S8 Ep818: Political Awakenings and the Universal Silent Hero During a 1931 world tour, Chaplin was appalled by the hopelessness of the global depression, which inspired the social commentary in Modern Times. This period marked the beginning of his troubles with the
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 3 May 2026
⏱️ 12 minutes
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Summary
During a 1931 world tour, Chaplin was appalled by the hopelessness of the global depression, which inspired the social commentary in Modern Times. This period marked the beginning of his troubles with the FBI, who surveilled him despite his conservative financial habits and immense wealth. Chaplin famously resisted the transition to sound to protect the Tramp's universality, fearing an English accent would limit the character's global appeal. He finally spoke on screen in The Great Dictator, playing both a Jewish barber and a parody of Hitler, whose mustache Chaplin believed may have been an imitation of his own famous screen persona. Guest: Scott Eyman. (3/8)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm John Dutch with Scott Eamann. |
| 0:07.3 | The book is Charlie Chaplin v. America, when art, sex, and politics collided. |
| 0:13.7 | Charlie Chaplin is a hugely successful Hollywood star. |
| 0:17.6 | It's the 1920s. |
| 0:19.2 | He's been twice married, and then he makes a movie with |
| 0:23.0 | Pollitt Goddard and falls in love with her, though I learned from Scott there's no marriage |
| 0:27.5 | license to ever found, but they're married. That's the third marriage. And Charlie Chaplin has |
| 0:33.5 | concepts that he picks up in a world tour in 31 to 32. I believe Paulette Goddard run along with him. |
| 0:43.3 | And that becomes the movie Modern Times. Scott, what did Charlie see about the world with Paulette |
| 0:49.0 | Goddard? And I believe there was one or more trips to Bali. What did he make of it? |
| 0:54.8 | Goddard was not with him on that tour. |
| 0:56.6 | He met her right after he came back from the tour. |
| 1:00.2 | What he saw was the worldwide depression. |
| 1:03.1 | Even in the midst of the Depression in America, Hollywood functioned. |
| 1:09.8 | I mean, times were tough. You had two movie studios basically go into Chapter 11, Paramount and RKO, |
| 1:15.6 | but people were still working. |
| 1:17.6 | It was not bread lines and soup kitchens as it was in New York City or Chicago, for instance. |
| 1:25.6 | So the people that lived in Hollywood were sort of insulated from the worst aspects of the |
| 1:31.0 | Depression. |
| 1:31.9 | But when Chaplin took an 18-month tour around the world in 1931-32, he saw the worst aspects |
| 1:39.3 | of the Depression, and he was absolutely stunned and appalled. |
| 1:43.2 | It transcended even his own experiences in Victorian London because what he saw was hopelessness |
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