Charlie Chaplin was about to name minimize for the final time in 1966. The legend of the silent movie period and the person whose moustache spoke volumes with out uttering a phrase was about to direct his swan tune, A Countess from Hong Kong. For that, he wanted a person who may ooze attraction effortlessly, and so Chaplin went after Marlon Brando.
Why Marlon Brando Agreed To A Position That Made Him Nervous
For all his popularity as Hollywood’s brooding crown jewel, Brando couldn’t resist the provide. The thought of working with Chaplin, an idol from his childhood and a person he noticed as nothing wanting a comedic god, was too good to move up. “I figured he should know one thing I didn’t, that he thought I may add one thing to the image not obvious to me, and that I may assist him obtain it,” Brando later mentioned, per Far Out Journal.
Nonetheless, this wasn’t On the Waterfront, and it certain wasn’t Streetcar. This was a romantic comedy, and Brando, by his personal admission, didn’t assume he had the humorous bone for it. Actually, the very thought of entering into comedian sneakers made him nervous. He even advised Chaplin that he is perhaps the incorrect man for the half, however Chaplin didn’t flinch. He insisted, and finally, Brando signed on.
Marlon Brando and Charlie Chaplin pic.twitter.com/ATYBIHcFgq
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Charlie Chaplin Needed Different Stars First However Marlon Brando Stated Sure
The Godfather star may need hesitated a bit extra earlier than saying sure, had he recognized that the half had first been provided to Cary Grant and Rex Harrison. However reverence is a robust drug, and Chaplin’s shadow was lengthy. Brando believed, or reasonably, he needed to imagine in Chaplin, and because of this, he walked onto the set anticipating a heat, twinkly-eyed maestro able to information him by way of the rhythms of comedy.
Marlon Brando Meets The Actual Charlie Chaplin
Sadly, what Brando met was far totally different from what he had anticipated. In actuality, what the Hollywood star bought was truly a tyrant. In accordance with Brando, Chaplin wasn’t simply demanding, he was “fearsomely merciless,” “an egotistical penny-pincher,” and, most shockingly of all, “essentially the most sadistic man I’d ever met,” based on Far Out Journal.
On the centre of the stress was Chaplin’s therapy of his personal son, Sydney, who performed a supporting function within the movie. Brando was appalled, however nothing in comparison with the day he confirmed up on set quarter-hour late. Sure, simply quarter-hour. What adopted was, in Brando’s phrases, “essentially the most embarrassing incident he’d ever been put by way of on a film set.”
Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren and Charlie Chaplin on the set of A Countess from Hong Kong. pic.twitter.com/A5lcyb59rR
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Charlie Chaplin Publicly Humiliated Marlon Brando
Chaplin reportedly tore into Brando in entrance of your entire forged and crew. “In entrance of the entire forged, Chaplin berated me, embarrassing me, telling me that I had no sense {of professional} ethics and that I used to be a shame to my career,” the actor revealed. Whereas your entire room stood nonetheless in the course of the occasion, Brando burned in silence.
With fury simmering just below the floor, he appeared Chaplin lifeless within the eye. “Mr Chaplin,” he mentioned by way of clenched tooth, “I’ll be in my dressing room for 20 minutes. In the event you give me an apology inside that point, I’ll contemplate not getting on a aircraft and returning to the US. However I’ll be there solely 20 minutes.” And with that, he turned and walked away.
Charlie Chaplin Apologized However The Harm Was Performed
Chaplin did apologize to Marlon Brando, and the movie was accomplished, however the magic was already passed by that point. What ought to have been a gathering of two icons grew to become a cautionary story about the price of idol worship and the perils of crossing creative legends.
Years later, Brando’s reflections weren’t in regards to the comedy, efficiency, or movie itself. They have been about disappointment and about discovering that even geniuses have darkish sides. “The best genius that the medium has ever produced,” he mentioned, “was a combined bag, identical to all of us.” A Countess from Hong Kong might have been Chaplin’s closing movie, however for Brando, it marked the top of a sure sort of innocence.
For extra such tales, try Hollywood Information.
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