Please note: This was screened in Jan 2019
Would Charlie Chaplin have ever reached his heights of success if it weren't for his big brother, Sydney? An improbable character inhabiting the shadows with a fiction-like destiny, Sydney’s chequered life and role behind the scenes of the most recognised comic character in the world, is explored in this new documentary.
Accomplished comedian, beloved uncle and brother, dubious businessman, philandering womaniser - these are just some of the many faces of Sydney John Hill Chaplin. Through interviews with experts such as David Robinson, Kevin Brownlow, Kate Guyonvarch and Sydney’s biographer Lisa Stein Haven, combined with rare home movie footage, archival photographs, artefacts and documents, a larger than life true story of this enigmatic, often controversial, character is revealed.