City Lights

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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1991.

"With Chaplin at his peak, comedy is to be expected. But this renowned classic is also a terrific display of how touching he could be, combining humor with tenderness, slapstick with longing. Although this Depression-era comedy was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin stayed resolutely silent."

— MUBI's take

City Lights
Directed By: Charles Chaplin Produced By: Charles Chaplin (uncredited) Written By/Screenplay: Charles Chaplin Starring: Charlie Chaplin Virginia Cherrill Florence Lee Harry Myers Allan Garcia Hank Mann Photography: Black and White Distributed By: United Artists Release Date: 1931 Runtime: 86 minutes

City Lights is a 1931 American pre-Code silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire (Harry Myers).

Why It Rocks

1. Even though sound films were officially commonplace when the script was being developed, Chaplin still decided to continue working with silent films, such as this one. That takes serious dedication.
   1. On top of that, the film's beginning openly mocks the concept of "talkies", and honors the beauty and simplicity of the silent movie.
2. The film manages to combine the perfect amount of the usual comedy and also pathos (sadness and romance). Chaplin is remarkable as usual as the friendly, honorable Tramp and his blind love interest played by Virginia Cherrill is equally charming, despite her total lack of acting experience.
3. The Tramp was introduced to the screen in 1914, but City Lights marked the first time that the tramp engaged in a fully romantic story in addition to his usual comedy. Considering how much of a loner and outcast the Tramp is, and how poor he is, it nice to see the Tramp finally get into an actual relationship with someone.
4. This is the first time Chaplin composed the film score to one of his productions, and main theme is used very cleverly as a leitmotif for the blind flower girl.
5. Even though the story is pretty straight-forward and simple (the Tramp falls in love with a blind girl who mistakes him for being wealthy), that just adds to the film's genius and gives the audience a chance to just appreciate the film for what it is and not have to think too hard about it.
7. Various memorable sequences, including the opening scene in which a stone statue is unveiled to reveal the Tramp asleep in its lap, the sidewalk elevator scene, the blind girl tossing water in the tramp’s face, the millionaire’s suicide attempt, the Tramp accidentally swallowing a whistle, his fighting in a boxing match, the fight for the cigarette butt; and especially the honored, touching finale where the once-blind flower girl recognizes the Tramp as her benefactor—one of the most moving endings in motion-picture history.

Trivia

• The film was the hardest production of Charlie Chaplin’s career. It took two years to complete, and Chaplin spent $1.5 million of his own money – the equivalent of nearly $25 million today.
• Charlie Chaplin was not in favor of the burgeoning sound technology in film, and he believed it limited actors’ gestural expressions and comedic impact. The film began as a completely silent production in 1928, but sound was so popular by its conclusion in 1931 that Chaplin was forced to add a musical soundtrack.
• City Lights marked the first time Charlie Chaplin included sound sequences, but it took another decade for him to make his first “talkie” with dialogue in 1941. It was titled The Great Dictator.
• Virginia Cherrill was an unknown actress when she was cast as “A Blind Girl” in the film, but she starred in three other 1931 releases. Four years later, Cherrill became Cary Grant’s first of five wives, but their marriage only lasted seven months.
• Charlie Chaplin was a founding member of United Artists with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D. W. Griffith. The studio was formed to give artists more control over their films. However, Chaplin was dissatisfied with UA’s handling of the film and distributed the picture himself.
• The premiere of City Lights at the Los Angeles Theater marked the first time a movie debuted in downtown LA instead of in Hollywood. Charlie Chaplin attended the gala with Albert Einstein.
• City Lights grossed $400,000 in its first 12-week run at one theater in New York City, making it one of the top moneymaking films of 1931.