Pt. One. To the top: 1. Chaplin, the early films, and the rise to stardom: The rough edged diamond: Charlie at Keystone
"Chaplinitis": Charlie at Essanay
The genteel traditions and the "vulgar" Charlie
Romance ant pathos: the "refining" of Charlie
2. The Perils of popularity: Chaplin's star image in the mutual period
The further "refining" of Charlie
The first marriage and divorce
Troubles at First National
Pt. Two. At the top. Charlie and the 1920's: 3. From The Kid to The Gold Rush: Finishing up at First National
Interviews and writings in the early 1920's
Branching out: A Woman of Paris
Creating an epic: The Gold Rush
Cultivating the intelligentsia
4. Struggling through the twenties: Chaplin and Lita Grey
Mixed reviews: the press and the second divorce
The burdens of being funny: The Circus
Charlie and the threat of the talkies
Farewell to the twenties: City Lights
Pt. Three. The challenge of progressive politics: 5. The Depression, the world tour, and Modern Times: A comedian sees
Critics, artists, and depression America
Chaplin's public politics before 1936
Modern Times: Production, publicity, and promotion
Modern Times: Political ambiguity and critical response
6. The Popular Front, The Great Dictator, and the Second Front, 1936-1942: The Popular Front and American antifascism
The Great Dictator: Preparation, production, and promotion
The Great Dictator and the aesthetic contract
Critical, national, and international reaction to The Great Dictator
Chaplin and the Second Front.
Pt. Four. Unraveling: 7. Joan Barry, the press, and the tarnished image: The affair
Chaplin, Barry, and the courts
Chaplin, Barry, and the gossip columnists
The press and the Barry-Chaplin story
8. Monsieur Verdoux and the Cold War: Irreconcilable differences: The Hollywood emigrees
The cooling of progressivism in early postwar America
Lashing out: Monsieur Verdoux
Monsieur Verdoux: Initial promotion and reception
9. Chaplin's politics and American culture, 1943-1952: Chaplin the progressive activist, 1943-1949
Chaplin and the U. S. Congress
Chaplin and the FBI: The internal security file
Backing away from politics, 1950-1952
10. Limelight and banishment: The futility of reconciliation: Chaplin, the U. S. Government and banishment, 1952-1953
Limelight: autobiography and aesthetic contract
Critical response to Limelight
The Limelight boycott and Chaplin's star image
Pt. Five. The exile and America: The exiled monarch and the guarded restoration, 1953-1977: Running battles: Chaplin, American culture, and the later 1950's
Shifting winds: The 1960's
A guarded restoration: The 1972 return tour
Rereleases and Chaplin's star image in the 1970's
