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Chaplin Chaplin and the sport: speed and blows against an ever-changing world Jesús Castañón Rodríguez The modern sport in the silent films is celebrating its ninety-one anniversary. Nine decades smiling and roaring with laughter where numerous figures carried out precise choreographies to turn the athletes' apparent mistakes into a joy for living. This kind of films were on top form between 1914 and 1931 thanks to the pirouettes of Harold Lloyd to depict the social importance of the American football in the university life like in "El estudiante novato" and also the view of athletics, baseball, boxing, wrestling or rowing Buster Keaton had in "El último round" and "El Colegial".
In 1914, it started with Charles Spencer Chaplin (London, United Kingdom, 1889-Vercy, Switzerland, 1977), the actor who won the Oscar in Hollywood in the category of First special prize in 1928, another honourable statuette in 1971 and he got four nominations more for the categories of the Best actor in 1928 and 1940 and the Best original script in 1940 and 1947. This brilliant artist led the rapid social life of the 20th century to the screen (love, dreams, the working world or leisure) together with the portrayal of all kind of jobs: film actor/actress, adventurer, fireman, waiter, hall porter, caretaker, dentist, emigrant, manager, thief, ex-convict, sailor, itinerant musician, musician, nobleman, labourer, baker, shark lawyer, pilgrim, journalist painter, bank caretaker, prisoner, moneylender, soldier, suffragist, scene shifter, wanderer... A way of romanticism and generosity Another aspect has been the modern sport, which has been used in his films to reinforce the tension of the scenes and introduce a sensitive, romantic and generous feeling. The actions which can be interpreted of several ways, causing confusion, funniness and drama, and the precise choreographies with apparent mistakes stylized characters and turned art into play or sport. Out of his 82 films which make up his filmography, eight have elements based on sport: "Mabel y Charlot en las carreras" (Gentlemen of Nerve) (1914) in which he was also director, "Carreras sofocantes" (Kid Auto Races at Venice) (1914), "Charlot, árbitro" (The Knockout) (1914), "Mabel y el auto infernal" (Mabel at the Wheel) (1914), "Un campeón de boxeo" (The Champion) (1915) where he took part as director and scriptwriter "Charlot, héroe de patín" (The Rink) (1916) in which he is the director, "La quimera del oro" (The Gold Rush) (1925) where he was director and scriptwriter and "Luces de la ciudad" (City Lights) (1931) where as well as being both director and scriptwriter, he was the author of the music. In the motor races, skating and boxing he finds a way of showing the love happiness and two ways of running away, fleeing with imagination and brilliance from the confusion of the modern life to the speediness of dreams in quick pursuits or blowing to find a hope path in an ever-changing world. The boxing scenes are unforgettable when oneiric elements and crazy situations are joined together for example: to fan oneself using a pair of boxing gloves, to scrub oneself using legs of rabbit and horseshoes to be lucky, to hide oneself after the referee, to clinch the opponent avoiding the wrestling, to rush forward the rival taking advantage of the push from the rope, to mistake the caresses of the second one for the loved woman's sweet talks, to run making the bell ring at the wrong time, the alternative falls and getting ups of the opponents to try the referee not to finish the count, to turn the hand-to-hand combat into an opportunity of dancing with the rival… Epilogue Chaplin shapes an herald of the modernity for sport taking part as an actor in eight films, as a director in six, as a scriptwriter in four films and as a composer in one film. He managed to capture the rhythm and the magic of the popular fascination for sport when it was making its standing as mass show in the first half of the 20th century. Traducción: María Elena Marín Pérez
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