ABSTRACT
Because the combinations of plot motives are the basic element in cinema, in order to avoid an exposition of the characters and for other reasons that I shall write about below, in this art as in Italian comedy so-called masques with constant characters have appeared. These constant heroes move from film to film with no change of make up and without even changing their names: the forgotten Glupyshkin, Max Linder, Packson and the celebrated Charlie Chaplin. We must examine the example of Chaplin in greater detail.
