Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin

Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin is the long-awaited follow-up to John Bengtson s critically acclaimed masterpiece Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton.

In Silent Traces, Bengtson explores the traces of early Hollywood hidden within Charlie Chaplin s timeless films. This stunning work of cinematic archeology combines Chaplin s movie images with archival photographs, vintage maps, and scores of then-and-now comparison photographs to conjure up the silent-movie era from an entirely new perspective.

By describing the historical settings found in such Chaplin classics as The Kid, City Lights, and Modern Times, Bengtson illuminates both Chaplin s genius and the evolving city that served as a backdrop for his art. Part time machine, part detective story, Silent Traces presents a unique look at Chaplin s work, and a captivating glimpse into Hollywood s most romantic era.