Charlie, a wandering tramp, becomes a circus handyman - soon the star of the show - and falls in love with the circus owner's stepdaughter.
Acting
Chaplin's face does what ten monologues couldn't.
Stunts
Real lion. Real tightrope. Real insanity.
Direction
He fired his entire cast mid-production. The result? Magic.
Director
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
A Tramp
Al Ernest Garcia
The Circus Proprietor and Ring Master
Merna Kennedy
The Proprietor's Step-Daughter Merna, a Circus Rider
Harry Crocker
Rex, a Tight Rope Walker
George Davis
A Magician
Henry Bergman
An Old Clown
Tiny Sandford
The Head Property Man
John Rand
An Assistant Property Man
Steve Murphy
A Pickpocket
Albert Austin
Clown (uncredited)
Chester A. Bachman
Cop (uncredited)
Stanley Blystone
Cop (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin
Clown (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Chaplin shot 500,000 feet of film — roughly 70 hours — for a 72-minute movie. The studio almost killed him.
This won Chaplin his only competitive Oscar, but they gave it at the 1929 ceremony for 'versatility and genius' — not specifically for this film.
US
