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City Lights (1931)

With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin
Reviews
Popularity
4,998 ( 133)
Top Rated Movies #43 | 3 wins. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Virginia Cherrill ... A Blind Girl
Florence Lee Florence Lee ... The Blind Girl's Grandmother
Harry Myers ... An Eccentric Millionaire
Al Ernest Garcia ... James - the Millionaire's Butler (as Allan Garcia)
Hank Mann ... A Prizefighter
Charles Chaplin ... A Tramp (as Charlie Chaplin)
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Storyline

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind girl. Her family is in financial trouble. The tramp's on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor. Written by John J. Magee <magee@helix.mgh.harvard.edu>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

His First Picture in Three Years! The KING is Himself AGAIN! The Whole Town Will Go Chaplin-Mad! (Print Ad-Lawrence Daily Journal-World, ((Lawrence, Kans.)) 21 March 1931) See more »

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Certificate:

G | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Virginia Cherrill, Charles Chaplin was never interested in her sexually. "I was 20. Charlie liked them younger." See more »

Goofs

(at around 1h 9 mins) When the Tramp is knocked out on the table in the locker room you see a pair of boxing gloves hooked on a post behind the table. The Tramp wakes up and struggles to sit up. The entire scene you can clearly see a wire attached to one of those gloves that when triggered, falls on his head, knocking him out once again. See more »

Quotes

A Blind Girl: Thank you for your kindness, sir.
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Alternate Versions

About seven minutes of footage of Georgia Hale playing the flower girl exists and is included in the 2003 DVD release. The footage was shot during a brief period when the actress originally cast to play the character had been fired and replaced with Hale, but Charles Chaplin was forced to resume filming with the original actress due to the amount of film already shot. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Las últimas horas... (1966) See more »

Soundtracks

Happy Romance
(1931) (uncredited)
Music by Charles Chaplin
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User Reviews

 
One Of Chaplin''s Best & Most Endearing Films
15 July 2007 | by ccthemovieman-1See all my reviews

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.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None | English

Release Date:

7 March 1931 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,102, 8 July 2007

Gross USA:

$19,181

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$46,008
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Silent | Mono (musical score)

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1
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