Glen David Gold is a San Francisco writer and a film enthusiast, as well as a regular at past festivals.
His 2001 novel, Carter Beats the Devil - inspired by the life of the early 20th century magician Charles Carter, was a national bestseller. (It’s currently in development as a feature film for possible release in 2013.) His second novel, Sunnyside (pictured left), was published to great acclaim in 2009. It’s based on incidents in the life of Charlie Chaplin. The book was released in softcover in May (pictured below).
Chaplin, the legendary silent film star, is undergoing something of a revival of late. There are a couple of new books out about the "Little Tramp," a boxed set of his Keystone comedies is about to be released through Flicker Alley, and a touring retrospective of Chaplin's best and best-known films is making its way around the country.
That retrospective comes to the Castro Theater in San Francisco for a five day run starting Saturday, September 18th. Gold will introduce the opening night program, which includes The Circus (1928, 72 min.), The Idle Class (1921, 32 min.), and A Day’s Pleasure (1919, 19 min.). Recently, the San Francisco writer agreed to answer some questions about Chaplin and his own interest in early film.
Thomas Gladysz: How and when did you first come to discover Charlie Chaplin?
Glen David Gold: I was a Marx Brothers fan as a kid, and what appealed was the verbal interchange, the puns, the insults, tempered by Harpo's sweet nature. Plus: the brotherly romping. When my parents saw I liked old movies, they introduced Chaplin, who left me cold -- he didn't have any of those qualities, really. I rediscovered him in my 20s when I saw a Buster Keaton film, The General, and realized Keaton was a genius. There seems to be a Marvel vs. DC feeling about Keaton and Chaplin, and I figured if I liked Keaton I'd not be interested in Chaplin. Wrong.
Thomas Gladysz: Why Chaplin? What does he mean to you? Does he stand out among the early film greats?
Glen David Gold: He was the first person to understand the relationship among audience, hero and camera. He understood that the audience felt they knew you, and that they were projecting themselves into any given situation. Happily he also had more physical control of his body than most people ("a god damned ballet dancer," right?) and he also had the patience to figure out the nuances of a gag.
And off-screen, what a life! If you think about it (and I do), in 1914, Chaplin was just another comedian, Hollywood was just another orange grove and America was just a big industrial combine without much of a worldview. In 1918, he was the most famous man in the world, Hollywood the most known city in the world, and America was, well, America. It's no coincidence that all three things happened at once.
If, bizarrely, someone in your readership hasn't seen a Chaplin in a theater with an audience before, they're in for a treat at the Castro. Seeing a Chaplin with people is extraordinary. It's like going to a concert for the first time.
Thomas Gladysz: Your 2009 novel, Sunnyside, is based on incidents in the life of the legendary comedian. It’s also populated with some of the personalities of the time, like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. What brought you to write the book? What was its genesis?
Glen David Gold: The night we were "liberating" Baghdad, and they had American television for the first time, there was a program on that was a beauty pageant for dogs. I was thinking, "Wow, this could be the worst collision of cultures ever. Like: what could they think?" Then I wanted to understand the relationship between entertainment and war, and I learned that when the Germans and Russians fought allied troops, Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin films were prized booty. Now how weird is that? The people you hate have entertainment you love. So I figured I'd go back to the source."
Thomas Gladysz: You once mentioned that your great aunt Ingrid, a journalist, was Chaplin's neighbor in Switzerland – and that family legend has it he dictated parts of his autobiography to her. What more can you tell us?
Glen David Gold: To tell the truth, I've never asked further questions of my family, as I don't want to have it ruined. However, my cousin just presented me with a lovely photo of Chaplin and Ingrid together in the 1950s. My hunch is that he read sections aloud to her and asked for comment -- as I recall, he did the same with several visitors, including Truman Capote. (Now that would have been a ghost writer.)
Thomas Gladysz: You’ve described yourself as “a fan of the inexplicable.” What did you mean?
Glen David Gold: The difference between a novel and a tract is that the fanatic knows the answers beforehand and is going to enlighten you. I like not knowing things, and being surprised when something I could never have predicted comes along. It makes me feel alive.
Thomas Gladysz: Would you describe yourself as a fan of silent film? Any other favorite films or stars?
Glen David Gold: Not to suck up or anything, but Louise Brooks is the obvious #1 crush for any thinking human being. I also dig the silent Rin Tin Tin films, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford (that took some convincing, though -- I really bought into the "sentimentalist" label before looking closely), and George Melies.
More info: Ticket availability and further information about the Chaplin screenings at the Castro Theater can be found on the Castro website at www.castrotheatre.com/. Gold’s Sunnyside can be found online or at independent bookstores.
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