In the same year that Charlie Chaplin began working on The Great Dictator, the House Un-American Committee begins investigating Charlie Chaplin. At first glance, there seems to be no reason for this — until the second glance. Earlier Charlie Chaplin had done his patriotic part in raising money for the war effort, alongside his long time friends Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford — raising large amounts of money for the war. Charlie Chaplin was a lifelong pacifist, but he was also a realist who saw that the aggression of the Axis powers had to be stopped.
In many ways, Charlie Chaplin was politically naive — such as speaking at fund raisers for the Communist USSR, whom Charlie Chaplin simply saw as our allies in the fight. And by suggesting that America immediately open a two front war to help our "friends" in the Soviet Union. These were some of the reasons that the government began keeping tabs on the immigrant film maker (although he worked for all of these years in America, he maintained his British citizenship, and had no intention of becoming an American citizen).
1942 was a very busy year for Charlie Chaplin, at least in his personal life. Paulette Goddard, co-star of Modern Times and The Great Dictator, divorced Charlie Chaplin, and went on to be a star in her own right. In that same year, Charlie Chaplin met another young lady, whom he falls deeply, and permanently, in love with — Oona O'Neil. Oona, although young, is mature beyond her years — perhaps from having grown up in the household of her father, Eugene O'Neil, the famous playwright. Eugene O'Neil was opposed to having his daughter date Charlie Chaplin; given Charlie Chaplin's track record to date, one can hardly blame him. In addition, Charlie Chaplin met another young lady that year, whose relationship to Charlie Chaplin would almost seem to confirm the playwright's suspicions — Joan Barry.
By all accounts, Joan Barry was a troubled young woman, who had some talent for acting. She had met Charlie Chaplin, who had given her a screen test for a role, but did not hire her for any of his movies. Although they dated on and off, nothing serious came of it. But in Joan Barry's mind, it was very serious — serious enough that she breaks into Charlie Chaplin's home later that year, armed with a gun. Charlie Chaplin eventually talked her out of any violence, got her to leave quietly, and then called the police, resulting in a restraining order that should have served to keep her out of Charlie Chaplin's life.
Charlie Chaplin in the paternity suit
However, two things happened that next year that prevented that from happening. First was Joan Barry's pregnancy; she named Charlie Chaplin as the father. Second, Charlie Chaplin married Oona O'Neil — and, in a very real sense, they lived happily ever after. The couple truly loved each other, were devoted to each other, and grew closer as time went on.In the more immediate term, Charlie Chaplin denied being the father of Joan Barry's child, and a blood test proved his innocence. However, the blood test was inadmissable in the California court at the time, and a jury of his peers ordered Charlie Chaplin to pay child support. (This is recreated quite well in the 1992 'Chaplin' movie starring Robert Downey, and is highly recommended viewing).
In 1946, the first of Oona and Charlie Chaplin's children, Michael, is born. Over the years, he will have 7 more siblings (Josephine, Victoria, Eugene, Jane, Annette and Christopher). Charlie Chaplin also began his next film, a very great departure from anything Charlie has ever attempted — the dark comedy Monsieur Verdoux .
Monsieur Verdoux is a very dark comedy, in which the title character, a fired bank clerk, makes his living by marrying rich older women and then killing them for their money. Charlie Chaplin used it to make a statement about the paradox of killing millions in war is virtuous for the winning side, but killing individuals is a crime. Although it has moments both humorous and engaging, it was not the fare that the public was expecting from Charlie Chaplin, and it did not do well domestically, although it did well overseas, and Charlie Chaplin made a tidy profit from it. He also used Edna Purviance on screen for the last time, essentially as an extra.
Charlie Chaplin's final films
In 1951, Charlie Chaplin made one of his finest films, and one of his least well known - Limelight. Limelight is the story of a formerly great dance hall tramp clown, Calvero (portrayed by Chaplin) on a downward spiral, contrasting with a young dancer on her way to fame - into the spotlight. A funny, poignant film, it also teamed two of the great clowns of the silent era, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, for the first and only time.
Limelight did not do well at American movie houses, largely due to the false rumors that Charlie Chaplin was a communist, as well as an organized protest by various unions resulting in theaters refusing to show the film. As a result, it was not seen widely in the United States of America for decades. Years later, when it finally played in Los Angeles, it was nominated for the Best Music Academy Award — and won.