Movie: Chaplin's "Modern Times" (1936) mostly silent, part talky

[Bob Pr.]

Shown at our monthly "Great Films at the Cathedral" series.
"Modern Times" (1936) B&W, 97 min.; the last of Chaplin's "Little Tramp" films. Stars: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard.
IMDb rates it 8.5/10 stars and ranks it 65 of the 250 alltime best films ever: Modern Times (1936) - User ratings (females <18 & >45 rate it lower, around 6)
100% of film critics listed by "Rotten Tomatoes" rate it favorable ("ripe"): Modern Times Movie Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes
My rating is 10/10 stars
Trailer: Trailer 1 zu Modern Times - Sprache: en - Format: Flash

"Modern Times" was made during the Great Depression era (1929-41) and is a comment on that as well as the dehumanizing effects of assembly line, mass production techniques then recently popular. If Jon Stewart (of USA's TV "The Daily Show") had made a movie during that era, maybe "MT" is a slightly gentler version of what Stewart might have produced.

Chaplin was often called the most famous person alive on the strength of his many previous "Little Tramp" shorts and feature silent films that were viewed world-wide. But 'modern progress' introducing "talkies" in 1927 spelled the end of silent films and made obsolete the extremely skilled silent film techniques Chaplin had developed through self evaluation to better and more universally communicate without speaking any particular language. (This film is a hybrid between being a silent film and a talkie.) Also, in the early 1930s, Chaplin had made two lengthy round the world tours visiting many countries in which he saw the effects of the world-wide depression and assembly lines; these trips had a great effect on him. (In the USA, some factory conditions, typical of that era and what Chaplin saw, were described in a recent (April 2011) NPR report: Flint Sit-Down Striker: 'Equal Pay, Equal Conditions' : NPR )

Overall, the "MT" movie knits together five distinct segments that could be called: factory work; jail time; the night watchman; the singing waiter; building a new life together. The sets for some factory scenes (giant intermeshing gears that swallow and transport people) were astounding; Charlie's waiter scene in which he sings make-believe foreign words while acting/dancing its narrative in pantomime is fantastic; his athleticism and coordination as he skate-dances backwards and blindfolded is breath-taking; his anticipation of television monitors is remarkably prescient/foresighted; Paulette Goddard's beauty, one of CC's real life many loves (& possibly wives), was timeless and striking; and his values of empathy and kindness were clearly dominant.

The overall message of this film--delivered in many ways--urged viewers to find ways to adapt to whatever adversities come their way and to "smile."

Chaplin, as usual, wrote the screen play, directed, starred in, and composed all the music used in "MT" including the song "Smile" & its lyrics; its music and message often recur. [From the film: YouTube - Smile, Charlie Chaplin , Modern Times, 1936 With words, having clips from many CC films, see/hear: YouTube - ]

(We watched the Criterion version of "MT"; included was a 2nd disk which had several earlier "Little Tramp" comedy shorts. Watching these early, primitive slapstick performances shows how much work Chaplin put in to refining the Little Tramp's acting and communication with his audience. If you can see the Criterion version, please do--no flicker, dirt, or extraneous noise.)