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 #37 | 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:

actor director writer | music score composed by director | the little tramp character | national film registry | afi | 

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Taglines:

Laugh . . . Cry and Thrill To his Genius . . !

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

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:

$11,507, 9 January 2004, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$163,245, 24 October 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Newman, musical director for United Artists, was brought in to record and conduct the score. Charles Chaplin had been dissatisfied with the orchestral work on City Lights (1931), so this time he sat in on all recording sessions, interrupting often, ordering retakes, overruling Newman's instructions to the orchestra, and taking the recording sessions into the early morning hours. During one especially tense all-night session, he accused Newman of laziness. The conductor stomped out and never worked with Chaplin again. Newman's assistant, Eddie Powell, took over conducting for the remainder of the work.

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Goofs

(at around 1h 3 mins) When the factory worker is trapped in the machine, the position of some of the wheels changes between shots.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in JFK (1991)

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Soundtracks

The Prisoner's Song
(1924) (uncredited)
Written by Guy Massey

User Reviews

Hilarious work of genius

Hilarious, touching, anarchic, revolutionary, realist, surreal, of its time, timeless - Modern Times is a multifaceted work of genius. When it's over and you recall the number of sight gags and magic sequences Chaplin has packed into 85 minutes, it is incredible - the conveyer belt and nut turning; Chaplin caught in the cogwheels; the feeding machine; the Red Flag march; the "nose powder"; the roller skating ballet; the waiter with tray caught up in the dance (my favourite); the gibberish song - and many more. Then there is his mixing of silent and sound techniques, making the best of both worlds, not falling between stools as some directors might have done.

Of course, there is also a political and social dimension; many of the scenes refer to the impact of technical advances, of bureaucracy, and of the then current depression, on the ordinary "little man". And it is the little man, the individual caught up in society's complex machinery, whom Chaplin championed. He may have sympathised with left-wing political parties and unions in so far as they supported ordinary working people, but Chaplin's essential beliefs are enshrined in the final "words" and shot, with him telling Paulette Godard, that she should keep smiling, they will get along, as they walk, a couple of individuals, into an uncertain future. Beyond politics, the individual has to rely on his or her own resources and spirit to survive.