Selected Composition Notes

Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1915. Working as a secretary while yearning for a bohemian life, Edna contemplates a change in circumstances.

Edna’s intentions and characteristics

FACTS

 At age 18 (1913), Edna left her parents’ home in conservative, Western Nevada and moved in with her
married sister while attending business college in San Francisco.
 It is reported that she became involved in San Francisco’s bohemian life (i.e. non vocational or professional)
o “There are two elements, at least, that are essential to Bohemianism. The first is devotion or addiction to one
or more of the Seven Arts; the other is poverty. Other factors suggest themselves: for instance, I like to think of
my Bohemians as young, as radical in their outlook on art and life; as unconventional, and, though this is
debatable, as dwellers in a city large enough to have the somewhat cruel atmosphere of all great cities.”
(Wikipedia)
 Two years later (1915), she was working as a stenographer or secretary in San Francisco when Chaplin, who
was filming his first film with Essanay near there (“A Night Out”), was looking for a leading lady.
 She had caught the eye of one of Chaplin’s associate at Tate’s Café, and she was invited to audition.
Although Chaplin was not convinced that she could act, especially in comedies, she was hired.

This song (my fictional take on things)

 A secretarial job doesn’t align with her bohemian lifestyle.

 She grew up in a middle-class family and is accustomed to that quality of life, but she resents it at the same
time.
 She is wondering if she has the stamina to leave job stability behind and seek out an artistic life.
 She idolizes her artistic friends.
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1915. A silent-movie rehearsal for "A Night Out":
A mime of Edna's stage inexperience, the tension on the set, and the eventual successful take.

The Scene
We’re on the set, it’s Edna’s first day on a movie set. We’re rehearsing a scene for the movie “A Night Out”. Over
several takes, Edna repeatedly misses cues, to the exasperation of everyone. As Chaplin gets increasingly
discouraged, the cast becomes more supportive of Edna’s efforts, and they finally make a successful take.
The scene should be delivered like an old silent movie: Without words, and brisk movements.

Character’s intentions and characteristics

 Chaplin:
o He hired Edna Purviance hesitantly; she did not impress him during her audition; he believed she
was too serious to succeed at comedy.
o He is concerned about losing face in front of his company if his casting decision proves to be a wrong
one, and so wants to support Edna in her successful debut for his own benefit.
o At the same time, he sets particular high expectations for her to meet in the hopes that she will
validate his casting decision, and he becomes increasingly impatient as his doubt increases that Edna
can do the job.
 Edna:
o She was convinced by others to audition; she was a secretary before. She admired artists, but had
not eyed acting as a career. She’s not convinced that she can do the job.
o She is a bit afraid of Chaplin, both because of his notoriety in the film industry, and because he gets
impatient with her.
o Conversely, she wants to impress him if she can, because she feels an infatuation for him.
 The cast and crew on the movie set:
o Initially, they are exasperated by Edna’s lack of experience, and they believe that Chaplin cast her
simply because he is attracted to her, rather than as a recognition of any talent.
o They quickly have pity for her when Chaplin becomes impatient with her; and they help her out.
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1915. Short mime: The art of creating a second impression.
Edna beguiles Charles at a costume party, after he hesitantly hired her as his leading lady.

The Scene
Factual info: Chaplin had second thoughts after signing a contract to make Edna Purviance his leading lady, doubting her
acting ability. His doubts vanished when she went along with one of Chaplin’s jokes at a party the day before shooting
began on her first picture, “A Night Out”. After betting with Charlie that he couldn’t hypnotize her, Edna pretended to be
hypnotized by him, ensuring Charlie would not embarrass himself, and simultaneously demonstrating her sense of
humour and her acting ability.
Adaptation: In my sequence of numbers, I am placing this scene after the first filming of “A Night Out”, since the number
“First Take” is intended to illustrated Chaplin’s concerns with Edna’s lack of experience acting in physical comedy films.

Character’s intentions and characteristics

 Chaplin:
o Just signed with a new Studio (Essanay) to start directing his own movies; successful career (in 3 years’
time – 1918, he will be recognized as one of the world's best-known figures).
o Basking in the spotlight that comes from his popularity with partygoers.
 Edna:
o She is now confident that she can act, and seeks an opportunity to shatter Chaplin’s concerns with her
skills.
o She feels an infatuation for Chaplin, and want to please and impress him.
 Partygoers:
o Hang on Chaplin’s every word and gesture, seeking for traits of his newly developed character, “The
Tramp”.
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1916. Charles is walking down the street, with a new contract in hand.
Charles Chaplin just signed with Mutual Film Co. and is now the highest paid actor, with his “Tramp” character.

Character’s intentions and characteristics

 Chaplin first devised “the Tramp” in 1914 when Mack Sennett asked him to improvise a character to add
comedy to a film, on the same day they were about to shoot it; he invented the character within a few
minutes, using items he found in the vicinity, including mis-fitting clothing from his colleagues in the cast.
 Through 1915-16, Chaplin was with the Essanay Film Company, where he began expanding his “Tramp”
character and giving it more dimension.
 In 1916, by accepting a contract with the Mutual Film Company, Charlie Chaplin has now become the highest
paid film actor, with an annual salary of US$670,000.
 He is 27 y.o.
 He has a vision of starting his own company (which he will do in 1917).
 His leading lady Edna offers a soothing feminine counterpart to his slapstick character; and their romance
invigorates him.

“Rosie Lee” is cockney slang for tea.

“Like milk and Rosie Lee” = Something that goes together as well as milk and tea (i.e. the British way of drinking tea)
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1919. Jackie Coogan's history lesson (Charles, Edna and the company).

Characters’ intentions and characteristics

Jackie:
 Although confident on the outside, Jackie is overwhelmed by the presence of so many renowned adults.
 Toy soldiers were common toys in the 1910s, and Jackie would enjoy partaking in the story as a soldier.

Chaplin & Edna:

 Chaplin has a fondness for Jackie, having just lost his infant son (from Mildred – a real pregnancy this time),
who only lived 3 days. It is said that Chaplin’s film “The Kid” starring the young Coogan was a mourning
process for Charles.
 Chaplin idolized Napoleon. In this fictitious scenario, I imagined him using the Napoleon story to build
Jackie’s confidence.
 Edna remembers when she was the new kid on the block when she joined the film company, and wants to
ensure Jackie feels supported and integrated.

Ensemble:
 They enjoy the break from working, also partake in wanting to make the young Coogan feel at ease.
Lyrics
[Rollie, the cameraman:]
There was a guy in France, you see,
and people called him "Emperor".
A short man barely five foot three,
yet head of the French empire.
He stood in front of his army,
he led them all to victory.
He was Napoleon.

[Charles, impersonating Napoleon:]

From Corsica, near Italy,
I went on to make history:
Fought Egypt, Britain, Austria
and also invaded Russia.
I did not always win, it's true,
but my defeats are very few.
My name's Napoleon.

[Jackie, boyishly, playing soldier]:

Foes out there, beware, cuz
we are out to conquer.
You might as well surrender
Cuz you don’t have a prayer.
Heed the words you've heard,
folks, resistance is absurd.
We'll put you to root!
You'll pout there is no doubt!

[Charles, as himself:]
Well, actually, his victories
did come with certain injuries;
he went to jail, he was marooned,
exiled, defeated and, well, doomed!
He did see one wish fulfilled
That is not on the battlefield:
her name was Josephine.

[Edna, as Josephine, addressing ‘Napoleon’ with humour:]

Chap, you do impress;
I’ll gladly be your Empress.
True, you’re vain and greedy,
Gain is all you see.
Otherwise, you're smart,
quite short, but cute and sharp.
Come I do command,
Let's dance, do take my hand.
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1947. After 20 years away, Edna and Charles meet again as she returns to the Chaplin studio for Monsieur Verdoux.
However, she cannot portray the grandeur of the role satisfactorily, and she decides to leave the picture, to both
their reliefs. The enchantment of the reunion being diluted by their mutual disappointment in the event, they decide
to part ways, knowing it’s likely for good.

Character’s intentions and characteristics

 Edna is flattered by the invitation from Chaplin to take the leading role in Monsieur Verdoux but is concerned
about her ability to perform, after several years of retirement. She doesn’t want to jeopardize the legacy of
her former career.
 Chaplin is keen to rekindle his solid and trusting friendship with his old friend, rebuilding his appreciation for
the opposite sex (Joan Barry having imposed herself on him in a hotel in New York a few months earlier and
then filed for paternity support when she gave birth to her baby – which proved to be someone else’s baby
through blood tests).
 Chaplin is relieved when Edna decides on her own that she is not right for the role.
 Edna is married, and Charles is starting his relationship with Oona (whom he will marry); as such, they
concede that their lives have taken their respective and separate courses, and they part ways again.
Notes for song composition.

Setting:
1952. A victim of McCarthyism and his poor romantic choices, Chaplin is banished from the USA.

Sung by members of the ensemble, as a small Greek chorus who are neutral in their positions on the event.

Facts surrounding this point in the timeline of Chaplin’s life.

Chaplin hid from process servers (to appear in court) for some time until 1952. He was accused of communist
sympathies, and some members of the press and public were scandalised by his involvement in a paternity suit and
marriages to much younger women.

Indeed, in the mid-1940s, Chaplin was involved in a series of trials that occupied most of his time and significantly
affected his public image. The troubles stemmed from his affair with an aspiring actress named Joan Barry, with
whom he was involved intermittently between June 1941 and the autumn of 1942. Barry, who displayed obsessive
behaviour and was twice arrested after they separated, reappeared the following year and announced that she was
pregnant with Chaplin's child. As Chaplin denied the claim, Barry filed a paternity suit against him. The director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), J. Edgar Hoover, who had long been suspicious of Chaplin's political leanings,
used the opportunity to generate negative publicity about him. As part of a smear campaign to damage Chaplin's
image, the FBI named him in four indictments related to the Barry case. Chaplin was acquitted two weeks later. Joan
Barry's child was born in October 1943, and the paternity suit went to court in December 1944. After two arduous
trials, in which the prosecuting lawyer accused him of "moral turpitude", Chaplin was declared to be the father.
Evidence from blood tests that indicated otherwise were not admissible, and the judge ordered Chaplin to pay child
support. Media coverage of the suit was influenced by the FBI, which fed information to gossip columnist Hedda
Hopper, and Chaplin was portrayed in an overwhelmingly critical light.

The controversy surrounding Chaplin increased when – two weeks after the paternity suit was filed – it was
announced that he (age 54) had married his newest protégée, 18-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of American
playwright Eugene O'Neill.

In 1952, Chaplin was forced to leave the U.S. and settle in Switzerland, and was barred by the Immigration
Department, with instructions from the Attorney General, from re-entering the U.S.

(Sources: [Link] and David Robinson’s CHAPLIN biography)

Notes for song composition.

Setting/Scene:
1958. Hospital room.
Edna is lying in bed. She writes a farewell letter to Charles, which she signs “Love always, Edna.”

Factual Background:
Her drinking had hampered her acting career. Her last film with Chaplin was in 1923 (“A Woman in Paris”), and she
did two other films elsewhere, with Chaplin’s support (“A Woman of the Sea” in 1926 and “Éducation de prince” in
1927). , Some references say that she may have had uncredited appearance in Chaplin’s 1962 film in “Limelight”,
however, this is unlikely.
For the rest of her life, she continued to receive a small monthly stipend from Chaplin’s film company.

She wrote her last letter to Chaplin (who was by then exiled to Switzerland) in 1956, from her bed in the Cedars of
Lebanon hospital in Los Angeles. She later died from throat cancer at the Motion Picture & Television Country House
and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, on January 13, 1958, age 62.
(Artistic Licence: Although the musical piece is intended to convey Edna’s death, I set the piece in the hospital from
where she wrote her last letter to Charles.)

Text from the actual letter:

November 13th, 1956

Dear Charlie,

Here I am again with a heart full of thanks, and back in hospital (Cedars of Lebanon) taking Cobalt x-ray
treatment on my neck. There cannot be a hell hereafter! It all comes while one can wriggle even a little
finger. However, it is the best known treatment for what ails me. Hope to be going home at the end of the
week, then can be an outside patient (how wonderful!). Am thankful my innards are O.K., this is a purely and
simply local, so they say – all of which reminds me of the corner of Seventh and Broadway tearing up little
bits of paper, throwing them to the four winds. A cop comes along and asks him, what was the big idea. He
answers: ‘Just keeping elephants away.’ The cop says: ‘There aren’t any elephants in this district.’ The fellow
answers: ‘Well, it works, doesn’t it?’ This is my silly for the day, so forgive me.

Hope you and the family are well and enjoying everything you have worked for.

Love always, Edna.

Source: [Link]
…

Maybe in her last breaths, she thought of the relationship that nearly was, and dreamed of Charles escorting her on
her way heavenward.