The Circus

Chaplin, United Artists, released 6 January 1928 after two difficult years. The Tramp, chased into a circus, becomes an accidental clown and falls for the rider (Merna Kennedy). A studio fire in September 1926 destroyed sets and negatives; Chaplin's divorce and a tax case stopped the shoot. He finished it and then barely mentioned the film for decades. The Academy gave him an honorary award in 1929 for acting, writing, directing, and producing The Circus. The tightrope business, with monkeys, was shot after the fire on a rebuilt tent.