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Charlie Chaplin vs. America
Charlie Chaplin vs. America: When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided | Scott Eyman
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The remarkable, must-read story of Charlie Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career, from bestselling biographer Scott Eyman. Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin’s fall from grace. In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold. Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs. In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the US from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London In Charlie Chaplin vs. America, bestselling author Scott Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times. This is a perceptive, insightful portrait of Chaplin and of an America consumed by political turmoil.
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DavidDiamond
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Blacklisted actor Paul Robeson summed it up best in a letter he wrote to Charlie: "...fascists everywhere hated you for your anti-Nazi film, The Great Dictator. Well, Hitler and his gang are gone, but Chaplin and his art lives on! And your name will be honored --yes, here in America, too --long after McCarthy and his kind are buried in oblivion.".

Indeed.

CatLass007 I saw the great Avery Brooks off-Broadway as Paul Robeson. It was just him and his piano accompanist. What a wonderful show. I think it even had a limited run on Broadway. I should read this book about Chaplin. 3mo
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keithmalek
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keithmalek
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It was intrinsically absurd...until Donald Trump.

Patchshank The government was paranoid about everybody during the cold war. They investigated Lucille Ball and bunch of other celebrities as well. 5mo
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