Charlie Chaplin, Part 2: The War Against Hollywood's Most Famous Man — Private Scandals, Political Persecution, and American Exile

This is Part 2 of our two-part series on Charlie Chaplin.

At the height of his silent-film power, Charlie Chaplin was one of the most famous and successful people in the world. He owned his studio, controlled his work, and had transformed the Tramp into a global icon.

But the life behind the screen was becoming impossible to keep private.

Part 2 of our Charlie Chaplin series follows Chaplin through the collapse of his marriage to Lita Grey, the devastating divorce scandal that threatened his fortune, studio and reputation, and the making of The Circus. It follows his refusal to let the Tramp speak in an industry transformed by sound — and the extraordinary successes of City Lights and Modern Times.

Then comes The Great Dictator: Chaplin's first full talking picture, his furious satire of Adolf Hitler, and the film that pushed him into an increasingly public political life. As the war ends and the Cold War begins, Chaplin finds himself under growing scrutiny for his support of the Soviet Union, his refusal to become an American citizen, and the scandals that have long followed him.

The episode traces the Joan Barry case, Monsieur Verdoux, the campaign to drive Chaplin from America, and his departure for Europe in 1952 — a journey that became an exile. It also follows his final films, Hollywood's eventual welcome home, and the long reassessment of an artist whose work helped define cinema itself.

This is the story of Chaplin's long, complicated final act: a filmmaker celebrated as a genius, condemned as an outsider, and forced to reckon with the distance between the beloved Tramp and the powerful man who created him.

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When They Were Making It is written, produced, and hosted by Patrick Rankin. Original artwork by Simone Beech and original music by Lionel Ziblat.

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