CITY LIGHTS
CHARLIE CHAPLIN | USA | 1931 | 86 MIN | G | 35 MM
This screening will feature live music prior to start time.
In a legendary career that encompassed numberous shorts and features, CITY LIGHTS stands out as one of Charlie Chaplin’s greatest achievements, and the perfect distillation of his Tramp persona. Chaplin stars as the bumbling Tramp, whose misadventures in the big city keep leading him to a suicidal millionaire who repeatedly befriends the Tramp but forgets him in the sober light of day. Meanwhile, the Tramp falls in love with a blind flower girl, even though she believes that he’s handsome and rich. While keeping his true identity a secret, the Tramp sets about raising funds for the girl to get an operation that might restore her sight. Along the way, Chaplin incorporates some of his most iconic slapstick gags and tenderest dramatic sequences, culminating in an iconic final scene. Made just as Hollywood was on the cusp of phasing out silent films in favor of talkies, CITY LIGHTS represents the realization of silent cinema’s artistic and emotional potential.
Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
“City Lights is excruciatingly funny and terribly, terribly sad. It makes you chuckle hysterically. You have the greatest time imaginable, and yet, occasionally you find little hurty lumps in your throat.” –New York Daily News