City Lights (1931)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

6 February 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Plot:

The Tramp struggles to help a blind flower girl he has fallen in love with.

Plot Keywords:

Tramp | Love | Little Tramp | Benefactor | Operation

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Virginia Cherrill	...	A Blind Girl
Florence Lee	...	The Blind Girl's Grandmother
Harry Myers	...	An Eccentric Millionaire
Al Ernest Garcia	...	The Eccentric Millionaire's Butler (as Allan Garcia)
Hank Mann	...	A Prizefighter
Charles Chaplin	...	A Tramp (as Charlie Chaplin)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Alexander	...	Extra in boxing scene (uncredited)
T.S. Alexander	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Victor Alexander	...	Superstitious boxer (uncredited)
Albert Austin	...	Street sweeper / Burglar (uncredited)
Harry Ayers	...	Cop (uncredited)
Eddie Baker	...	Boxing fight referee (uncredited)
Henry Bergman	...	Mayor / Blind Girl's downstairs neighbor (uncredited)
Betty Blair	...	Woman at center of table in restaurant (uncredited)
Jeanne Carpenter	...	Extra in restaurant scene (uncredited)
Marie Cooper	...	Dancer (uncredited)
Tom Dempsey	...	Boxer (uncredited)
Peter Diego	...	Man in mix-up with coat and hat (uncredited)
James Donnelly	...	Steet sweepers foreman (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Mrs. Garcia	...	Woman at left of table in restaurant (uncredited)
Milton Gowman	...	Extra in street scene (uncredited)
Robert Graves	...	Police Officer (uncredited)
Charles Hammond	...	Extra in street scene (uncredited)
Jean Harlow	...	Extra in restaurant scene (uncredited)
Ad Herman	...	Extra in boxing scene (uncredited)
Joseph Herrick	...	Extra in boxing scene (uncredited)
Mrs. Hyams	...	Flower shop assistant (uncredited)
Austen Jewell	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Willie Keeler	...	Boxer (uncredited)
A.B. Lane	...	Extra in boxing scene (uncredited)
Eddie McAuliffe	...	Eddie Mason, boxer (uncredited)
Margaret Oliver	...	Extra in street scene (uncredited)
Robert Parrish	...	Newsboy (uncredited)
Mrs. Pope	...	Extra in restaurant scene (uncredited)
John Rand	...	Tramp who dives for cigar (uncredited)
Granville Redmond	...	Sculptor (uncredited)
W.C. Robinson	...	Man who throws away cigar (uncredited)
Cy Slocum	...	Extra in boxing scene (uncredited)
Tony Stabenau	...	Victorious boxer, later knocked-out (uncredited)
Mark Strong	...	Man in Restaurant (uncredited)
Jack Sutherland	...	Tall man at party (uncredited)
Joe Van Meter	...	Burglar (uncredited)
Emmett Wagner	...	Second (uncredited)
Tiny Ward	...	Man in elevator in front of the art shop (uncredited)
Stanhope Wheatcroft	...	Distinguished gentleman in Cafe (uncredited)
Florence Wix	...	Woman who sits on cigar (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Chaplin		writer
Harry Clive		uncredited
Harry Crocker		uncredited

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin

Cinematography by
Gordon Pollock
Roland Totheroh		(as Rollie Totheroh)

Film Editing by
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)
Willard Nico		(uncredited)

Casting by
Al Ernest Garcia		(uncredited)

Set Decoration by
Charles D. Hall		(settings)

Production Management
Alfred Reeves	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Albert Austin	....	assistant director
Henry Bergman	....	assistant director
Harry Crocker	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Theodore Reed	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ralph Barton	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Mark Marlatt	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Frank Testera	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Music Department
Carl Davis	....	conductor (1989 score)
Arthur Johnston	....	music arranger
Alfred Newman	....	musical director
José Padilla	....	composer: theme "Flower Girl"

Transportation Department
Toraichi Kono	....	driver: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Other crew
Harry Crocker	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Carlyle Robinson	....	press representative (uncredited)
Della Steele	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Charles Chaplin Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Film & Teater (1931) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1931) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1931) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1950) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Parafrance Films (1972) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• CBS / Fox Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Creative Design (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Sandrews (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MK2 Diffusion (2006) (worldwide) (all media) (non-theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2006) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Movies Unlimited (2006) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime (USA) (copyright title)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent | Mono (musical score)

Certification:

France:U | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | West Germany:12 (1951) | Germany:6 (re-rating: 1997) | USA:G (1972) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Denmark:A (2003) | Norway:7 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Production was delayed on several occasions. In 1929, one break lasted 62 days.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the film's final scene, The Tramp is seen holding the flower to his face when seen from the front; when seen from the rear, he is holding it to his lapel.

Quotes:

The Tramp: Tomorrow the birds will sing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (1998) (TV)

One Of Chaplin''s Best & Most Endearing Films

I always thought this was one of Charlie Chaplin's nicest, most under-appreciated silent movie gems. Then I discovered it really wasn't underrated; it's rated very high on most critics' lists. It may be that I usually hear about some of his other movies than I do this one.

Part of the reason I think so highly of this is simply that I'm a sentimentalist and story in this film is a very touching one. It's a romance between Charlie's tramp character (no name) and a blind girl, who also had no name in this film. Virginia Cherill, who played the blind woman and had a wholesome, pretty face which I found very attractive.

I'm not always a huge fan of pantomime except for some great comedians of the era like Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, but Chaplin was so good at it and this is one of the last of dying breed as "talkies" were out in full force by 1931. Chaplin was at his best in silent movies, anyway, and his comedy routines are legendary. He gave me a lot of laughs in this film, as always, and I particularly laughed (I love slapstick) at the boxing scene. Kudos, too, to Harry Myers as the "eccentric millionaire."

There's a lot of drama as well as humor in this 86-minute gem as the Tramp tries to aid a blind girl, raising money so she can get an operation to restore her sight.

Comedy, romance, drama (with suffering) all combine to make this an extraordinary piece of entertainment. It's hard to believe this movie was not up for one, single Academy Award.