It's usually pretty easy to figure out who were the Communists prior to Pearl Harbor. They're the ones who were anti-Nazi until the August 1939 Nazi/Soviet non-aggression pact, then became very anti-British, then, suddenly, around June 22, 1941 became very anti-Nazi again.
If they were consistently opposed to the Nazis throughout that period, especially during the ostensible Nazi/Soviet alliance, then they may have been left-wing, but they weren't Communist suck-ups.
rejected after concerns over possible outrage in the United States. Outrage from whom?
the main US objections Who is objecting? centred on his ingratitude 'for the material prosperity which his 42 years in America had bestowed upon him' and 'grave moral charges' over his relationships with teenage girls. Who are they quoting? I have to assume the (UK) Foreign Office papers.
serious US charges From whom?
mainly culled from the gossip columns Now we're getting the picture.
Chaplin had 'managed to shock even the broad-minded' with his marriages to 16-year-olds Determined, I suppose, by the gossip columnists. 'lies and vicious propaganda by powerful reactionary groups . . . Beats the hell out of "Vast Right Wing Conspiracy" but means the same thing.
The political allusions in Chaplin's films quickly raised alarm in the US. Alarm, you say? Who is being alarmed?
The Great Dictator (1940) . . . A year later he was hauled before a Senate sub-committee on war propaganda. Hmmm . . . hauled. I don't know about this event, but given The Observer's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if he were a less-than-hostile witness in a less-than-hostile proceeding. Besides, wouldn't a guy who wrote a film where he engages in anti-Nazi propaganda be a perfect person to ask?
FBI labelled Chaplin a 'premature anti-fascist', and continued to monitor him while he was in America. This is the ONLY specific charge from the US. No date, BTW.
In 1942, Chaplin was vocal in calling for Allied support for the Soviet war effort. Interesting POV considering he was British and the Brits were a little busy themselves to go around helping out Stalin.
By the late Forties it is believed the FBI had a 1,900-page file on Chaplin. Ah, the passive voice again. By whom, praytell?
He courted controversy by accepting a peace prize from the 'communist-sponsored' World Peace Council in June 1954, Now The Observer puts that phrase in quotes, but I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that it was more than a little 'communist-sponsored'. They could have at least done us the favor of checking.
having dinner with Chinese Prime Minister Chou En-lai a month later Why every private citizen did that in the early fifties!
and meeting Soviet Prime Minister Nikolai Bulganin in London in 1956. The trifecta!
effectively barred from returning. "Effectively?" How is it "effective" but not "actual"? I'd like to hear more. Why does it not surprise me that The Observer doesn't elaborate?
The Foreign Office concluded . . . '. . . there has been remarkably little disposition, outside left-wing circles, to question the action of the Department of Justice in 1952 in virtually barring re-entry into the United States.' "Virtually" instead of "essentially", this time. The Foreign Service sees fit to put a lot of words in Americans' mouths. Besides, outside of left-wing circles, I doubt anybody cared. You can rest assured that it was topic #1 at The Nation, though.
See what I mean?