Charlie Chaplin hone his craft as he moved to the Essanay, Mutual, and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the best-known figures in the world. In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length film was "The Kid" (1921), followed by "A Woman of Paris" (1923), "The Gold Rush" (1925), and "The Circus" (1928). He refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing "City Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936) without dialogue. He became increasingly political, and his next film "The Great Dictator" (1940) satirized
Charlie Chaplin in January 1921 with instant success, and, by 1924, had been screened in over 50 countries. Chaplin spent five months on his next film, the two-reeler "The Idle Class". Following its September 1921 release, he chose to return to England for the first time in almost a decade. He then worked to fulfil his First National contract, releasing "Pay Day" in February 1922. "The Pilgrim" – his final short film – was delayed by distribution disagreements with the studio, and released a year later. Having fulfilled his First National contract, Chaplin was free to make his first picture as an