City Lights is a 1931 silent romantic comedy produced, directed, and written by the King of comedy, Charlie Chaplin. The brilliant cinematography is the result of the efforts put in by Roland Totheroh and Gordon Pollock.
The story revolves around a tramp (Charlie Chaplin) who stumbles across a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) and is instantly smitten by her. That night as he walks to a nearby bench he sees a drunk fellow (Harry Myers) who also happens to be a millionaire trying to commit suicide. Saved by the tramp, the happy but still drunk millionaire drags the tramp back to his mansion. But when the sun rises and the drunk millionaire is well, not so drunk anymore doesn’t seem to remember the tramp and orders for him to be thrown out. Meanwhile, the blind girl tells her grandmother (Florence Lee) about how nicely the tramp who she thinks is a wealthy man treats her. There are a few more instances of the drunk millionaire getting really drunk and dragging the tramp along with him. The odd duo goes around the town crashing lavish parties and driving around as though it were Grand Theft Auto.
Later, when the tramp visits the blind girl’s house he overhears a doctor telling her grandmother that she’s ill and needs careful attention. The tramp rushes to find a job and shows up the next day at her house with an interesting range of gifts - newspaper, cauliflower, fruit, and a dead duck. When she asks him to read her a letter they both realise that it’s an eviction letter. The tramp assures the girl he’ll take care of it and rushes out to make quick bucks. A boxer offers to split the win money if he fought him and lost. The tramp agrees but finds himself in a fix when that boxer runs off and he’s left fighting an actual boxer. After an entertaining fight, he loses and he once again encounters the drunk millionaire who then takes him to his house. The millionaire gives the tramp money and just a few moments after burglars break in steal the millionaire’s money, knock him out, and vanish. And the tramp manages to get himself falsely accused. But he’s able to give the blind girl the money for her eyes and the rent before getting thrown in jail. He’s reunited with her after he gets out of jail and the end.
Though the style of this film is a light-hearted comedy, deep things are portrayed in rather similar ways. Class, Loyalty, and Poverty are some of the themes which are present throughout his films. Talking about dark things like suicide but adding comical elements to it for a sense of escapism is something that’s quite hard to get right. But this film has done it very well. Much well than most other films which try to play around with dark humour.
Despite being a silent film, the sound plays an extremely crucial role throughout. It is a humongous aid to the comic timing. An instance would be when there is an exaggeration in actions, the music is in sync with the acting. Although the dialogue is sparse, it is still essential and is of the right amount as well. In fact, Chaplin was so particular about sound and music that went into the film, that he asked for live music to be played while they were enacting so the music would be aligned with the scene.
The film deliberately used a monochrome screen to increase the sense of authenticity. In a considerable amount of scenes, the camera movement is sharp and precise with static shots. It often seems as though the background characters’ movement is faster compared to the main characters who seem to move a bit slowly, as though in their own worlds. The patterns in scenes are often repeated but that just adds to the comical aspect of it. Compared to various other black and white films, this one has a lot more variety of shots.
A few things to take away from this film - give a dead duck to your partner, always hide behind a referee during a boxing match, and pursue friendships with alcoholic millionaires. This film is a classic, ageless comedy and something that’s ought to make you smile.
Comments