Charlie Chaplin's Contribution To The Film

The earliest films were silent movies. One of the most iconic figure who played an important role in this stage of film producing is Charlie Chaplin. The legendary silent film comedian came up with his first film “Making a Living” in 1914. But people’s great impression on him only started when he built his trademark as the Little Tramp on the same year in the film “Kid Auto Races at Venice”. The man in a baggy pants, with his moustache, cane and top hat had became a classic character that was remembered by the people till this day. However, Charlie Chaplin’s contribution to the film industry was far beyond a comedian, he also contributed greatly to the development of silent films as a director, cinematographer and composer.

Then in 1927, the release of the first feature-length talkie “The Jazz Singer” by Warner Bros. and the director, Alan Crosland kicked off the era of sound films. The silent films before this were usually accompanied by live orchestras in the theatres or synchronized with musical scores which started in the 1900s. The Vitaphone (sound on disc) technology was previously used in “Don Juan”, a John Barrymore silent film, but this was the first time that a film had spoken dialogues and audio effects partially included in the filmstrip itself. It was then followed up by the Warners’ “Lights of New York” in 1928, which was the first all-talking feature-length film. This was a good start that successfully convinced the reluctant film-makers that the trend of