Film EventsCharlie Chaplin's Red Letter DaysMonday, May 18, 2026 at 6:30 PM
An extraordinary interactive live stage and screen show will be offered by author, actor, magician, and pantomime artist Dan Kamin, a world-wide authority on Charlie Chaplin, Monday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m. Kamin famously trained Robert Downey, Jr. for his Oscar nominated performance in "Chaplin" and created Johnny Depp's physical comedy routines for the movie "Benny and Joon". With "Charlie Chaplin's Red Letter Days" at the Orinda, Kamin will illustrate, live, how Chaplin risked fame, fortune and reputation by making a comedy about World War One while the conflict was still happening. Through the use of on-screen images, stories and remarkable history he has uncovered through years of research, the program will culminate with a screening of "Shoulder Arms" (1918), in a newly compiled version to most closely match its original release. It is an unflinching look at the horrific realities of trench warfare through the Tramp's experiences as a doughboy. It became a blockbuster 'round the globe establishing Chaplin as the preeminent artist of the defining art form of the twentieth century, motion pictures.