Limelight (1952)

Directed by

Charlie Chaplin

Genre

drama film, tragicomedy, musical film, comedy drama, melodrama

Country

United States

Runtime

2h 17m

Rated

G

Rating

7.9 of 10 from 596 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A washed-up comedian finds a suicidal young dancer and helps her recover her will to live. They navigate their struggles together in a world of performance and faded glory.

melancholicsentimentalbittersweetslow-pacedtenderpoignantnostalgictheatrical

What happens

Limelight is a 1952 American comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin, based on a novella by Chaplin titled Footlights. The score was composed by Chaplin and arranged by Ray Rasch. The film stars Chaplin as a washed-up comedian who saves a suicidal dancer, played by Claire Bloom, from killing herself, and both try to get through life. Additional roles are provided by Nigel Bruce, Sydney Earl Chaplin, Wheeler Dryden, and Norman Lloyd, with an appearance by Buster Keaton. In dance scenes, Bloom is doubled by Melissa Hayden. Upon the film's release, critics' reception was divided; it was heavily boycotted in the United States because of Chaplin's alleged communist sympathies, and failed commercially. However, the film was re-released in the United States in 1972, which included its first screening in Los Angeles. This allowed the two-decades-old film to be in contention for the 45th Academy Awards where Chaplin won his only competitive Oscar. Today, the film is sometimes regarded as one of Chaplin's best and most personal works, and has attained a cult following. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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