Limelight (1952)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Tears of a Clown

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Limelight on DVD

To casual viewers, Charles Chaplin's Limelight may appear overly sentimental and not very funny, but a deeper look reveals it to be one of the comedian's most revelatory works. It's Chaplin's most personal and painful film, and the only film to show his onscreen death. He plays an aging clown named Calvero who has taken to the bottle. In his building he discovers a beautiful dancer (Bloom) who has tried to commit suicide. He nurses her back to health and convinces her to dance again. She's fallen in love with him, but Calvero knows in his heart that she belonged with the young composer Neville (Sydney Chaplin). The film features several on-stage set pieces, such as the flea circus and a memorable teaming of Chaplin and his colleague/rival Buster Keaton. One of the finest aspects of Limelight has to be Chaplin's heartbreaking score, which won an Oscar the year it became eligible, in 1972.

DVD Details: Warner Home Video re-released Limelight in 2003 on a two-disc set. Bonuses include the entire 60-minute soundtrack, stills, posters, a short documentary featuring Bernardo Bertolucci, a deleted scene and more.

Starring: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton, Sydney Chaplin, Norman Lloyd, Marjorie Bennett
Written by: Charles Chaplin
Directed by: Charles Chaplin
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 132 minutes
Date: July 1, 2003