In all honesty didn't expect to be as engrossed by Chaplin's silent film The Circus (1928) as much I actually ended up being. In fact, I believe that it would have not had been as engrossing as it was had there been dialogue present. This is because of the movie's rather romantic leaning, but here audience is spared the endless romantic dribble of a character in love. Instead the movie was able to move constantly forward spurred purely by Chaplin's exaggerated facial and body expressions. The movie also works without sound because Chaplin's "Tramp" character would probably come across as a bit of an imbecile with sound, rather than naive with all of his accidental high-jinks and follies. It is this naive innocence that makes the Tramp so likable, and when he losses Merna at the end, Chaplin's face and defeated body language do more justice to the sad moment than any dialogue with him lamenting her loss could have. The Circus is an altogether enjoyable piece whose rather predictable story-line is kept fresh with Chaplin's charismatic antics.
Review of The Circus
