Modern Times

USA/1936 | Dir. Charles Chaplin

Modern Times, 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 visual gags and sly commentary on class struggle during the Great Depression, Modern Times pushes boundaries in every way.

It’s mostly a silent film, but with a synchronized Chaplin score that includes the melody “Smile”, as well as a startling comic song from Chaplin  near the end, yet it was made and successfully released almost a decade after sound came to the movies. 

Admission is free. (87 min.)

“A masterpiece. The opening sequence is possibly Chaplin’s greatest encounter with the 20th century.”—Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader