Modern Times 1936
Modern Times is one of Charlie Chaplin’s most hightly acclaimed films, so I was glad to finally get to see it. It looks great and it even sounds good, with sound effects and some vocals, which I didn’t realize going in. While most of the dialogue is still done with cards, voices on the radio can be heard and the Tramp himself sings at the end. This movie is probably most famous for the scenes early in the movie where the Tramp gets pulled into the machinery of the factory where he works. Some of the factory bits are funny and make a statement about the horrors of assembly line work. Most of the rest of the movie is about him trying to live a happy life while unemployment, labor unrest, and crime get in the way. Much of it is also sort of a romance with Paulette Goddard who plays an orphaned teenager. She is in her twenties in real life and looks great, also Chaplin’s real life love interest. Her natural beauty is a real contrast with the heavy makeup Chaplin uses. Still, the movie has a hard time being all that funny and has less social insight as the movie wears on. There are some provocative bits including one where Chaplin accidentally ingests cocaine ("nose powder"). But the plot gets repetitive as Chaplin goes in and out of jail a few times and is terrible at any type of job he can find. It is entertaining, but Chaplin isn’t using the Tramp character as well as he did in City Lights, though maybe there is more of a plot here.
Written: 10 Oct 2022