Part of Weekend Classics: About Time.
MODERN TIMES, Charlie Chaplin’s last outing as the Little Tramp, puts the iconic character to work as a giddily inept factory employee who becomes smitten with a gorgeous gamine (Paulette Goddard). With its barrage of unforgettable gags and sly commentary on class struggle during the Great Depression, MODERN TIMES — though made almost a decade into the talkie era and containing moments of sound (even song!) — is a timeless showcase of Chaplin’s untouchable genius as a director of silent comedy.
“I go to a lot of movies, and I can't remember the last time I heard a paying audience actually applaud at the end of a film. But this one did.” —Roger Ebert on a Chicago screening of MODERN TIMES (1972)
