Modern Times (film)
Modern Times | |
---|---|
Directed by | Charlie Chaplin |
Written by | Charlie Chaplin |
Produced by | Charlie Chaplin |
Starring | Charlie Chaplin Paulette Goddard Henry Bergman Tiny Sandford Chester Conklin |
Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan Roland Totheroh |
Edited by | Charlie Chaplin Willard Nico |
Music by | Charlie Chaplin |
Production company | Charles Chaplin Productions |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Sound (Part-Talkie) English Intertitles |
Budget | $1.5 million[1] |
Box office | $1.8 million (U.S. and Canada rentals)[2] |
Modern Times is a 1936 American part-talkie comedy film produced, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. In Chaplin's last performance as the iconic Little Tramp, his character struggles to survive in the modern, industrialized world. The also stars Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford and Chester Conklin.
Modern Times has won many awards and honors, and is widely considered one of the
Plot
Upon release, he applies for a new job with a shipbuilder but leaves after causing an accident. Soon after, he runs into an orphaned girl, Ellen, who is fleeing the police after stealing a loaf of bread. Determined to go back to jail and to save her from arrest, the Tramp tells the police that he is the thief and asks to be arrested, but a witness reveals his deception and he is freed. He then eats an enormous amount of food at a
Days later, Ellen takes him to a run-down shack to live in. The next morning, he reads about an old factory's re-opening and lands a job as a mechanic's assistant. The other workers then suddenly decide to go on strike, and tell the Tramp to leave with them. Outside the factory, he accidentally launches a brick at a policeman and is arrested again.
He is released two weeks later, and learns that Ellen is now a café dancer. She gets him a job as a singer and waiter, but he goes about his duties clumsily. During his floor show, he loses his cuffs, which bear the lyrics to his song, but he rescues the act by improvising the lyrics using gibberish and by pantomiming. When police arrive to arrest Ellen for her earlier escape, the two are forced to flee again, and Ellen despairs that their struggles are all pointless, but the Tramp reassures her. At a bright dawn, they walk down the road towards an uncertain but hopeful future.
Cast
- Charlie Chaplin as a factory worker (The Tramp)
- Paulette Goddard as Ellen Peterson "The Gamin"
- Henry Bergman as the Café proprietor
- Stanley "Tiny" Sandford as Big Bill
- Chester Conklin as a Mechanic
- Al Ernest Garcia as the President of the Electro Steel Corp.
- Stanley Blystone as Gamin's father
- Richard Alexander as the prison cellmate
- Cecil Reynolds as the Minister
- Mira McKinney as the Minister's wife
- Murdock MacQuarrie as J. Widdecombe Billows, inventor
- Wilfred Lucas as the Juvenile Officer
- Edward LeSaint as Sheriff Couler
- Fred Malatesta as the Café head waiter
- Sammy Stein as the turbine operator
- Hank Mann as burglar with Big Bill
- Louis Natheaux as burglar with Big Bill
- Juana Sutton as the woman with buttoned bosom
- Ted Oliver as Billow's assistant
- Gloria Delson as Gamin's sister
- Gloria DeHaven as Gamin's sister[3]
- Bobby Barber as Worker
- Heinie Conklin as Worker
- Harry Wilson as Worker
- Fred Shields as speaker on phonograph record[citation needed]
- Paul Schwegler as football player[4]
- Nate Barragar as football player[4]
- Ernie Smith as football player[4]
Production
During a European tour promoting City Lights, Chaplin got the inspiration for Modern Times from both the lamentable conditions of the continent through the Great Depression, along with a conversation with Mahatma Gandhi in which they discussed modern technology. Chaplin did not understand why Gandhi generally opposed it, though he granted that "machinery with only consideration of profit" had put people out of work and ruined lives.[5]
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 and sparse dialogue. The dialogue experiments confirmed his long-standing conviction that the universal appeal of his "Little Tramp" character would be lost if the character ever spoke on screen. Most of the film was shot at "silent speed", 18 frames per second, which when projected at "sound speed", 24 frames per second, made the slapstick action appear even more frenetic. The duration of filming was long for the time, beginning on October 11, 1934, and ending on August 30, 1935.[6]
Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance has noted: “Chaplin recognized that Modern Times was the valedictory for the Tramp and deliberately included many gags and sequences as a loving farewell to the character and an homage to the visual comedy tradition."[7]
This film also famously uses matte painting in the harrowing skating scene where Charlie skates blindfolded, not realizing he's constantly near the edge and very likely could fall down. The illusory drop has been matte-painted, and Chaplin was never in actual danger while filming this scene — in reality, he skated on a plain floor, with a ledge for him to discern when to stop. This can be observed in the fact that, at one moment, Chaplin's back wheel briefly disappeared behind the painting. This most likely escaped the eyes of Chaplin, which could be the reason he left it in.[8]
The reference to drugs seen in the prison sequence is somewhat daring for the time (since the
Music
According to the official documents, the music score was composed by Chaplin himself, and arranged with the assistance of
The romance theme was later given lyrics, and became the pop standard "Smile", first recorded by Nat King Cole. A cover of this song by Jimmy Durante was also used in the trailer for the 2019 film Joker, in which the lead character also watches scenes from a showing of Modern Times after sneaking into a movie theatre.
Modern Times was the first film where Chaplin's voice is heard as he performs Léo Daniderff's comical song "Je cherche après Titine". Chaplin's version is also known as "The Nonsense Song", as his character sings it in gibberish. The lyrics are nonsensical but appear to contain words from French and Italian; the use of deliberately half-intelligible wording for comic effect points the way towards Adenoid Hynkel's speeches in The Great Dictator.
According to film composer David Raksin, Chaplin wrote the music as a young man wanting to make a name for himself. He would sit, often in the washroom, humming tunes and telling Raksin to "take this down". Raksin's job was to turn the humming into a score and create timings and synchronization that fit the situations. Chaplin was a violinist and had some musical knowledge, but he was not an orchestrator and was unfamiliar with synchronization. Along with Edward B. Powell, Raksin did receive screen credit for the music arrangements.[9] Raksin later created scores for films including Laura and The Day After.
Reception
Modern Times is often hailed as one of Chaplin's greatest achievements, and it remains one of his most popular films. It holds an approval rating of 98% on
Naming it the Best Film of the 30s Decade, Flickside writes: "Chaplin's Modern Times is a thoughtful critique on the anxieties of modernization dealt with pathos and humour." Contemporary reviews were very positive.
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene strongly praised the film, noting that, although there had always been a bit of a dated feel to his previous works, Chaplin "has at last definitely entered the contemporary scene". Greene noted that, whereas prior Chaplin films had featured "fair and featureless" heroines, the casting of Paulette Goddard suggested that his female characters might be presented with more personality than previously. He also voiced concern that the film would be considered to be a Communist film when in reality Chaplin's message was predominantly apolitical: "[Chaplin] presents, he doesn't offer political solutions."[17]
French philosophers Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and Maurice Merleau-Ponty named their journal, Les Temps modernes, after it.[18]
Modern Times earned $1.8 million in North American theatrical rentals during its release,[2] becoming one of the top-grossing films of 1936. It was the most popular film at the British box office in 1935–36.[19]
The iconic depiction of Chaplin working frantically to keep up with an assembly line inspired later comedy routines including
This was Chaplin's first overtly political-themed film, and its unflattering portrayal of industrial society generated controversy in some quarters upon its initial release. Writing in The Liberal News, the official magazine of the British Liberal Party, in October 1936, Willoughby Dewar observed that Modern Times "should be seen by every Young Liberal. It is, among other things, a piece of first-class Liberal propaganda."[20] In Nazi Germany, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels banned the film from being shown because of its alleged advocacy of communism.[21][22]
The film exhibits slight similarities to a lesser known 1931 French film directed by
with Chaplin out of court. Clair, a friend and huge admirer of Chaplin who was flattered that the film icon would depict a similar subject, was deeply embarrassed that Tobis Film would sue Chaplin, and was never part of the case.The film did attract criticism for being almost completely silent.[citation needed] Chaplin feared that the mystery and romanticism of the Tramp character would be ruined if he spoke, and also that it would alienate his fans in non-English speaking territories.[citation needed] His future films, however, would be fully fledged "talkies" – although without the character of the Little Tramp.
Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance has written of the reception and legacy of this classic comedy:
Modern Times is perhaps more meaningful now than at any time since its first release. The twentieth-century theme of the film, farsighted for its time—the struggle to eschew alienation and preserve humanity in a modern, mechanized world—profoundly reflects issues facing the twenty-first century. The Tramp's travails in Modern Times and the comedic mayhem that ensues should provide strength and comfort to all who feel like helpless cogs in a world beyond control. Through its universal themes and comic inventiveness, Modern Times remains one of Chaplin's greatest and most enduring works. Perhaps more important, it is the Tramp's finale, a tribute to Chaplin's most beloved character and the silent-film era he commanded for a generation.[24]
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 1998: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies – #81[25]
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs – #33[26]
- 2007: AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #78[27]
Restoration
A digitally restored version of the film was released in 2003. The French company MK2 searched the world for good copies of the original footage, cut them together and processed each of the 126,000 frames, removing scratches and dust, and ensuring optimal image stability and balanced black and white tone levels. The restored version was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003.[38] In 2013 Cineteca di Bologna and the Criterion Collection effected further digital improvements of the 2003 version, as noted in a preface ahead of the title.
See also
- Fordism
- List of United States comedy films
- List of films featuring surveillance
References
- ISBN 978-0299230036. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-903364-66-6.
- ^ "Modern Times (1936)". IMDb.
Gloria Delson: Gamin's Sister
- ^ a b c Wagner, Leicester (August 10, 1935). "Hollywood Gossip". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. UP. p. 4. Retrieved July 11, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ISBN 978-1476607986. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ As said in Chaplin Today: Modern Times, a 2003 French documentary.
- ^ Vance, Jeffrey. "Modern Times" (PDF). www.loc.gov. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
- ^ "thekidsshouldseethis.com". thekidsshouldseethis.com. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ David Raksin & C.M. Berg, Music Composed by Charles Chaplin: Auteur or Collaborateur? Journal of the University Film Association, 1979.
- ^ "Modern Times (1936)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
- ^ "Modern Times (re-release) Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ Nugent, Frank S. (February 6, 1936). "Movie Review – Modern Times". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
- ^ Green, Abel (February 11, 1936). "Modern Times". Variety. New York. p. 16. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "Reviews". Film Daily. New York: Wid's Films and Film Folk: 10. February 7, 1936.
- ^ Mosher, John (February 15, 1936). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. pp. 57–58.
- ^ Mantle, Burns (February 16, 1936). "Mantle Finds Chaplin Film Uproarious". Chicago Daily Tribune: Part 7 p. 12. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0192812865.)
- ISBN 978-1904950097.
- S2CID 152896495.
- ^ Dewar, Willoughby (October 1936). "Modern Times". The Liberal News (7): 5 – via Kendal Archival Centre, WDSO 174/13.
- ^ "Modern Times (1936) - Articles". TCM. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ISBN 978-1365331244. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ Robinson, David (2004). "Charlie Chaplin: Filming Modern Times". charliechaplin.com. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0810945326.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies". American Film Institute. 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Laughs". American Film Institute. 2005. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)". American Film Institute. 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
- ^ "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on August 26, 2007. Retrieved July 27, 2006.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81096-1. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
- ^ "100 Essential Films by The National Society of Film Critics". filmsite.org.
- ^ "Cahiers du cinéma's 100 Greatest Films". November 23, 2008.
- Sight & Sound (September 2012). British Film Institute. Archived from the originalon March 1, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
- Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. 2012. Archived from the originalon February 9, 2016.
- ^ "Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002: The rest of the critics' list". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2009.
- ^ "100 Greatest American Films". BBC. July 20, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ "The 100 greatest comedies of all time". BBC Culture. August 22, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ "The 100 best movies of all time". April 8, 2021.
- ^ "Chaplin's Modern Times Gets Restoration". May 21, 2003.
External links
- Modern Times essay by Jeffrey Vance at the National Film Registry
- Modern Times at IMDb
- Modern Times at Rotten Tomatoes
- Modern Times at the TCM Movie Database
- Modern Times at AllMovie
- Modern Times at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Filmsite Modern Times page
- Movie stills and bibliography
- Tour of Modern Times filming locations
- Modern Times: Exit the Tramp essay by Saul Austerlitz at the Criterion Collection
- Modern Times essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies at the National Film Registry (p. 238-240)