Man vs. Machine! And the winner is every comedy fan when Charlie Chaplin's Tramp confronts assembly line woes in this classic, chosen in 1998 as one of the American Film Institute's Top-100 American Films. The Little Tramp punches in and wigs out inside a factory where gizmos like an employee-feeding machine may someday make the lunch hour last just 15 minutes. Bounced into the ranks of the unemployed, he teams with a street waif (Paulette Goddard) to pursue bliss and a paycheck, finding misadventures as a roller-skating night watchman, a singing waiter whose hilarious song is gibberish, a jailbird and more. In the end, as Tramp and waif walk arm and arm into an insecure future, we know they've found neither bliss nor a paycheck but, more importantly, each other. The times and satire remain timeless in Modern Times.
Directed by
Charles Chaplin
Written by
Charles Chaplin
Starring
Charles Chaplin (A factory worker (as Charlie Chaplin)); Paulette Goddard (A gamin); Henry Bergman (Cafe proprietor); Tiny Sandford (Big Bill (as Stanley Sandford)); Chester Conklin (Mechanic); Hank Mann (Burglar); Stanley Blystone (Gamin's father); Al Ernest Garcia (President of the Electro Steel Corp. (as Allan Garcia)); Richard Alexander (Cellmate (as Dick Alexander)); Cecil Reynolds (Minister); Mira McKinney (Minister's wife (as Myra McKinney)); Murdock MacQuarrie (J. Widdecombe Billows (as Murdoch McQuarrie)); Wilfred Lucas (Juvenile officer); Edward LeSaint (Sheriff Couler (as Ed Le Sainte)); Fred Malatesta (Head waiter). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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Chaplain's comedic and artistic masterpiece
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
Modern Times was the first Chaplain I watched having seen it listed on so many Top-100 lists, and I enjoyed it from start to finish. I understand many say Chaplain isn’t for them, but most of those people haven’t even sat down to give him five minutes of their time. Modern Times is filled with timeless gags whose humour has not abated; from the initial opening scenes in the factory, to the hilarious scene in the boat yard to the final masterful roller-skating scenes with the object of his affection. Rarely has such artistic and comedic skill been seen together on screen as is found in this; Chaplain’s masterpiece.