Starting with The Kid in 1921, and ending with Modern Problems in 1935, the legendary Chaplin created a series of movies, all silent and all featuring The Little Tramp, that are considered classics today. Among these is City Lights.
Charles Chaplin and The Little Tramp
Chaplin first played the little tramp character in 1914 and continually refined the funny little man with the funny moustache and funny clothes over the years. By the time that he appeared in City Lights, The Little Tramp had evolved into a man who, despite being laughed at by society, maintained his dignity and fine manners.
City Lights Cast
Charles Chaplin (The Little Tramp), Virginia Cherrill (The Blind Girl), Florence Lee (The Grandmother), Harry Myers (The Millionaire), Hank Mann (The Prizefighter), Al Garcia (The Butler).
City Lights Movie
The movie consists of two plot lines which become connected at the end. The first concerns The Little Tramp and his "friendship" with a millionaire who he happens to save from committing suicide. In gratitude, the rich man, obviously drunk, lavishes the Tramp with food, booze, and parties, and allows him to borrow his car.
Unfortunately, the next morning the now sober millionaire does not recognize him at all and throws him out of his house. Thus, begins an off-on relationship: when the millionaire is drinking, the Tramp is his best friend; when sober, he has no recollection of the hapless vagabond.
The second plot, which is actually the major one, involves the Tramp's love for a blind flower girl who mistakenly believes that he is a man of wealth. After reading about a miracle cure for blindness, it becomes the Tramp's goal in life to earn enough money to send her to Europe for the needed operation.
Eventually, he earns enough money for the girl, although it results in The Little Tramp being thrown into jail. After his release, he accidentally comes across the girl who can now see and is running her own successful flower shop. This encounter leads to one of the most poignant and beautiful closing scenes in motion picture history.
City Lights As Comedy
As can be expected with Chaplin, the movie is filled with many creative and memorable comedy scenes. Among the most memorable:
- The opening scene in which The Little Tramp manages to mess up a ceremony unveiling a new civic statue that eventually ends with him skewered on the statue's sword.
- His introduction to the millionaire when the latter attempts to tie a rock around his neck and throw himself into a river. When The Little Tramp intervenes, the result is pure slapstick comedy.
- A boxing scene where The Little Tramp hopes to secure money by entering the ring with a "boxer" who is willing to split the prize money. When the "boxer" is replaced with a bruiser who wants all the money and at the same time inflict considerable pain on his opponent, the fight becomes a matter of survival and results in five or six minutes of beautifully choreographed mayhem.
City Lights As Drama
As in many Chaplin films, there is an underlining pathos in City Lights The viewer feels for The Little Tramp and the blind girl because beneath their pleasant smiles and warmth, they are concealing deep hurt and sorrow. Both want to be a normal part of society but can't be -- she because of her blindness and he because of who he is.
This comes to a head in the concluding scene where the flower girl, now “normal,” is at first condescending to the funny little man in front of her new store. When she slowly realizes that he is her benefactor, her answer to his question, “You can see?,” takes on a double meaning -- “Yes, now I can see.”
Other City Lights Details
- Length: 87 minutes
- Color: Black & White
- Language: Silent with title cards (some sound effects).
- Trivia: It was the 20 year-old Virginia Cherrill’s first movie. Despite the excellent chemistry that she and Chaplin had in the movie, the two reportedly did not get along off the set.
City Lights DVD
A two disk set of City Lights is available on DVD. Its features include an introduction by David Robinson; a City Lights documentary by Serge Bromberg and featuring animation specialist Peter Lord; and sundry other items.
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