1. Charlie Chaplin
Peak Years: 1918-1938
Best Film: The Gold Rush (1925) Yup. There's no other way this list could end: Charlie Chaplin is
the best. It's not surprising when a character comes to define an actor (particularly when the character is as charming as the Tramp), but it is surprising that Chaplin got so much mileage out of him. As a person he appeared on the right side of history so often (lampooning Hitler before it was cool, standing up for free speech even as he was being accused of communism at a time where communism was tantamount to terrorism) that people forget when he was on the wrong side of it (marrying Lita Grey after impregnating her when she was 16 and he was 35, then later marrying Oona O'Neil when she was 18 and he was 54). His icky personal life aside, his public image in the 1910s and 20s as a bright and hard-working young man positioned him as a hero of the genteel culture. And, surprisingly enough, his movies are marvelous. The Kid, City Lights, The Gold Rush, and Modern Times are all classic silent films. The Tramp character was initially concocted as a more crass fellow that picked up discarded trash on the ground and slapped girls on the rear as they passed by, but as Chaplin recognized the potential appeal of the character he smoothed out some of his edges while keeping his trademark look. Hopelessly romantic, in tattered clothes, and with a penguin walk, the Tramp isn't the standard heroic figure. But his optimism and empathy for all people have made him perhaps the finest hero in cinema. Although several other stars were reluctant to jump into talkies, including Mary Pickford, Chaplin was smart enough to brand his particular style of filmmaking so that he could make a hit movie like Modern Times years after sound became the standard. In that way, Chaplin not only was a silent film star he
was silent film. His style and energy became the trademark of an entire period of Hollywood cinema, and his influence is still felt today.