MAKE SOME NOISE FOR ... CHARLIE CHAPLIN
Talks, tours, silent-film screenings highlight weekend devoted to the comedy legend and the historic Niles district of Fremont, an early competitor to Hollywood as a movie capital
FREMONT >> Hundreds of people flocked to the Niles district of Fremont over the weekend for Charlie Chaplin Days, the annual event celebrating one of silent film’s most recognizable stars and his connection to the eclectic area of Fremont.
Silent film screenings were shown in the Edison Theater, at the rear of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, which has played host to the celebration for about 13 years. The event had run in some form since the late 1970s before the museum became its host.
It’s the same theater where Chaplin himself, along with filmmaker and star Gilbert M. “Broncho Billy” Anderson would watch their own films when they produced them here more than 100 years ago.
The activities throughout the weekend also included informative talks from silent film and Chaplin experts, walking tours of filming and production locations in the area, and on Sunday afternoon, the famed Chaplin look-alike contest.
Hanan Qutob, 33, of Fremont, was in Niles with friends when they stopped into the museum, just in time to see three contestants putting on their best Chaplin impersonations while in full getups from the era. These included bowler hats, painted or glued-on toothbrush mustaches, and loosefitting trousers.
“It’s very entertaining,” Qutob said, noting she’s a Charlie Chaplin fan because of his ties to the area.
The three contestants strutted their stuff, shuffling in speedy circles around the stage. They wobbled back and forth, and used their thin, wooden canes for support and effect, emulating the eccentric body movements of Chaplin in his films.
“It takes a lot of guts to get up on stage in front of a lot of people. I think they were great,” Qutob said.
“Chaplin is a kind of universal comedian that people all over the world recognize, and so to celebrate him in the theater where he watched films that were made here in Niles, I think is an amazing connection.”
— David Kiehn, the museum’s co-founder
All three of the entrants were declared winners. They took a stroll down Niles Boulevard to say hello to passers by, and collect a free ice cream treat at Niles Ice Cream Sweets & Eats.
Aside from the contest, the museum was buzzing Sunday afternoon, with people young and old checking out cameras and production equipment of the silent film era, books and clothing, as well as props from some films.
For Dorella Smith, of Fremont, the museum and the weekend celebration provide an international, intergenerational connection to her youth. She grew up in India, and her family would take the bus to local theaters to watch silent films in the summers there, including Chaplin’s films.
“This was our pastime,” she said Sunday as a Chaplin film was about to begin in the theater. Now, she and her husband bring their
14-year-old son to watch the films, which he enjoys.
“And the loudest laughter in the theater is my husband,” she said.
One of the official judges of the look-alike contest was Jason Allin, a professional actor who specializes in impersonating Chaplin. The museum brings him in from Canada for the annual festivities. Allin said the museum is special because the people who run it are passionate experts, and they preserve the history of silent film production here so well.
“This is hallowed ground to me,” Allin said.
David Kiehn, the museum’s co-founder, said while the annual celebration brings die-hard Chaplin fans from all over to mark the occasion, it also engages the average person who may not know much about silent film.
“Chaplin is a kind of universal comedian that people all over the world recognize, and so to celebrate him in the theater where he watched films that were made here in Niles, I think is an amazing connection,” he said.