The Circus

(Charles Chaplin, US 1928, 71 min., 35mm)

Dryden Kids. By the time he released The Circus, Chaplin cut so imposing a figure that a special Academy Award was accorded to him to ensure he didn’t sweep the first ceremony. The Circus is perhaps Chaplin’s loveliest and most effortless feature. Its modest story involves the Tramp joining a circus, falling in love with bareback rider Merna Kennedy, and learning when to step aside, with lots of genuinely dangerous stunts and animal encounters along the way.