in pursuit. Running away, the pickpocket ends up right beside him running from the first cop. The Tramp tips his hat to him and takes a right.

The Tramp runs into a funhouse and gets caught up in the mirror maze. The pickpocket climbs into the funhouse from the open window frame and finds himself in the mirror room too. He sees the Tramp and immediately demands the money. The pickpocket tries to grab him, but the mirror confuses the both of them as they run around the room. Eventually, the Tramp escapes.

He sees the one cop on the walkway inside the funhouse, so he makes way for the exit before he can be seen. Since the other cop is waiting by the entrance but facing the crowd, the Tramp makes the decision to act like one of the animatronic people outside of the funhouse, mimicking their movements to act as if he’s part of the attraction. The other cop exits the funhouse to look around but just sees the other cop, so he goes back inside. The Tramp almost makes a run for it, but the cop by the entrance turns around. So, he goes right back to acting like the animatronic figure. The pickpocket runs out of the funhouse and tries to grab the Tramp, but the Tramp points out the cop below. As soon as the cop turns, they both act like animatronic figures, with the Tramp hitting the pickpocket on the head, him waddling, and the Tramp acting like he’s laughing. The cop stares at the two intently, and the other two cops exit the funhouse in the middle of this. Since the Tramp is actually hitting the pickpocket on the head, the pickpocket finally just falls to the ground, and it ruins the ruse. One cop grabs the pickpocket from the ground, but the Tramp runs back into the mirror maze. The other cops follow the Tramp in. The cop finally grabs the Tramp, but he can’t figure out how to get out of there. He even asks the Tramp, but he plays coy. As the cop feels around the mirrors for the exit, he sees the Tramp looking to escape, so they chase each other around again until the Tramp runs out of there. At the circus, the crowd is bored with the clown act at the show. Some are even seen yawning. Just then, the Tramp frantically runs in and gets on to the spinning top the clowns were falling off of, and the cop chases him onto it. The crowd begins to erupt at the sight of it. The Tramp goes all the way around and stations himself behind the cop as they both run. Seeing the crowd react, the Tramp uses his cane to hold onto the cop’s shoulder and looks at his pocket watch as if he’s bored while they run.

Eventually, the Tramp trips, spins around the top, and subsequently trips the cop to make him fall off the structure. The Ringmaster comes over to yell at the cop. Still lying on the spinning top, the Tramp accidentally kicks the Ringmaster into the cop to make them both fall. Using this opportunity, the Tramp gets off and runs away, with the two following. The crowd erupts in cheers and applause because they think it’s all part of the show. To the side, the Ringmaster starts yelling at the cop while the backstage hands bring out the sets for the magician (George Davis). The magician watches the argument until the Ringmaster yells at him to go out there. For his act, the magician has his female partner sit on a chair, and he covers her with a sheet. He then unveils the sheet to show she disappeared. He goes over to the human-sized box to present her to the audience, but when he opens it, a confused Tramp pops out. Below him is the woman. The crowd goes crazy for it, but the magician flips out. The Tramp goes back into the box, and the magician closes the door on him. The magician taps on the box and reopens the door, but no one is inside. The Tramp shows up on the chair and under the sheet, and the crowd laughs and cheers even harder. At this point, the Ringmaster and the cop are alerted to the Tramp’s presence on stage. The Tramp sees them and puts the sheet back over his body. The cop runs to the stage and hits the sheet with a bat, but this time it’s the woman who has reappeared and she yells at the cop. Just then, the Tramp reemerges from the box and makes a run for it. When he does, he pushes the door open hard enough to smack the magician in the face. As the Tramp runs, the magician is knocked loopy and falls off the stage. The crowd continues to cheer, as the Tramp runs around the stage setup being chased before exiting. He loses the cop by the entrance outside, just as the other cop shows up with the pickpocket. Not wanting anymore trouble, the Tramp hands that cop the wallet, tips his hat, and leaves.

To try and get a rest, the Tramp sits on a small carriage, but it plops to the ground when he puts his weight on it because he sat on it the wrong way.

Back inside the circus, the clowns try to get back on with the show, but the crowd hates them. One even asks, “Where’s the funny man?”. They practically demand it, and they all rally together to chant for him. The Ringmaster sees this. Outside, the Tramp is sleeping in that carriage. During mealtime after the show, Merna sits outside of her trailer. The clowns offer her food, but she declines because the Ringmaster said she can’t. The clown insists and hands her his plate, but the Ringmaster shows up just in time to see this. He yells at the clown, snatches the plate from Merna, and puts it back on the table, telling the clown to eat it. The Ringmaster walks around and sees the carriage, so he tells two stagehands to put it away. Once they start dragging it, the Tramp wakes up and makes eye contact with the Ringmaster. The Ringmaster grabs the Tramp before he can escape and asks if he wants a job. The Tramp does, so the Ringmaster tells him to be there in the morning, and they will try him out. The next morning, the Tramp is outside where all the trailers are for the performers. He sets up a little campfire for himself, makes coffee out of a tin can, and uses sugar in his pocket to mix into it. He sees a chicken walk by, so he follows it and picks up an egg it hatches on the spot. He puts it in the tin and pulls out a piece of bread before leaving to grab more wood. A hungry Merna steps out of her trailer and spots the bread. She goes right over and starts eating it. The Tramp comes back, grabs it, and starts yelling at her. As he does, he falls backwards onto the fire and knocks the coffee over. He puts it back on the fire but looks at Merna angrily. Once he cools down, he has her sit next to him and he gives her half of the bread slice. She starts eating it rapidly, but he stops her and tells her to slow down. Just as he goes to eat his piece, she’s already finished hers. He starts getting hiccups, so he gives Merna his slice. He goes over to sit by himself, but Merna follows him and tries to give him the slice back. He declines it and tells her to go home, so she reveals she actually lives there.

He guesses if she’s the sword swallower, but she tells him she’s the horse rider. The conversation gets friendlier from there, but it’s interrupted by the Ringmaster. He shows up, takes the bread out of her hand, throws it on the ground, and slaps her in the face. Once she leaves, he goes to shake the Tramp’s hand and the Tramp flinches. They shake hands, and the Ringmaster leads him to the tent. Before he goes though, the Tramp stops to grab his cane. He grabs it, but he also grabs the egg from the tin can and gives it to Merna, which she accepts. Next, the Ringmaster and all the performers sit in the tent to watch the Tramp’s tryout. The direction he’s given is, “Go ahead and be funny”. The Tramp tries his best, but he’s not sure what to do. He walks around in a goofy manner and tries to dance a little bit, but he doesn’t have much to give. The Ringmaster calls it awful. He tells two clowns to perform the “William Tell” act, and he tells the Tramp to watch it and see if he can do it. The Tramp nods, and they both go to sit down. However, the Tramp grabs the Ringmaster’s chair without realizing it, and the Ringmaster falls down as the Tramp sits. The Ringmaster grabs the chair from him and has the Tramp sit in the other chair. They then watch the William Tell act. It’s where one clown has a bow and arrow and has the other clown stand away from him with an apple on his head because he’s going to shoot it with the arrow. While the one clown readies himself, the other grabs the apple from his head, takes a bite out of it, and puts it back on top of his head. The one clown sees it while he’s aiming and goes over to him. Funnily enough, he takes a bite out of the apple too. When he goes back to his spot to aim, the one clown finishes off the apple. By the time the clown turns, he runs over and starts yelling at the other clown because he doesn’t have a target now. The Tramp laughs at it but stops laughing when the Ringmaster looks at him. He tells the Tramp to try it next.

The clown with the bow and arrow tries to give the Tramp a quick briefing on what to do, and then he restarts from the beginning. The Tramp just smiles, confused. The clown yells at him to get into position, so he runs over to the spot, trips, and falls backward. He gets up and goes to the spot. The clown pulls out the apple for him and has to yell to remind him to take a bite out of it. The Tramp does but is disgusted by the taste and spits it out. After he chucks the apple to the side, the clown pulls out another, but he refuses it. Instead, the Tramp pulls out a banana, takes a bite, and lays it on his head. The clown has had enough of the Tramp, so the Ringmaster stops everything. He tells three other clowns to do the “Barbershop” act instead. The Tramp sits in his chair again and doesn’t realize it. Thankfully, he’s able to put it back in position just as the Ringmaster sits down. He sits next to him and is told to watch. In the act, two clowns are barbers, and they both try to convince the other clown to sit in their respective chair for the haircut. Finally, the clown chooses one guy and gives him his hat and cane to hang up. The barber happily accepts it. When he goes to hang it up, the other barber convinces the guy to sit in his chair instead. The barber turns to see the guy in the other chair and tries to convince him to come back, but he refuses. The other barber starts putting shaving cream on the guy, so the main barber uses his shaving cream to blind the other barber. Then, he grabs the guy and sits him on his chair, putting more shaving cream on the guy’s face. The other barber starts putting shaving cream on the main barber’s face, and he gives it right back to him. This goes on for a while. The Tramp is laughing even harder at this one. Now, it’s time for the Tramp to try it. He is given the role of the main barber, and they go from the top. He actually does this one right for the most part, but when it comes time for him to take the shaving cream to the face to fight with the other clown, he dodges it instinctively. The clown tries to explain how he’s supposed to get hit next, and the Tramp agrees. However, when the clown goes for the move again, the Tramp dodges it again.

Once the Ringmaster reiterates the instructions to take the hit, the Tramp finally does. He’s covered in shaving cream by the end.

He’s supposed to retaliate with the shaving cream to the clown, but he forgets this part too. Once the Ringmaster reminds him, the temporarily blinded Tramp swings for the fences with his brush but the clown is sitting down, so he misses every shot he takes. Finally, the clown stands up from the chair and tries to grab the Tramp to show him where he’s at. The Tramp reaches down to get more shaving cream onto his brush just as the Ringmaster angrily walks over and pushes the clown out of the way. He’s standing where the clown is supposed to be, so the Tramp blindly slaps the Ringmaster with the shaving cream. The Ringmaster tries to wipe his face off. When he does, he kicks the Tramp in the ass, and the Tramp swings his hands back, accidentally hitting the Ringmaster in the face with more of the shaving cream. The Tramp takes the shaving cream off his face so he can see, and he turns to see the furious Ringmaster. The Ringmaster kicks him in the ass again and starts yelling at him, but the Tramp stops him. He throws down the brush and reminds him that they haven’t talked terms yet. This enrages the Ringmaster who throws a chair at him. He throws over the Tramp’s hat and cane as well and tells him to get out and stay out. Turning, the Ringmaster yells at everyone to get back to work. The Tramp goes outside but is immediately chased by a horse, so he runs back into the tent trying to elude it. He runs back outside and stops near the horse’s handler who yells at the Tramp before going after the horse himself. Merna exits her trailer and sees the Tramp with all the shaving cream still on him. He doesn’t even realize he has it on until she points it out. They laugh, and he washes his face off in a bucket of water. She gets him a towel to dry off his face before they are interrupted by one of the workers who tells everyone the show is starting. Merna asks if he’s coming, but he explains how he’s not because they didn’t come to terms. After the worker comes out to rush Merna, she tells the Tramp goodbye and thanks him for the egg. He considers going after her, but the horse reappears and chases him away.

At the show, the Ringmaster has an argument with the property men because they want their back pay. The Ringmaster refuses and storms off. A bigger worker comes over and demands they go to work, but all four quit. Meanwhile, the Tramp looks through a hole in the tent and sees Merna getting ready for her performance. The worker follows the four property men and punches the leader out. The other three run away. All of this happens right next to where the Tramp is standing, but he didn’t see any of it because he’s still looking through the hole. Meanwhile, the worker storms off. The Tramp turns and sees the leader of the property man knocked out on the ground, so he pulls his body over and steps on him to see better through the hole in the tent. He sees the Ringmaster angrily storm into his sightline, as Merna runs off. The worker tells the Ringmaster to just get anyone to replace the property men. The worker finds the Tramp and offers him a job. He accepts, so the worker just drags him into the tent and tells him to grab this huge stack of plates to bring out. He grabs the plates but drops a few. Bending over to pick them up, he sees the horse that chased him earlier, so he starts running with the plates into the center of the show. The crowd thinks he’s part of the show and start laughing as he runs in, drops the plates, and trips over the barrier and into the crowd. He gets up, and the worker grabs and pushes him. Accidentally, the Tramp falls into a barrel placed there, and the crowd continues to erupt in laughter. The worker gets him out of there and sends him away. On the way out, the Tramp runs into the magician, and they just look at each other. The worker goes over to help the Tramp lift the table the magician is going to use. Knowing the Tramp’s tendency to screw things up, the magician tells him to not press the button on the table. The Tramp acknowledges it. He helps the worker bring the table over to the center of the show. Once they plant the table there, the Tramp stumbles and falls into the other barrel placed there. The worker helps him out of it and tells him to move the table into position.

Once the Tramp does, he accidentally presses the button and another hat comes out of the table as a prop, doves fly out of the hat along with a pig, and a bunch of balloons come out of the other.

Ducks start coming out of the hats and so does another pig, and the Tramp puts the pig in the opposite hat. The crowd is loving it, but it completely ruins the magician’s act. More animals come out of the prop table through the hats, and the Tramp runs out of ideas and just starts accepting the applause. The magician is furious and complains to the Ringmaster who finally sees what’s happening, as all the other performers come to watch. As this happens, the horse comes back, and the Tramp falls over the table trying to avoid it. This reveals the worker under the table that is helping with the animal trick, and all the hidden animals are let loose as a result. The worker yells at the Tramp and goes over to the Ringmaster to complain. All the other performers are laughing watching the Tramp. The Ringmaster realizes what’s happening. He comments to the worker that the Tramp is a sensation, and he doesn’t even know it. He wants to keep the Tramp on as a property man. Due to this decision, the circus begins to prosper. However, the Tramp won’t and neither will Merna. Sometime later, the Tramp sees Merna practicing on the rings and wants to give her some food. He is about to toss it up to her while she hangs in the air, but the Ringmaster shows up. So, he just acts like he’s juggling all the food. The bigger worker shows up to speak with the Ringmaster in the middle of this, which allows the Tramp to send up food one by one to Merna for her to hide in her shirt. The last one is a pie, but she bobbles it and it falls on the worker’s head while he’s talking. The Ringmaster looks up and blames Merna, but the Tramp tells him that it was actually a bird that came by and shit on him. The Ringmaster sends the Tramp away in anger. The Ringmaster turns to the bigger worker and tells him to keep the Tramp busy and to make sure he doesn’t let him know that he’s the hit of the show. He knows that if the Tramp finds out, things are going to have to change.

However, it won’t be long before the Tramp starts to realize his worth.

My Thoughts:

Of all the feature-length films centered around Charlie Chaplin’s world famous “Tramp” character, The Circus is the weakest outing.

In an effort to be more of a broad, simplistic comedy to include all ages, it does succeed in many of ways. Nevertheless, it has a lot less substance than other Tramp films, is nowhere near as dramatic, and there are periods that can drag if the viewer grows tired of circus hijinks. Either way, Chaplin still does great comedic work as the protagonist, going from a poor novice looking to make a buck to a success story looking for love, and later, ultimately finding out that he may not even be the main character of his own story, at least this one. This isn’t an indictment on the screenplay at all. It’s rather a retrospective review that sees the genius beneath the surface of The Circus. Amidst the amusing antics of the Tramp navigating his way through this prison camp-like circus run by the tyrannical Ringmaster, the Tramp finding his way into Merna’s life is built up as mere happenstance, but we find out that it happened for a reason. Playing off the sweet nature of the Tramp and how genuine and caring of a character he is in a cold-hearted world, a common theme in Chaplin’s features as the cinematic icon, the Tramp literally runs into the entertainment sphere and becomes an inadvertent clown due to his own clumsiness and confusion. He was never seeking this life, but he found himself directly in the center of it. Despite the success of the circus moving forward predicating on his talents however, the Tramp doesn’t lose himself as he rises up the ranks. Sure, he gains a bit of an ego, but it’s only with the Ringmaster, a man who withholds food from his own daughter because her performance wasn’t up to par. As soon as he realizes his worth due to Merna’s encouragement and how they need the Tramp more than he needs them, he lets the Ringmaster know he’s willing to walk, using his cache as a way to stop the Ringmaster from physically striking Merna any further. Once they agree to terms, work life gets significantly easier for the Tramp and Merna, and the Ringmaster even makes sure the Tramp is treated better backstage, telling a worker not to throw the Tramp’s things.

Even if things are looking up though, the Tramp doesn’t let the success get to his head. He just gets what he earned, and he uses it to help Merna in the process. It’s a good move on the narrative’s part and fitting of the lovable protagonist, avoiding a “tragic downfall” direction of the story that could have had the Tramp becoming an egomaniacal star of the show for the second half of the movie in an effort to make a Lon Chaney-like tragedy. Moving the story along, love begins to blossom, as is the usual with a Tramp film. What made the Tramp hang around in the first place was Merna. It’s the reason he stuck around after he failed his tryout as a clown, peeping through the hole of the tent to see her performance. Without either realizing it, the Tramp’s insertion into this circus was fate. Just like it happens in real life though, the Tramp misunderstands his role here too. The Tramp’s easygoing friendship with Merna and how they relate to each other’s struggles coinciding with his instant success as a top act evolves into love on the Tramp’s end. He begins to fall for Merna, seeing his value rise as a way to win her over. It’s suppressed initially, but after he overhears Merna’s sit-down with the fortune teller detail how she sees “love and marriage with a dark, handsome man who is near you now”, the Tramp assumes this has to be referring to him. You can’t blame him either, considering how much time they spend with each other and have such a close friendship. He’s the only man Merna regularly interacts with and the “near you now” part of her description is practically a confirmation. Hearing this, the Tramp lets it all out and excitedly dances around, hilariously kicking a clown in his room and throwing stuff at him for no reason. After he dances outside of his private tent and he kicks the guy holding the rope of the curtains and the weight comes down and smacks him on top of the head, the Tramp yells at the worker until he sees Merna.

He smiles at her and can’t help but feel like everything in his life is on the upwards trajectory, going back to his tent to happily kick that clown again and spray him in the face. Following this, he sees that the clown is wearing a diamond ring, which is an insane thing for a clown to wear but he doesn’t seem surprised by it. Nevertheless, he offers $5 for it. Since the clown knows the Tramp well because he works with him, he knows it’s for Merna. They practically celebrate before the Tramp even goes out to pop the question. The Tramp has it made, but then Rex walks in. Once the tightrope walker enters the story, Merna feels the love at first sight. It confirms what the fortune teller said, but the viewer realizes those prophetic words spoken just weren’t meant for our protagonist. Seeing how deflated he is once he hears Merna tell the fortune teller that she’s fallen in love with the newly acquired “King of the Air” is tough because the Tramp has gone through so much during his rags-to-riches story. For a brief period, he thought he was about to have it all. He was so close. After bombing his performance that night because of his sullen state, he tries to work on becoming a tightrope walker thinking it can win Merna over. He knows Rex’s act after some time and continues to practice after hours, even if the Ringmaster has no interest in letting him be anything other than a clown. Then, Rex can’t be found one night. By the way, it is never explained as to what happened to him on this random day. It just happens. Even so, the Ringmaster makes the Tramp do Rex’s act in full, despite how little of experience he has. The Tramp pulls it off and almost dies doing it. Sadly, he still gets fired after finally having enough and beating up the Ringmaster after he sees the Ringmaster attack Merna again for simply existing. Still, the Tramp takes it in stride and moves out of there because he refuses to be a part of this mess anymore. It’s not until Merna runs away from the circus to find the Tramp at his campfire that he finds his purpose in all of this.

She’s willing to throw everything away to just follow the Tramp elsewhere, but it’s in this moment that he figures it out. This isn’t about him. The Tramp found himself navigating through these rather random series of events because he was the only one who could change these people’s lives for the better. He was placed there for a reason to help out this innocent woman live a better life due to his strong will, heart, and caring nature. They both deserve love, but the Tramp realizes that hers is Rex, and the time is now, taking the backseat and sneaking back to the circus to bring the two together. Does it probably hurt him in doing so? Yes, it would for most of us. However, the Tramp is a selfless man who cares for people more than most. Even if he’s in an unfortunate situation and doesn’t have a pot to piss in, he will do the right thing and help those in need. It’s what makes him one of the most endearing characters in all of cinema. He may have took the “L” in the end and lost out on love, but how can you lose when you know you did your absolute best and did the right thing in the end? You can’t, and that’s why the ending is as great as it is. It’s the best scene in the entire film. It’s bigger than the story itself, as it’s yet another beautiful metaphor overloaded with many interpretations that all fit its serene and optimistic nature. The surface level interpretation is just as eloquent as the others, with the Tramp sitting on his luggage and having this “Now what?” type of reaction while watching the circus move past him and leaving him all alone. It’s a striking image, reminding audiences how fast life can move and how such strong periods in one’s life may end in an instant. For Merna and Rex, his intervening may have made him the most impactful person in their lives, changing it forever. For the Tramp, it’s another day in the life. Calling back to the aforementioned point of the Tramp knowing he did the right thing, it’s only a slight moment of sadness and wonderment before he in fact realizes he did good.

Just as life moves on, so does he. With this, the Tramp kicks that crumbled-up paper and walks off optimistically into the distant sunset as if to say, “Well, off to the next adventure. We’ll get ’em next time”. It’s a poetic finale that makes The Circus timeless regardless of the final grade of the overall production. Despite all the slapstick and the protagonist going through plenty of near-death experiences, fights, and lost loves, he can still knock the dirt off his shoulder and trek along, welcoming the next chapter in his life because he knows his time will come and his efforts will not be for naught. It’s the type of storytelling that initially seems unsatisfactory due to the character’s outright goal, but the viewer suddenly realizes the reality of the situation in the closing moments. Sometimes, things don’t work out the way we initially visualized. Even so, that’s okay, as the finale still warms your heart because what was actually accomplished in the character arc is much stronger than the protagonist’s storyline desires. On top of that, others have even said that the ending works as a metaphor for Chaplin acknowledging the change in the film industry and how sound is on the verge of taking over cinema, leaving his silent clown in the dust. The parallels are evident from a historical standpoint and make the ending even more fruitful than it already is. Looking at it through this lens, the Tramp still being optimistic in his walk-off is almost as if Chaplin is winking to the audience and telling them that he’s going to be just fine.

Really, it’s genius no matter what way you look at it.

Though it’s quite interesting to look at it through this perspective, it’s a merely an interpretation that arguably gives The Circus more accreditation than it may deserve or noticed on a first-time watch with no context or research involved. Still, we’ve seen better out of Charlie Chaplin. The humor does have its moments, like the Tramp cleaning out the fishbowl and drying the fish or accidentally swallowing the horse pill when trying to blow it into the horse, and then subsequently getting chased by the horse into the lion cage where he’s nearly killed. Sequences like these, he’s able to milk well and garner quite the reaction, especially once the dog starts barking to wake up the sleeping lion, the Tramp trying to kick it away, and Merna passing out upon seeing what he got into. The follow-up of the lion not doing anything to him, so he gets cocky when Merna unlocks the door and goes over to the animal to look brave only to sprint as fast as humanly possible when it stands up was very funny. The other bit of the Tramp becoming jealous of Rex getting the attention of Merna and imagining himself beating the hell out of him in front of her was great too. Nevertheless, the narrative can drag, as it’s not as compelling as other Chaplin movies nor other circus-centered comedy-dramas of that era. As an all-around production, it’s just not as complete as some of Chaplin’s other films, though this isn’t entirely his fault. Being one of the biggest and most influential figures in film history, the bar is just insanely high for Chaplin’s works. When you see classics like City Lights, Modern Times, and The Gold Rush, it’s hard not to feel a little bit underwhelmed with The Circus. The only thing that may help your overall view of it is if you binge watch his movies and put The Circus second on your watch list following The Kid. Then, the progression of Chaplin’s artistry and storytelling ability would be appreciated much more in this context. If you watch it in-between The Gold Rush and City Lights like how it came out in reality though, it’s not even a question as to what movie is the outlier of the bunch.

Also, when you consider the fact Chaplin was still able to put on such a competent and consistently amusing story, despite his personal life being in shambles due to a bitter divorce with his second wife, his studio catching fire, his mom dying, and the IRS hunting him for unpaid taxes, he does deserve a lot of credit for his ability to multitask. Think about that the next time you get another assignment at work and have the audacity to complain.

The most underrated gag of the film had to have been the Tramp and the clown searching through Rex’s stuff to grab his clothes, and they open a chest where a monkey jumps out. The two looking at each other like, “What the hell was that?” was hysterical. They also get a lot of great mileage out of the Tramp attempting to fix the tightrope act by being attached to the harness. The chaos right before where he tries to hide it from Merna but inadvertent clapping, which is the signal he agreed on with the stagehand to lift him into the air, leading to him flopping all over the place and even being electrocuted was a great way to set up the screwball chaos that was about to follow. The act itself where the harness breaks and he panics as the monkeys all start messing with him at the same time was slapstick excellence. The closeup of the monkey sticking its tail in the Tramp’s mouth while he’s trying to focus on not falling to his death is wild too. The follow-up of the other monkey pulling down his pants and the trapeze swing hitting him in the head was very funny, even with the anxiousness rising in the viewer because of the margin for error being as small as it was. It’s quite like the one crowd member furiously eating popcorn during it. It’s arguably the second-best sequence of the film. Still, I’m not sure why the Ringmaster was visibly mad over the incident. The fact that the Tramp managed to ride that bike down and straight into a convenience store to knock over a worker was more impressive than anything Rex ever did.

Side note, the jealous Tramp laughing and clapping at Rex almost dying during his act was hilarious, as was his save when Merna saw him holding onto that poll in fear, so he slid down and flapped his arms like a bird as if it was a planned joke. Even with its imperfections, The Circus is good for a lot of laughs. That cannot be denied.

Even if it’s less intricate and not as funny as other classics from the legendary figure of the industry, The Circus is another enjoyable entry in Charlie Chaplin’s extensive catalogue of films. It won’t be your favorite, but there will be a smile on your face when it’s all said and done. Truthfully, that’s all we can really ask for.