Today’s “Summer Under the Stars” salute is devoted to Charlie Chaplin, one of the early cinematic
auteurs who made the movies shine, and sparkle – and who made the movies, period. Turn to TCM at sunup, and stay until sunup tomorrow. The day’s menu includes one gem after another, including 1921’s
The Kid (at 8:30 a.m. ET), 1925’s
The Gold Rush (9:30 a.m. ET), and 1940’s
The Great Dictator (5:30 p.m. ET), perhaps the one Chaplin picture you should take great pains to watch today, given our life and times. Also on the bill: 1931’s
City Lights (8 p.m. ET) and 1936’s
Modern Times (9:45 p.m. ET). For a taste of what’s in store all day, check out what I said, and presented, yesterday on our TV Worth Watching YouTube Channel for our
“Best TV Tomorrow” video. It’s not a silent movie… but in the clip that concludes the video, Charlie Chaplin is far from silent himself.