Show and Tell: Not Just Any Cog in a Machine
Pictured above is no ordinary cog. It is a relic from Chaplin Studios that film archivist and historian Bruce Lawton recently showed us (and let us hold!). The small cog is made of wood and was used as a prop in Modern Times, in a factory scene with Chester Conklin.
In Bruce’s own words:
“It was acquired by my great-grandfather, Don Malkames - who was an A.S.C. cinematographer and early film history preservationist - when he was working in California in the day. He first showed it to me at his house in Yonkers, NY during the summer of 1977 when I was 9 years old - where it was kept in his cinemachinery museum. I was already an avowed Chaplin fanatic - so I was mightily impressed! My Grandfather, Karl Malkames (also an A.S.C. cinematographer - and pioneering film restorer and preservationist) entrusted it to me one Christmas in the mid-1990s. It was Karl that first introduced me to Chaplin films as a very young child (he ran MODERN TIMES for me repeatedly - and it became my favorite film.) Presumably it is one of the VERY few existing cogs from the production.
Thanks, Bruce Lawton, for sharing this bit of history with Chaplin fans. Here he is pictured with the cog:
Michael Chaplin, Kate Guyonvarch (managing director of the Chaplin office) & Eugene Chaplin in front of the Manoir de Ban, the former Chaplin family home
The red carpet leading to the Manoir de Ban for the evening inauguration of Chaplin’s World
Some Chaplin family members, actress Claire Bloom & performer Arturo Brachetti in the Manoir de Ban
The Chaplin’s World ribbon cutting ceremony
Philippe Meylan, Michael Chaplin and Eugene Chaplin at the Chaplin’s World ribbon cutting ceremony
The Chaplin’s World ribbon cutting ceremony
Michael Chaplin, his wife Patricia, and Eugene Chaplin
The press floods Easy Street at the Chaplin’s World inauguration
Colette Aeby worked at the Manoir de Ban as a kitchen girl when she was 16 years old. She has fond memories of Charlie & Oona Chaplin and their children. Here she reminisces with Michael and Eugene Chaplin.
Carole Sandrin (who looks after the Chaplin photographic collection deposited at the Musée de l’Élysée - Lausanne), Tatyana Franck (director of the Musée de l’Élysée) & Cecilia Cenciarelli (head of the Chaplin Project at the Cineteca di Bologna) seem to have found the perfect spot for an impromptu meeting to discuss Chaplin projects…
Carole Sandrin (who looks after the Chaplin photographic collection deposited at the Musée de l’Élysée - Lausanne) caught up in the cogs from Modern Times at Chaplin’s World
Arnold Lozano of the Chaplin office visits a special barber at Chaplin’s World
The cabin from The Gold Rush at Chaplin’s World
The wings Chaplin had made for The Freak on display at Chaplin’s World
View of lake and mountains from the Manoir de Ban, the former Chaplin family home, now Chaplin’s World
The gorgeous bust of Chaplin by Clare Sheridan on display at Chaplin’s World
Chaplin’s iconic Tramp costume on display at Chaplin’s World
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