City Lights 1931
Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp character is recognized by almost everyone, even if they have never seen one of the movies. Despite some of his movies being in the AFI Top 100, I had never seen one, just a few clips. I had considered buying one blind from the Criterion Collection, but was happy to catch City Lights on HBO Max during a free trial. It is hard to give a 90 year old silent movie a grade, even if the movie is legendary. It is worth watching and entertaining, but movies have certainly come a long way since this one was made. One thing I liked is the music and sound effects were fairly well integrated, possibly by Chaplin himself since talkies were all the rage when the movie came out. The movie mostly centers around a romance between the Tramp and a blind flower girl who doesn’t know he is a tramp. But as much as anything, the movie is a chance to tie together a bunch of scenes of the Tramp doing different bits, so it is less about character development and plot than it is the bits. For the most part the acting is silly, though there are some good moments. Chaplin had been doing the character for years at this point and has everything down, including the cane work, the tipping of the hat, facial expressions, etc. It is good and some of it is pretty funny, even while much of it is kind of stale and hammy. I will give the movie a B+ based on how much I enjoyed it, realizing it is an important and timeless classic.
Written: 02 Jan 2021