The Tramp, Charlie Chaplin’s famous character, bumbles around the city. He’s seemingly in everyones way but is affable and unbothered. He encounters a beautiful flower girl, who is blind and assumes the Tramp is wealthy. That night, the Tramp steers a suicidal millionaire away from death and the two spend the night getting drunk and becoming friends. Once sober, the millionaire casts the Tramp out, but another night of drinking will bring them back together. Again cast out on the second morning, the Tramp learns that the flower girl dreams of an operation to let her see, while she and her grandmother are facing eviction. He gets odd jobs, such a street sweeper and boxer, but can’t make the necessary money. Finally, he encounters the millionaire again, who agrees to cover the rent and operation expenses—but not before hijinks make it seem like the Tramp stole the money. He gets it to the flower girl in time, and then goes to jail. Months later, he encounters the flower girl—now with working vision—on the street and the two stare at each other with recognition and admiration.
“City Lights” is now the fourth Chaplin film I’ve watched, and each one was a delight. This film is most notable for being a defiant adherence to the silent-film format, a few years into the rise of the “talkie”. I suppose that’s why its last scene is so famous: Chaplin and Virginia Cherrill say more in longing stares than early talkies must have been saying in speech. Certainly, the romantic arc was the syrupy-sweet highlight of the film. The rest of the film was charming, but clearly patchwork quilt of physical comedy routines stitched together into something resembling a narrative. Which, I suppose is par-for-the-course on a Chaplin film, but when you see how “Modern Times” elevates the formula with social commentary, this film feels more plain. Still, I will always enjoy watching a Tramp film and continue to view Chaplin as one of the great entertainers in cinema.