Modern Times-1936
Directed by: Charles Chaplin
Charles Chaplin-worker
Paulette Goddard-Gamine
Henry Bergman- Café Owner
Chester Conklin- Mechanic
Terms:
Satire
Sound Editing
Allusion
Pavlov’s Dog
This episodic satire of the Machine Age is considered Charles Chaplin’s last “silent” film, although
Chaplin used sound, vocal and musical effects throughout. Chaplin stars as an assembly-line worker
driven insane by the monotony of his job. After a long spell in an asylum, he searches for work, only to
be mistakenly arrested as a Red agitator. Released after foiling a prison break, Chaplin makes the
acquaintance of orphaned gamine, Paulette Goddard, and becomes her friend and protector. He takes
on several new jobs for her benefit, but every job ends with a quick dismissal and yet another jail term.
The plotline of Modern Times is a loosely constructed as any of Chaplin’s pre-1915 short subjects,
permitting ample space for several of the comedian’s most memorable routines: the “automated
feeding machine,” a nocturnal roller-skating episode, and Chaplin’s double-talk song rendition in the
nightclub sequence. In addition to producing, directing, writing, and staring in Modern Times, Chaplin
also composed its theme song, Smile, which would later be adopted as Jerry Lewis’ signature tune.
Three years in production, Modern Times became another international success for Chaplin (though it
was banned in Germany and Italy) and one of the signature works of his career.