The movie career of the legendary Charles Chaplin can be divided into three periods. The first was from 1914 to 1920 when Chaplin adapted his vaudeville skills to film and developed his Little Tramp character. The last was the post World War II era when his movies were, quite frankly, not all that good (although the black comedy Monsieur Verdeaux and the bittersweet Limelight have their moments). This leaves the middle period, starting with The Kid in 1921 and ending with The Great Dictator in 1940, when Chaplin created a series of masterpieces. Arguably, the greatest of these was City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime.

City Lights consists of two plot lines which are somewhat connected at the end. The first concerns the Little Tramp and his "friendship" with a millionaire (Harry Myers) who when he is drunk lavishes the Little Tramp with food, booze, and parties, along with allowing him to use his car. Unfortunately when he is sober, the millionaire does not recognize him at all. The second plot involves the Tramp's love for a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) 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. Along with these two stories, Chaplin manages to get in a few jibes at politicians and the idle rich.

The movie is filled with many memorable and creative comedy scenes. Among them: (1) In the opening, the Little Tramp manages to mess up a ceremony unveiling a new civic statue and is eventually skewered on the statue's sword. (2) His introduction to the millionaire occurs when the drunken Myers attempts to commit suicide by tying a rock around his neck and throwing himself into the river. The Tramp intervenes and in the process almost drowns himself. The timing and athleticism of Chaplin in this episode is amazing. (3) The Tramp, taken out for a night on the town by the millionaire, innocently creates chaos in a nightclub and ends up confusing a long piece of confetti with spaghetti. (4) Perhaps the funniest scene. This involves a prize fight. In an attempt to secure money for the blind girl, the Tramp agrees to enter the ring with a "boxer" who simply wants to put up the pretense of a fight in order to split the money with somebody. At the last moment, he is replaced with a bruiser who wants all the money and at the same time inflict havoc on his opponent. When the Tramp realizes this, the fight becomes a matter of survival for him. The result is five or six minutes of beautifully choreographed mayhem. Rocky it is'nt.

Chaplin is helped in City Lights by a fine cast. It was beautiful Virginia Cherrill's first movie and she is excellent in the role of the flower girl. She and Chaplin have great chemistry which is a tribute to their acting abilities since it has been reported that off screen there was no love lost between them. Also, in many of his movies Chaplin played off people who were themselves blessed with comedic timing and this movie is no exception. Harry Myers often played "comic" drunks throughout his long career and Hank Mann, who played the bruiser in the ring, was an ex-Keystone Kop and reportedly later taught Jerry Lewis how to do pratfalls.

As in many of Chaplin's films, there is an underlining pathos in City Lights. The viewer feels for the Little Tramp when he is harassed by a pair of obnoxious newspaper kids and when he is falsely accused of and arrested for robbing the millionaire. And, the closing scene where the flower girl, now able to see, slowly realizes that the funny little man in front of her new store is her benefactor is one of the most poignant endings in film history.

A little bit of trivia:

(1) This is not a true silent movie. There is a synchronized sound track, sound effects, and the garbled voices of the mayor and a female spectator in the opening dedication scene and a singer in the party scene were all Chaplin's.
(2) Shortly after filming was done, Virginia Cherrill became the first Mrs. Cary Grant.
(3) The character of the sculptor in the opening scene was played by Granville Redmond, who was a friend of Chaplin's and was, himself, a noted California painter and sculptor. He also was a deaf mute and Chaplin used him in several films because of his natural talent for mime.











Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older