Charlot as Cinema: Louis Delluc and Charlie Chaplin at the Dawn of Film Criticism

Louis Delluc’s Charlot (1921) was the first book-length study of Charlie Chaplin and the first such critical study of any cinematic artist. Though still cited for its place in Chaplin studies and its role in the development of French film theory, it is rarely considered at length. This article presents an in-depth examination of Delluc’s treatise, focusing especially on its relationship to the concepts of cinematic representation and filmic authorship expressed in Delluc’s groundbreaking film journalism. Through its historicization and analysis of Chaplin’s work, Charlot aims ultimately to substantiate film’s then-contested status as an art form worthy of critical attention.