On February 5 , 1936,Modern Timespremiered in movie theaters . It was Charlie Chaplin’slast filmfeaturing his Little Tramp character , and it express the Tramp as abumbling manufactory worker(and later night watcher , singing waiter , and finally unemployed floater ) . The film was a commentary on the aftermath of the Great Depression and ensuing economical struggle in the US , as industrial automation slammed head - on into mass unemployment . It also happen to be really funny .
The most famous chronological sequence in the movie involves Chaplin working on an assembly tune that is moving just a bit too fast for him , though his coworkers can handle the speed just fine . This chronological succession ( shown below ) root on thefamousI Love Lucyscene in which Lucy and Ethel make in a drinking chocolate factorywrapping chocolates and rapidly recede step .
One unpaired fact aboutModern Timesis its situation comparative to talkies ( films with hearable dialogue ) . Talkies had been around for almost a decade by the timeModern Timescame out , and ab initio Chaplin had intendedModern Timesto be his first talking picture . He wrote and rehearsed duologue for the picture show , and even shot some test scenes . It just did n’t work . Chaplin eventually scrapped the idea , alternatively using synchronise sound effects , medicine , a faux - Italian song sung by Chaplin , and other bit of not - quite - lecture audio .
Modern Timeshas been well - preserve by the Library of Congress ( and the Criterion Collection ) . The motion-picture show quality is sensational , and Chaplin ’s physical performance is dazzling , especially break that he was in his mid-40s at the fourth dimension . Here ’s a flavor at one of the classicfactory scenes :
Although the video is n’t quite as gamy - caliber , here’sa clip of Chaplin with his eating auto :
If you have n’t seenModern Times , the good timber version is certainly the Criterion Collection reissue . miscarry that , the Internet Archive hosts a low - fidelity version .
