1997
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Francis Bordat, « Charlot centripète, ou le déplacement inutile », Revue Française d'Études Américaines, ID : 10.3406/rfea.1997.1683
Mack Sennett's slapstick tradition and the comedy of silent clowns in the 1910s and 1920s are characterized by speeded up motion and the thrill of displacement. It is argued here that Chaplin 's tramp resists the centrifugal forces of that knockabout style. Rooted in the assumption that moving is "useless, " a centripetal principle sems to govern both Charlie's acting and Chaplin 's directing, to the extent of structuring the gags and the films themselves in a decisive way.