''The Freak'' was an unfinished dramatic comedy from

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consid ...

. The story revolved around a young South American girl who unexpectedly sprouts a pair of wings. She is kidnapped and taken to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where her captors cash in by passing her off as an angel. Later she escapes, only to be arrested because of her appearance. She is further dehumanized by standing trial to determine if she is human at all. Chaplin began work in and around 1969 with his daughter

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in mind for the lead role. However, Victoria's abrupt marriage and his advanced age proved roadblocks and the film was never made. Chaplin biographer

Jeffrey Vance Jeffrey Vance (born May 21, 1970) is an American film historian and author who has published books on movie stars including Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. Career While working as an archivist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/United Artists he met El ...

maintains that Chaplin script for ''The Freak'' "borrows many themes, ideas, and even phrases from his three previous films but is nevertheless an original story filled with marvelous Chaplin comedy touches". Vance, who interviewed Victoria Chaplin, believes ''The Freak'' "had strong potential for being a very moving—and fitting—swan song".Vance, Jeffrey (2003). Chaplin: Genius of the Cinema. New York: Harry N. Abrams, pg. 352. . Chaplin's memoir, ''My Life in Pictures'' (1974), describes ''The Freak'' as a work still in progress. He also mentioned his intent to make it in an interview on his 85th birthday in 1974. "I mean to make it someday", Chaplin writes in a caption alongside a photograph of Victoria in winged costume published in ''My Life in Pictures''. No footage from the film is known to exist, though brief color footage of Victoria in wings can be seen in ''Charlie Chaplin – Les années suisses'' (2003).

References

Short films directed by Charlie Chaplin 1960s unfinished films {{comedy-drama-film-stub

Further reading

References