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Syd Chaplin was an actor, script writer, director, editor, producer, but most of all a clever businessman and an irreplaceable promoter of his brother Charlie's career. Syd and Charlie were close all their lives and mutually supported and helped each other ever since the childhood. Syd acted in more than 30 films but his contribution to aviation was more important. With pilot Emery Rogers he founded the first private airline in the USA,The Syd Chaplin Airline, Co. He organised the first aircraft salon, the first Los Angeles-San Francisco return flight, and thanks to him many prominent figures flew for the first time; among them was his brother Charlie Chaplin. A WOMAN OF PARIS Script, direction and production: Charlie Chaplin Cast: Edna Purviance, Adolphe Menjou, Carl Miller, Lydia Knott Duration: 73' b/w, 1923 A Woman of Paris was praised by critics but failed to win the public. The then average film-goer expected from Charlie Chaplin a comedy in which he would play. Instead, it is a tragedy without Chaplin; he appears only for a moment as a station porter and is difficult to recognise. To avoid harming his world-wide popularity Chaplin withdrew the film from distribution. But he took pride in it. This film and the Gold Rush were his favourites. Fifty years on, in 1976, the author pulled it out from the shelf, wrote the score and let it run again. A year later he died. The score he wrote then was his last creation. There is no serious critic who does not think that A Woman of Paris is one of the best Chaplin's films. Its importance rests also on innovations the artist introduced thus contributing to the advancement of more than just the silent film. He substituted natural for pathetic acting, instead of dramatic gestures and rolling of wide open eyes, he introduced common behaviour. Such romantic drama was simply made before the public was ready for it. Vera Konjovic graduated English Language and Literature from University of Belgrade. She has worked for The Library of Matica Srpska, the Avala Film motion picture production company, and as editor of several editions of Yugoslavia public (Bureau of the Yugoslav Federal Chamber of Commerce). At the Yugoslav Film Festival she was the editor of News from Yugoslav Film, and was the programme coordinator of the Belgrade International Film Festival FEST, as well as the program manager in the film distributing company Zvezda Film. In 1994 she joined the team of independent radiostation В 92. Vera Konjovic has worked for Biteffor nearly 40 years. In 1976 she started the side programme Bitef on Film. For the past four years she has also been in charge of the Bitef team of translators. She translates from Slovenian, Hungarian, German and English into Serbian.

Charlie Chaplin

BITEF ON FILM

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