MOVIE · 1928

The Circus

ComedyDramaFamilyRomance72 min

After a case of mistaken identity sends him running into a circus ring, Charlie Chaplin’s wandering Tramp is hired as a handyman and accidentally becomes the act audiences come to see. As the struggling troupe tries to turn his mishaps into a routine, he falls for the ringmaster’s stepdaughter, with Merna Kennedy as the young rider at the center of his affection. Al Ernest Garcia is the circus owner, a hard-edged presence backstage as the show scrambles to stay afloat. Chaplin directs and stars in this 1928 silent film, built around elaborate physical gags, backstage confusion, and a romance shadowed by the demands of the big top.