Modern Times (1936)

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

Director:

Charles Chaplin (as Charlie Chaplin)

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (as Charlie Chaplin)

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman

Top Rated Movies #39 | 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Chaplin's last 'silent' film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age, (The use of sound in films ?) and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital - When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.

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Plot Keywords:

jail | actor director writer | music score composed by director | factory | satire | 

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Taglines:

When you see him caught in the whirlpool of modern life...dwarfed by giant machines..clinging to a beautiful but nameless waif...you'll realize that only Chaplin could produce so magnificent comedy..so poignant a story!(original print ad)

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Austria, censors snipped the scene of The Tramp inadvertently leading the mob with a red flag.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 14 mins) When Charlie tries to get the roasted duck dinner to the table, the items on his tray are fixed in place. The wine cradle barely moves when he swings the tray overhead, yet when the tray is on the table seconds later, it does.

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Quotes

[first lines]
President of the Electro Steel Corp.: Section 5, speed her up, 401.

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Alternate Versions

The opening credits on the 2003 DVD release have been digitally changed to insert a new copyright notice. The 2003 DVD release includes, in its supplementary material, a deleted scene in which Chaplin unsuccessfully tries to cross a busy street.

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Connections

Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: 20 Fan Programmers (2014)

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Soundtracks

In the Evening by the Moonlight
(1880) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by James Allen Bland
Performed by waiters in the cafe

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

Instagram Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Masses

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,809, 28 December 2003

Gross USA:

$163,577

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$457,688

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System) Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1