Two of Charlie Chaplin's talented offspring -- Charles Jr. and Sidney -- make a rare joint appearance in the German comedy Columbus Entdeckt Kraehwinkel (Columbus Discovers Kraehwinkel). The Chaplin boys play a couple of American ex-GIs who return to the tiny Teutonic village of Kraehwinkel after the war, there to be reunited with their fraulein sweethearts. They also intend to bring Kraehwinkel into the 20th century by "Americanizing" the place, despite fierce opposition from the tradition-bound locals. Their scheme works so well that one of the boys loses his girlfriend to the town's new pro-USA burgomeister. A film that has apparently long since disappeared, Columbus Entdeckt Kraehwinkel might prove an interesting rediscovery for Chaplin buffs.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
