50 years ago: Modern Times, Chaplin's masterpiece farewell to the silent era, released

Modern Times Released: February 25, 1936 Studio: United Artists Genre: comedy, drama, family Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 0.16 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 5.80 Worldwide: ?

Directing: Charles Chaplin Screenwriting: Charles Chaplin Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman Review: In this “consistently hilarious, and unforgettable” LM “Chaplin masterpiece” VD he says farewell to his “beloved character The Tramp.” MSN “This social protest film was also Chaplin’s final great effort in the silent era, as the talkies overtook silent films. The film was made between 1932 and 1936, with Chaplin writing, directing, producing and scoring it.” MSN It is “a ‘mostly silent,’ funny and poignant comedy/satire in which Charlie Chaplin bids farewell to silent comedy.” FS Modern Times “perfectly captures Chaplin: naive, but ever so heartfelt.” TV It is a comic nightmare of mass production, runaway capitalism, the police state – all of which helped get the film (and its star) labeled Red.” TV Chaplin is a factory worker “in the Depression era of poverty and unrest” FS slaving “on a dehumanizing automated assembly line” FS overseen by his “‘Big-Brother’ tyrannical boss who spies on employees with a giant TV monitor and demands greater speed and efficiency.” FS Chaplin “quickly has a nervous breakdown [and] goes insane.” FS “After several trips to the hospital and jail, ultimately finds happiness with a kindred soul.” A07 “He meets and falls in love with an orphaned street waif and fellow vagabond The Gamine (Goddard), and the two dream of a contented, suburban existence.” FS The movie “includes some utterly stunning sequences” TV such as “his trip through the cogs of a factory.” TV “In one of the ‘sound’ sequences, the Tramp impersonates a singing waiter.” FS “The feeding-machine sequence is priceless.” FS The “final shot is among Chaplin’s most famous and most poignant.” LM It is “a touching ending – a final farewell to the Little Tramp character.” FS Sources: A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition” FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leonard Maltin Guillermo del Toro First posted 6/4/2023.

 

50 years ago: City Lights, Charlie Chaplin's last silent film, released

City Lights Released: January 30, 1931 Studio: United Artists Genre: silent/comedy/romance Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 5.0 Worldwide: -- Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Charles Chaplin Screenwriting: Charles Chaplin Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee Review: Four years after “the talkie revolution” PD Charlie Chaplin, “cinema’s greatest clown,” PD “stuck to what made him the world’s biggest star: keeping his mouth shut.” PD For his final silent film, he was able to incorporate “the occasional comic use of sound” T95 though the use of sound effects. “In the opening sequence, the urban misfit (his quintessential ‘Little Tramp’ character) parodies ‘talking’ films.” FS “The movie’s enormous success demonstrated that he was still a beloved star.” MSN “The silent comedian had spent years finding the right mix of silliness and sentimentality, and the combination was never more sublime than in this romantic pearl of a film,” VY Chaplin’s “magnum opus.” PD It was “eloquent, moving, and funny” LM and “critically acclaimed for its blend of sentimental drama, pathos, melancholy romance, slapstick, and comic pantomime.” FS Chaplin demonstrated “supreme delicacy in conveying all shades of human feeling.” T95 This was “ultimately his personal favorite of his many masterworks, it was his baby and he took an unusually long time to piece it together.” PD To get the moment just right when the Little Tramp meets a blind flower girl (Cherrill), Chaplin shot the scene 342 times. VY He even composed the movie’s score – a first for him – “adding that to his other credits: actor, writer, director, producer, editor and to quote W.C. Fields “the greatest ballet dancer who ever lived.” PD The flower girl falls for the Little Tramp. Unable to see his tattered suit, she mistakenly believes he is a millionaire. He “befriends a rich drunk…to illegally get the money the girl needs for an eye operation.” VD “Renowned, influential film critic James Agee called the film’s final scene ‘the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid.’” PD “The film’s final shot is unforgettably poignant;” FS “Many firmly regard…[it] as the best ending in movie history.” PD Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud PD Parade.com (5/22/2023). “…We Ranked the 100 Best Movies of All Time!” by Samuel R. Murrian T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” VY Variety.com (12/21/2022). “The 100 Greatest Movies of All Time” VD Video Detective (1997). “Top 100 Films of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Lists: Experts’ Picks: Genre Lists: First posted 6/9/2023.