Robert Brose shares the stage with Charlie Chaplin When Robert Brose, son of Ben Brose, Pipestones local store owner, musician, and traveling comedian of 1000 faces enlisted in the US Army Medical Service, he never dreamed he would cross paths with movie comedian Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin’s emergence as the world’s favorite film comedian almost precisely coincided with World War I. His first film appeared in February 1914, just six months before his native Britain went to war against Germany and Austria-Hungary. When Chaplin signed his contract, it included a clause stipulating that he could not leave the United States without the corporation’s approval. The British press criticized the provision since it meant that Chaplin, who was only twenty-seven years old, could not join the British Army. Two years later, when he signed a million-dollar contract with First National pictures, he faced similar criticism in the United States, which had recently entered the war. Chaplin apparently tried to enlist in the U.S.army. Only when he was rejected as underweight did the criticism abate - although some in Britain still felt that he should join their military forces. Anti-Chaplin song of 1915: https://youtube/watch?v=jc7gOZkdoBg Chaplin quickly realized he needed to do something to save his career and public image from permanent damage. In the spring of 1918 he signed up to appear at a series of fundraising events across the United States to sell U.S. Liberty Bonds. Brose was chosen to assist the company in setting up and actually played a bit-part in a show- “opposite the great Chaplin himself “- in April 1918. (Pipestone County Star – 30 April. 1918) In addition to public appearances, Charlie Chaplin created, directed and starred in his own propaganda film - paid for at his own expense - for the 3rd Liberty Loan Committee for theatrical release. This short film “The Bond” was screened at the Gem Theater in Pipestone in the fall of 1918. The film has a distinctive visual motif set in a simple plain black set with starkly lit simple props and arrangements. The story is a series of sketches humorously illustrating various bonds: The bond of friendship, marriage and, most important, the Liberty Bond, to K.O. the German Kaiser (played by brother Sydney) which Charlie does literally. The bond-full movie: https://youtube/watch?v=GCLeSMSGawE After returning from France at wars end in 1919, Robert Brose stayed in the entertainment field for the rest of his life. He eventually moved to Wisconsin where he formed Fox Amusement Corporation in Oshkosh. He also managed the Varsity Theatre in Milwaukee until his retirement in the 1950s.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 22:33:33 +0000
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