Charlie Chaplin at War

Charlie Chaplin Raising War Funding in The Bond

Charles Spencer Chaplin (1989-1977)  came from a show business family. Charlie was thrown on his own resources before he reached the age of ten as the early death of his father and the subsequent illness of his mother made it necessary for Charlie and his brother, Sydney, to fend for themselves.   He was a relatively unknown British stage performer in British music halls when he first arrived in America in 1910 with Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe. Quickly, American film producer Max Sennett spotted him as a promising talent and offered him a job. By late-1913 his vaudeville contract commitments had be met and he signed with Sennett's Keystone Studios.

On the Way to America, Charlie in the Life Preserver

When World War I broke out in August 1914, Charlie Chaplin was still considered a  newcomer at Sennett's operation in California. He had just started his film career a few months prior as he was actively developing his iconic "Little Tramp" persona. The tramp had first appeared in Kid Auto Races at Venice in February 1914. He was an immediate star in America, but distribution of his films to Europe was stalled by the outbreak of war. By 1915, however, his meteoric rise to global fame was well on its way. Before the war's end, he would be operating his own studio.

First Appearance of the Little Tramp, 1914

As a British subject, Charlie Chaplin faced intense public pressure to enlist from his home country and began receiving white feathers, symbolizing cowardice for not fighting. When Great Britain initiated conscription in early 1916, the military did not choose to call him up.  When America entered the war and began its own draft, Charlie dutifully registered, reported for a physical, and was declined on the basis of being underweight. Nonetheless, he faced criticism from factions in both countries—led in England  by the relentlessly jingoistic press of Lord Northcliffe—for the duration of the war and afterwards. None of which came from serving troops, who loved his films. Meanwhile, Charlie fully committed his reputation and enormous show biz skills to supporting the war effort.

At a Bond Rally in Washington DC, April 1918

Most notably, he produced films and made public appearances in support of the Liberty Bonds program with a strong patriotic themes.  His one contribution that could be labeled as propaganda was a short film titled The Bond. More remembered, is his comedic classic Shoulder Arms, in which Charlie—as his tramp character—joins the AEF and survives boot camp, the army bureaucracy, and the Kaiser and his army. It proved to be his most popular film to date with the returning Doughboys among its biggest fans. His numerous war-supporting public appearances peaked in April 1918.  Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Fairbanks dedicated the month to traveling by train across the United States to sell Liberty Bonds.  On 8–9 April 1918, they appeared on Wall Street  outside the Sub-Treasury Building (now Federal Hall), drawing a historic crowd of over 20,000 people.

Shoulder Arms Made Charlie a Millionaire

Post-Armistice, Chaplin had overcome the smear campaign with the white feathers over his war service. Especially in the United States, his cinematic work and relentless war bond fundraising buried the earlier criticism.  For the next half-century, however, controversies of a different sort would follow him.  These included high-profile marriages to teenage girls, explosive divorce trials with shocking allegations, a messy paternity suit, and political targeting for his pro-Soviet and Communist advocacy that led to his forced exile from the United States. While on a 1952 sea voyage, he received word that his re-entry permit into the United States had been revoked. He settled in Switzerland for the remainder of his days and died in 1977 on Christmas Day.

Sources:  War History Online; Charliechaplin.com; History.com; Internet Movie Database