Charlie Chaplin’s Good Humor Theory

In a 1920 prototype of Reader’s Digest, film legend Charlie Chaplin shared the surprising minimalist craft that went into his Hollywood hits. “To make an audience roar is the ambition of many actors, but I prefer to spread the laughs out. It is much better when there is a continual ripple of amusement, with one or two big ‘stomach laughs,’ than when an audience ‘explodes’ every minute or two. Restraint is a great word, not only for actors but also for everybody to remember. Restraint of tempers, appetites, desires, bad habits, and so on, is a mighty good thing to cultivate.”

In The Champion, the guy on the right had the bigger weapon and mustache, but he was no match for Chaplin.