Modern Times (1936)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (writer)

Release Date:

5 February 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

He stands alone as the greatest entertainer of modern times! No one on earth can make you laugh as heartily or touch your heart as deeply...the whole world laughs, cries and thrills to his priceless genius!

Plot:

The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

Plot Keywords:

Assembly Line | Gibberish | Shot By Police | Beautiful Woman | Shoplifting

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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
Sammy Stein	...	Turbine operator (as Sam Stein)
Juana Sutton	...	Woman with buttoned bosom
Ted Oliver	...	Billows' assistant
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Norman Ainsley	...	Billows' assistant (uncredited)
Bobby Barber	...	Worker (uncredited)
Heinie Conklin	...	Assembly line worker next to Big Bill (uncredited)
Gloria DeHaven	...	Gamin's sister (uncredited)
Frank Hagney	...	Shipbuilder (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Worker (uncredited)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Cafe patron (uncredited)
Walter James	...	Assembly line foreman (uncredited)
Edward Kimball	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Worker (uncredited)
Bruce Mitchell	...	Paddy Wagon Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Moran	...	Convict (uncredited)
James C. Morton	...	Assembly line relief man (uncredited)
Louis Natheaux	...	Burglar (uncredited)
John Rand	...	Other waiter (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Worker (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin		(as Charlie Chaplin)

Writing credits
Charles Chaplin		(writer) (as Charlie Chaplin)

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin		(as Charlie Chaplin)

Cinematography by
Ira H. Morgan		(as Ira Morgan)
Roland Totheroh		(as Rollie Totheroh)

Film Editing by
Willard Nico		(uncredited)

Casting by
Al Ernest Garcia		(uncredited)

Production Design by
Charles D. Hall		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
J. Russell Spencer		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Elizabeth Arden	....	makeup artist: Mr. Chaplin and Miss Goddard (uncredited)

Production Management
Alfred Reeves	....	production manager (uncredited)
Jack Wilson	....	assistant production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carter DeHaven	....	assistant director
Henry Bergman	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Charles D. Hall	....	settings
J. Russell Spencer	....	settings (as Russell Spencer)
Hal Atkins	....	props (uncredited)
William Bogdanoff	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Bob Depps	....	props (uncredited)
Joe Van Meter	....	purchasing agent (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Bud Thackery	....	process photography (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Max M. Autrey	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Don Donaldson	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Morgan Hill	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Mark Marlatt	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Ted Minor	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Frank Testera	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Music Department
Frank Maher	....	music recordist
Paul Neal	....	music recordist
Alfred Newman	....	conductor
Edward B. Powell	....	music arranger (as Edward Powell)
David Raksin	....	music arranger
Bernhard Kaun	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Girwood Averill	....	projectionist (uncredited)
Catherine Hunter	....	press representative (uncredited)
Della Steele	....	secretary: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)
Joe Van Meter	....	production staff (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Charles Chaplin Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dr. Hauser & Company (1936) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Tobis-Filmverleih (1936) (Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1936) (UK) (theatrical)
• Classic Entertainment (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Manga Films (2003) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Capitol International Video (????) (Italy) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Fox Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

The Masses (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 | Spain:T | Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | Denmark:A (2003) | Norway:7 | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | UK:U | USA:Unrated | Australia:G | West Germany:6 (bw)

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard & Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Co-star Paulette Goddard actually made significant story contributions.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the factory worker is trapped in the machine, the position of some of the wheels changes between shots.

Quotes:

President of the Electro Steel Corp.: [from the Telescreen in the restroom to the factory worker] Hey you! Get back to work!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994)

Soundtrack:

Je cherche après Titine

Hilarious work of genius

Hilarious, touching, anarchic, revolutionary, realist, surreal, of its time, timeless - Modern Times is a multifaceted work of genius. When it's over and you recall the number of sight gags and magic sequences Chaplin has packed into 85 minutes, it is incredible - the conveyer belt and nut turning; Chaplin caught in the cogwheels; the feeding machine; the Red Flag march; the "nose powder"; the roller skating ballet; the waiter with tray caught up in the dance (my favourite); the gibberish song - and many more. Then there is his mixing of silent and sound techniques, making the best of both worlds, not falling between stools as some directors might have done.

Of course, there is also a political and social dimension; many of the scenes refer to the impact of technical advances, of bureaucracy, and of the then current depression, on the ordinary "little man". And it is the little man, the individual caught up in society's complex machinery, whom Chaplin championed. He may have sympathised with left-wing political parties and unions in so far as they supported ordinary working people, but Chaplin's essential beliefs are enshrined in the final "words" and shot, with him telling Paulette Godard, that she should keep smiling, they will get along, as they walk, a couple of individuals, into an uncertain future. Beyond politics, the individual has to rely on his or her own resources and spirit to survive.