Charlie Chaplin vs. America

When Art, Sex, and Politics Collided

By: Scott Eyman

Narrated by: Phil Thron

Length: 13 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The remarkable, must-listen story of Charlie Chaplin’s years of exile from the United States during the postwar Red Scare, and how it ruined his film career, from bestselling biographer Scott Eyman.

Bestselling Hollywood biographer and film historian Scott Eyman tells the story of Charlie Chaplin’s fall from grace. In the aftermath of World War Two, Chaplin was criticized for being politically liberal and internationalist in outlook. He had never become a US citizen, something that would be held against him as xenophobia set in when the postwar Red Scare took hold.

Politics aside, Chaplin had another problem: his sexual interest in young women. He had been married three times and had had numerous affairs. In the 1940s, he was the subject of a paternity suit, which he lost, despite blood tests that proved he was not the father. His sexuality became a convenient way for those who opposed his politics to condemn him. Refused permission to return to the US from a trip abroad, he settled in Switzerland, and made his last two films in London

In Charlie Chaplin vs. America, bestselling author Scott Eyman explores the life and times of the movie genius who brought us such masterpieces as City Lights and Modern Times. This is a perceptive, insightful portrait of Chaplin and of an America consumed by political turmoil.

©2023 Scott Eyman (P)2023 Simon & Schuster Audio

Excellent new biography

I’m not at all new to the life and work of the great Chaplin.
This new biography presents the story of the man from the beginning of his life to the end.
A welcome addition to all the books and articles about Chaplin and his times.

Great Biography of Chaplin

Although the focus of this book is on the federal government's (well, part of it) seemingly inexplicable efforts to "get" Charlie Chaplin, it is also a really good biography of a great entertainer who was a very complex person.

It is a true shame that Chapin was effectively exiled from the U.S. for that last quarter of his life, and one can only wonder what he might have done if he had remained here. It's a shame Charlie did not fight it, because he probably would have won. It's also pretty disgusting how he was treated by the press about his supposed lack of patriotism, after having raised money for war bonds (and bought them himself) and after his sons had served in the war.

If there's a nit about this book, it is that it broadly, simplistically, and repeatedly claims "conservatives" were against Chaplin. Many conservatives at the time wanted him here. Moreover, as our current times demonstrate, efforts to control thoughts and dialogue are not limited to one political persuasion. Intelligence services have been largely a disgrace for decades, misdirected and misused across the political spectrum for purposes far beyond their legitimate purview.

J. Edgar Hoover was a disaster, but even he was not the moving force here.

That nit aside, it's a good book. The narration is fine.

McCarthyism is repeating today

It was such a disgrace that he was denied reentry to this country. The famous person who introduced the Beatles to this country,Ed Sullivan, was one of the right wing McCarthyism villains.
Now the universities have left-wing McCarthyism. Right wing McCarthyism eventually ended. I am not sure when the left-wing McCarthyism will fade.  For example, Harvard University has a $50 billion endowment, which makes it almost immune to criticism and very slow to respond. Although, Harvard and other major university, anti-Semitism could be criticized with the same remarks that were used to end the right wing McCarthyism. Harvard University do you have any sense of decency or shame?

Interesting and upsetting

I enjoyed this book very much, even if it did have me cursing Hedda Hopper out loud several times. I have stopped outside the Chaplin studios many times when showing friends around LA. I will look at it differently now, knowing how it was taken away from him.

Great narration

Love it — a real good history story. Shameful Americans for exiling America. Sad. He was a genius

Fascinating

insightful look into the life of a unique creative genius. Also a reminder of a dark period on American paranoia.