Chaplin wins Oscar for Limelight 20 years late
Charlie Chaplin received his only competitive Academy Award in 1973 for a film that premiered two decades earlier. Limelight opened in theaters on Oct. 23, 1952, but political tensions prevented the movie from screening in Los Angeles until 1972. The film follows an aging performer who saves a subaltern from suicide and rediscovers meaning in his career.
American Legion protests blocked the Los Angeles release after government officials investigated Chaplin’s alleged Communist Party connections while he traveled to England. Fox West Coast Theatres president Charles Skouras refused to show the picture in California. The absence of a Los Angeles screening made the production ineligible for the 1952 awards ceremony.
Academy voters nominated the musical score for recognition after the belated 1972 premiere. Chaplin shared the award with composers Ray Rasch and Larry Russell under eligibility rules that permitted older films to compete. The 82-year-old filmmaker returned from Switzerland to accept a lifetime achievement award at the 44th Academy Awards and received a 12-minute standing ovation from the audience.
