<P> He was the first and the last person who was in charge of every aspect of making his films . He started his own film studio United Artists; was in charge of directing, writing, editing, producing and casting the films in which he played . It is said that he changed the film industry into an art form in the first decades of the 20th century . It was his personality, and his genius with "expressive grace", "endless inventiveness" and creativity that made him an American icon He preferred making silent films, (he made more than 75 silent films) setting the acting and the plot in the center of the action . His best known films are The Great Dictator (1940), Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), The Circus (1928), City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) </P> <P> He was so highly recognizable that a movement of "Chaplinitis" was formed by 1920 . There were Chaplin songs, dances, comic books, dolls, and cocktails . Poems were written about him and his pantomime . The Beat Generation (of writers) made him one of its icons . In the' 80s IBM took the Tramp for the logo in their advertisements of personal computers </P> <P> "Every few weeks, outside the movie theater in virtually any American town in the late 1910s, stood the life - size cardboard figure of a small tramp--outfitted in tattered, baggy pants, a cutaway coat and vest, impossibly large, worn - out shoes and a battered derby hat--bearing the inscription I AM HERE TODAY". "The endearing figure of his Little Tramp was instantly recognizable around the globe and brought laughter to millions . Still is . Still does" </P> <P> During the McCarthy era he was attacked and condemned by some for the increasingly politicized messages of his films; and he was accused of "anti-American activities" and of being a suspected communist supporter . He maintained his British citizenship, and after a trip to England in 1952 and for many years he wasn't allowed to re-enter the U.S. Finally in 1972 he triumphantly returned and was awarded an honorary Oscar . He is perceived today as an American film icon due to the charm and brilliance of his films . </P>

Discuss the american interest in european modern art in the early twentieth century