1952: Charlie Chaplin Banned From The US - The Guardian

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Charlie Chaplin and his wife Oona on the roof of the hotel they stayed in in London in 1952. Photograph: Daily Mail / Rex Features
Charlie Chaplin and his wife Oona on the roof of the hotel they stayed in in London in 1952. Photograph: Daily Mail / Rex Features
From the Guardian archiveCharlie Chaplin This article is more than 14 years old1952: Charlie Chaplin banned from the USThis article is more than 14 years oldNewly released files from the National Archives reveal that MI5 opened a file on Charlie Chaplin in 1952 after the FBI asked them for help. Here's how the Guardian reported on the United States' treatment of the star at the timeLauren NilandFri 17 Feb 2012 12.25 GMTSharePrefer the Guardian on Google
US ban Chaplin
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September 1952 marked Charlie Chaplin's first visit to England in 21 years; yet it also marked the beginning of his exile from the United States. The trip to Europe was meant to be a brief one to promote his new film Limelight, with Chaplin remarking upon his departure that "I shall probably be away for six months, but no more." However, on 19 September, while Chaplin was still at sea, the US Attorney-General announced plans to lauch an inquiry into whether he would be re-admitted to the US. In the end it would be 20 years before he would return.

Charlie's defence
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US press such as the New York Times cautioned that "those who have followed him through the years cannot easily regard him as a dangerous person"; but, as the above article reporting from a press conference given by Chaplin at Cherbourg on 22 September details, American critics of Chaplin's "anti-Americanness' had been following him since 1917.

British Pathé footage of Charlie Chaplin arriving in England in 1952. British Pathe

Chaplin arrived in Southampton on 23 September to a rapturous greeting from fans and well-wishers, and later that day gave a press conference in London where he resolutely stated that he was not a Communist, but someone "who wants nothing more for humanity than a roof over every man's head."

Charlie press
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