Step right up and prepare to be amazed by how the American circus shaped—and was shaped by—a rapidly expanding and industrializing nation. THE CIRCUS is now streaming online and on the PBS app! | American Experience | PBS

The Circus is a 1928 silent film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film stars Chaplin, Al Ernest Garcia, Merna Kennedy, Harry Crocker, George Davis and Henry Bergman. The ringmaster of an impoverished circus hires Chaplin's Little Tramp as a clown, but discovers that he can only be funny unintentionally. The production of the film was the most difficult experience in Chaplin's career. Numerous problems and delays occurred, including a studio fire, the death of Chaplin's mot