Modern Times (1936)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (written by)

Release Date:

25 February 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He stands alone as the greatest entertainer of modern times! No one on earth can make you laugh as heartily or touch your heart as deeply...the whole world laughs, cries and thrills to his priceless genius!

Plot:

The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

Plot Keywords:

Machine | Invention | Police | Tramp | Jail

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	A Factory Worker (as Charlie Chaplin)
Paulette Goddard	...	A Gamin
Henry Bergman	...	Cafe Proprietor
Tiny Sandford	...	Big Bill (as Stanley Sandford)
Chester Conklin	...	Mechanic
Hank Mann	...	Burglar
Stanley Blystone	...	Gamin's Father
Al Ernest Garcia	...	President of the Electro Steel Corp. (as Allan Garcia)
Richard Alexander	...	Prison Cellmate (as Dick Alexander)
Cecil Reynolds	...	Minister
Mira McKinney	...	Minister's Wife (as Myra McKinney)
Murdock MacQuarrie	...	J. Widdecombe Billows (as Murdoch McQuarrie)
Wilfred Lucas	...	Juvenile Officer
Edward LeSaint	...	Sheriff Couler (as Ed Le Sainte)
Fred Malatesta	...	Cafe Head Waiter

Also Known As:

The Masses (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Portugal:M/6 | USA:Approved (PCA #1596) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Netherlands:AL | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Denmark:A (2003) | Norway:7 | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | Australia:G | West Germany:6 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard & Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

According to Paulette Goddard, Chaplin was deeply and profoundly involved in the recording of the musical score. He spent days upon days in the recording studio writing themes, and only left when Paulette begged him.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the visit of the Minister in jail, Charlie sits next to the Minister's wife and they make funny noises. The distance between them varies between shots.

Quotes:

[Listening to a phonograph record]
The Mechanical Salesman: Good morning, my friends. This record comes to you through the Sales Talk Transcription Company, Incorporated: your speaker, the Mechanical Salesman. May I take the pleasure of introducing Mr. J. Widdecombe Billows, the inventor of the Billows Feeding Machine...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: (#8.40)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

In the Evening by the Moonlight

See That Little Man Over There? Remember When No One Was Better?

Charles Chaplin seemingly had been pushed out of the movie business by the early-1930s due to the advent of sound (a medium that just never seemed right with him). Chaplin, probably the best film-maker/performer of the 20th Century, did not despair though. He fought back with heart and emotion and by 1936 "Modern Times" was a major box office and critical success. It is a movie that quietly showed a man suffering through a world of change. As a factory worker in the film, Chaplin tries to cope with the industrial revolution and tries to make it through a quickly changing U.S. economy. He finds love with vagrant Paulette Goddard (who ended up marrying Chaplin in real life) and the two come together and lean on one another in a world of uncertainty and change. "Modern Times" is one of those films that will put a smile on your face, but it could make you weep just as easily. Chaplin's world was changing (and not necessarily for the better from his point of view) and he wanted to express the variations in his old way of doing things and the new way everyone else had accepted. Goddard is also probably the best actress to match Chaplin's charm in one of his pictures. Their love for one another (even though the marriage lasted a relatively short amount of time in real life) just seems to shine on the silver screen and they have a chemistry that is sweet and heart-warming. Beautifully made, wonderfully written, perfectly performed, smart, insightful and always brilliant, "Modern Times" is another film from Chaplin that will brand itself on the souls of all true lovers of the cinema. 5 stars out of 5.