The movie
Charlie Chaplin was the first international movie star, inasmuch as everybody in the world needed no translation to understand the humor and the humanitarian feelings of his silent movies. This was especially true of his instantly recognizable figure, the Little Tramp.
Modern Times (1936, IMDB score 8.5,from 255,000 viewers) was Chaplin’s first talkie film or rather a “hybrid” silent-talkie film. In the movie also star Paulette Goddard and Henry Bergman. The movie is a classic and certainly deserves a screening on one’s home cinema.
By 1936, cinematography made the crucial step towards talking movies. Thus, Chaplin, after his 1931 masterpiece City Lights, had to adapt to the new era. He decided to make a film criticizing the dehumanizing impact of industrialization, while at the same time retaining the character of the Little Tramp.
Although Chaplin considered having his character speaking during the whole Modern Times film, in fact, the first time that Chaplin’s voice was ever heard on screen was in a song.
The scene
Chaplin is ready to make an appearance in a music hall – restaurant. However, he is afraid that he would not remember the words of the song he is going to sing. Thus, his girlfriend is writing the lyrics on his shirt cuff.
As soon as he makes his great entrance, the cuff flies somewhere across the hall. He then desperately tries to find it, dancing around while the music is playing. When the customers begin to complain for the delay, his girlfriend signs to him that he would start singing no matter what the lyrics are.
The outcome is marvelous and this scene is a masterpiece. Moreover, in this scene Chaplin implied that the sound or rather the exact words have no importance in a film for an artist to convey the emotional message to the spectator.
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