Modern Times (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Modern Times | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Charlie Chaplin |
| Produced by | Charlie Chaplin |
| Written by | Charlie Chaplin |
| Starring | Charlie Chaplin Paulette Goddard Henry Bergman Stanley Sandford Chester Conklin |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | February 5, 1936 (USA) |
| Running time | 87 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,500,000 US (est.) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Modern Times is a 1936 film by Charlie Chaplin that has his famous Little Tramp character struggling to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The film is a comment on the desperate employment and fiscal conditions many people faced during the Great Depression, conditions created, in Chaplin's view, by the efficiencies of modern industrialization. The movie stars Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Stanley Sandford and Chester Conklin. It was written and directed by Chaplin, and marked the final screen appearance of the iconic Tramp character.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Modern Times sees Charlie Chaplin in the role of a factory worker, employed at an assembly line. After being force-fed by a machine during an experimentation and constant overworking of screwing pieces of machinery, he suffers a mental breakdown and is sent to a hospital. Following his recovery the now unemployed worker is arrested for supposedly leading a Communist demonstration, when he simply picks up a flag dropped by a car and police believe him to be communist leader, leading a rally. In jail, when he accidentally eats "snuff" believing it to be salt, he walks into a jailbreak and knocks out the convicts. Hailed a hero, he is released.
Outside the jail, he discovers life is harsh, and attempts to get arrested after failing to get a decent job. Soon he runs into an orphan girl gamine who was fleeing away from police after stealing a loaf of bread. To save the girl he tells police that he has stolen the loaf and is ought to be arrested. However, another witness reveals to the police that he is not the thief. The worker goes into a cafeteria and doesn't pay for an enormous amount of food he eats to get arrested. He meets up with the gamin in the paddy wagon which crashes, and they escape. Dreaming of a better life, he gets a job as a night watchman at a department store, and sneaks her into the store, and even lets burglars have some food. Waking up the next morning in a pile of clothes gets him arrested once more.
Ten days later, the gamin takes him to a new home, which she admits "isn't Buckingham Palace" but will do. The next morning, the worker reads of a new factory and grabs a job. There he helps to get his boss out of machinery, before another strike. Accidentally paddling a brick into a policeman, he is arrested again. Two weeks later, he comes out of jail and learns the gamine is a cafe dancer, and she tries to get him a job as a singer. By night time, he becomes an efficient waiter though he finds it difficult telling the difference between the "in" and "out" doors to the kitchen as well as delivering a roasted duck. Losing one of his cuff links with lyrics written on, he improvises a song. When juvenile officers come to arrest the gamin for escaping from them earlier, he and she escape. On the road at dawn, they walk towards an uncertain but hopeful future.
[edit] Cast
- Charlie Chaplin - A factory worker
- Paulette Goddard - A gamine
- Henry Bergman - Cafe proprietor
- Chester Conklin - Mechanic
- Stanley Sandford - Big Bill
- Hank Mann - Burglar
- Stanley Blystone - Gamine's father
- Allan Garcia - President of the Electro Steel Corp.
[edit] Production
- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- Producer: Charlie Chaplin
- Screenwriter: Charlie Chaplin
- Director of Photography: Rollie Totheroh, Ira Morgan
Chaplin began preparing the film in 1934 as his first "talkie", and went as far as writing a dialogue script and experimenting with some sound scenes. However, he soon abandoned these attempts and reverted to a silent format with synchronized sound effects. The dialogue experiments confirmed his long-standing conviction that the universal appeal of the Tramp would be lost if the character ever spoke on screen, and indeed this film marks the Tramp's final screen appearance. Most of the film was shot at "silent speed", 18 frames per second, which when projected at "sound speed", 24 frames per second, makes the slapstick action appear even more frenetic. Available prints of the film now correct this.
Although not a "Talkie," Modern Times does include a synchronized sound track featuring foley effects, music, singers, and voices coming from radios, loudspeakers, and a Telescreen in the washroom. Towards the end of the film the Little Tramp's voice is heard for the first time as he ad-libs pseudo-French and Italian gibberish to the tune of Léo Daniderff's popular song, Je cherche après Titine.
[edit] Music
The music score was composed by Chaplin himself, and arranged with the assistance of Alfred Newman. The romance theme was later given lyrics, and became the pop standard "Smile", first recorded by Nat King Cole and later covered by such artists as Michael Jackson, Liberace and Judy Garland.
[edit] Reception
Modern Times is often hailed as one of Chaplin's greatest achievements, and it remains one of his more popular films. The film has been deemed "culturally significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. The iconic depiction of Chaplin working frantically to keep up with an assembly line inspired later comedy routines including Disney's Der Fuehrer's Face and an episode of I Love Lucy titled "Lucy in the Candy Factory."
This was Chaplin's first overtly political-themed film, and its unflattering portayal of industrial society generated controversy in some quarters upon its initial release. However, the political aspects of the film are secondary to the brilliant comic and human elements, and modern audiences often overlook the Great Depression-Era politics.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
The Mack Sennett Comedies: Kid Auto Races at Venice
The Chaplin-Mutual Comedies: The Floorwalker • The Fireman • The Vagabond • One A.M. • The Count • The Pawnshop • Behind the Screen • The Rink • Easy Street • The Cure • The Immigrant • The Adventurer
Feature-length films: Tillie's Punctured Romance • The Kid • A Woman of Paris • The Gold Rush • The Circus • City Lights • Modern Times • The Great Dictator • Monsieur Verdoux • Limelight • A King in New York • A Countess from Hong Kong
Other films: The New Janitor • Chaplin
Stock company: Edna Purviance • Eric Campbell • Albert Austin • Henry Bergman
