Charlie Chaplin and A Woman of Paris: The Genesis of a Misunderstood Masterpiece

Description

Charlie Chaplin's A Woman of Paris (1923) was a groundbreaking film which was neither a simple recycling of Peggy Hopkins Joyce's story, nor quickly forgotten. Through heavily-documented "period research," this book lands several bombshells, including Paris is deeply rooted in Chaplin's previous films and his relationship with Edna Purviance, Paris was not rejected by heartland America, Chaplin did "romantic research" (especially with Pola Negri), and Paris' many ongoing influences have never been fully appreciated. These are just a few of the mistakes about Paris. Dedication Table of Contents Foreword • Anthony Slide Preface and Acknowledgments Prologue: Searching for an Artist’s Lost Shadow 1. Chaplin’s Biography Prior to A Woman of Paris: (A Darkly Farcical Perspective) (1889–1923) 2. “Chaplinitis”: The Initial Fame Factor and Early Chaplin Films with Tangential Ties to A Woman of Paris 3. The Messiah-like World War I Bond Tour: “Chaplinitis” in Overdrive 4. Further Glass Ceiling Breaking: The Precedent Shattering Dark Comedy Shoulder Arms (1918) 5. Edna Purviance: A Less Than “Sunnyside” (1919) March to The Kid (1921) and A Woman of Paris (1923) 6. More Revisionism: A Short Subject and The Kid (1921) Continue to Anticipate A Woman of Paris (1923) 7. The Kid (1921) More Than Fulfills the “Letter to a Genius” Opening to Chapter 6 8. Charlie Chaplin Goes to Europe (1921) 9. Continuing the Path to A Woman of Paris (1923): A Unique Literary Year and Two Seminal Shorter Works 10. Prologue to A Woman of Paris (1923): The Pilgrim (1923), and the Women Impacting Paris 11. Making A Woman of Paris (1923) and Its Response 12. Correcting More Errors About Both the 1923 Release and the 1970s Rebirth of A Woman of Paris Epilogue: A Woman of Paris (1923) and the United States of Amnesia Filmography Chapter Notes Bibliography Index