The Tramp
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The Tramp was Charlie Chaplin's most memorable on-screen character.
The Tramp was a bumbling but good-hearted character who is most famous as a vagrant who endeavoured to behave with the manners and dignity of a gentleman despite his actual social status. However, while he was ready to take what paying work that is available; he also used his cunning to get what he needed to survive and escape the authority figures who would not tolerate it.
The tramp debuted during the silent film era in the Keystone comedy Kid Auto Races at Venice (released on February 7, 1914). Chaplin continued using this character well into the sound era. Although Chaplin officially retired this character in the film Modern Times (released February 5, 1936), he used a similar looking character in The Great Dictator (released October 15, 1940). Chaplin summed up the image of the character in an interview in 1933 as such: "A hotel set was built for Mabel Normand’s picture and I was hurriedly told to put on a funny make-up. This time I went to the wardrobe and got a pair of baggy pants, a tight coat, a small derby hat and a large pair of shoes. I wanted the clothes to be a mass of contradictions, knowing pictorially the figure would be vividly outlined on the screen. To add a comic touch, I wore a small mustache which would not hide my expression. My appearance got an enthusiastic response from everyone, including Mr.Sennet. The clothes seemed to imbue me with the spirit of the character . He actually became a man with a soul - a point of view. I defined to Mr Sennet the type of person he was. "He wears an air of romantic hunger, forever seeking romance, but his feet won’t let him."
The Short Film
The Tramp is also a short film starring Charlie Chaplin as the titular main character. In the film, a hobo exchanges the Tramp's sandwich for a brick so the Tramp must eat grass. The same hobo later bothers a farmer's daughter, and the Tramp comes to her aid with the help of the brick. When two more hobos show up, the Tramp throws all three into a lake. The grateful girl takes the Tramp home, where he fails as a farmhand. He again helps drive off the hobos (who are now trying to break into the house). The girl's fiancé arrives. Though a hero, Charlie, knowing he must go, writes a farewell note and leaves again for the open road.
The film also stars Edna Purviance, Lloyd Bacon, and Leo White.
The Tramp was released on April 11, 1915 through Essanay Studios.
See also
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