Mystery of the Charlie Chaplin cell phone user, solved?

Though the story has been floating around the internet for some time, the mystery of the Charlie Chaplin cell phone user has received renewed attention of late as the story has been picked up by various local and even national media.

In footage shot at the Hollywood premiere of Charlie Chaplin's The Circus, which took place at Grauman's Chinese Theater in 1928, there appears to be a woman passing in front of the camera who is speaking into a cell phone or some sort of mobile device. The woman is dressed in black, with a hat hiding most of her face. She is clearly seen to be talking as she walks alone. It’s something one might see today and not give a second thought.

The footage was first posted on YouTube by a film buff & film maker in Belfast, Ireland named George Clarke. Since then, the video has gone viral with hundreds of thousands of hits and thousands of people making comments and giving opinions about what the woman is holding.

The fact that the original footage – available as bonus material on a Chaplin DVD – was shot in 1928 has set not only the internet a twitter, but it has led to some rather speculative speculation. Cell phones, of course, did not exist back in the silent film era. That's why some have gone so far as to postulate that the person seen speaking into their hand may in fact be a time traveler.

Is this all some sort of Ballywho? You be the judge.

The time traveler theory, which is receiving its share of attention in some quarters, is being knocked by others because back in the Twenties there was no cell phone network, and thus no cell phone reception. Logical enough . . . .

What the woman is holding may be an early electronic hearing aid. A carbon amplifier patented by Siemens in 1924 played a major role in hearing aid technology and significantly raised the volume of previously available hearing aids. Siemens’ patent for a compact, pocket sized carbon microphone / amplifier device was suitable for pocket instruments. It could be carried in a small purse, or clutch, not unlike the supposed cell phone user might have possessed.

If that explanation doesn’t satisfy, then there’s always Doctor Who. The popular hero of the British science fiction television series is well known as a traveler in time (it’s how he makes his living), and his recent companions have been known to use their cell phones to call home no matter where or when they are in the universe. Might the woman spotted in the 1928 footage be a companion or even the Doctor dressed in drag?

Also, consider this: a recent Doctor Who comic book, “Silver Scream,” has the TV character in 1920's Hollywood hanging around with Charlie Chaplin and other Hollywood celebrities, like Adolphe Menjou (who is also seen in the Hollywood premiere footage).

What more evidence do you need?

For more info:  The original YouTube video which started it all can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6a4T2tJaSU   A DVD of the 1928 Chaplin film, The Circus, which contains footage of the Hollywood premiere, is available through amazon.com and other retailers.

Thomas Gladysz is an arts journalist and author. Recently, he wrote the introduction to the new “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Böhme's classic book, The Diary of a Lost Girl (PandorasBox Press). He will speak about this new book at the San Francisco Public Library on November 14.