In so many ways, the 1930s represented the most fundamental turning point in cinema, and that was the advent of sound. The sound film of course began earlier than that with "The Jazz Singer" in 1927, but the 30s decade was the time when motion pictures finally caught up with the invention. Sound wasn't just a gimmick anymore, it was the wave of the future and studios were following suit, the people demanded it. But not everyone welcomed it, and perhaps the most famous silent screen star was the most reluctant to change with the times, however because of his stubbornness, he was able to keep with his artistic vision, and show that cinema is first and foremost a visual artform.
"City Lights" was supposed to be Charlie Chaplin's first sound film, people would now be able to hear The Tramp speak. For Chaplin this proved to be a problem, The Tramp was the most recognized character in the history of movies up to that point, he was known throughout the world, and it was because he kept silent that he remained so universal, what would happen if he suddenly spoke? Everyone had their own idea of what The Tramp would sound like, so Chaplin made the conscious decision to keep "City Lights" the way he intended, a silent movie, however with a full musical score and a few sound effects.
"City Lights" is probably Chaplin's greatest film although there are many to choose from. With this film however he achieves his special blend of humour and pathos perhaps better than he ever did.
The story puts The Tramp in a big city where he befriends a blind flower girl. The first meeting between the two becomes a case of mistaken identity, when the tramp avoids a policeman by ducking into a limo, when he comes out the other side, the flower girl assumes he's a millionaire. The Tramp doesn't want to ruin the illusion because he becomes smitten with the girl and feels sorry for her, so he decides to play the role of a millionaire.
He receives help unexpectedly when he saves a real life drunken millionaire from suicide. He and The Tramp become good friends, however when the millionaire sobers up, he no longer remembers him and is thrown out on the street again. Things get complicated when the blind girl needs money for rent so The Tramp has to find a job, when he gets fired for being late, he then has to go into a boxing ring and fight for the money.
"City Lights" isn't really a 30s movie, it has the aesthetic of a silent film, and has the feeling it was made in another time. To think this film was released the same year you could hear the sound of James Cagney firing Tommy guns in "The Public Enemy" or Boris Karloff being brought to life in "Frankenstein". Cinema was still very new, but back then Chaplin's film could've been regarded as passe if it weren't for his special brand of humour and sentiment that was accepted world wide. To his credit, Chaplin was probably the only one who could've gotten away with a silent film, and because of his talent and instincts, "City Lights" holds up better than any of those early sound films which suffer sometimes by the unrefined technology.
The power and beauty of Chaplin's cinema comes from his talent to simplify his story, he never needed words and found it a great challenge to tell it in a silent way. Take the first meeting with The Tramp and the flower girl, Chaplin uses the power of suggestion by having the car door of the limo be the instigator of the mistaken identity plot. The scene was said to have over three hundred takes before Chaplin was satisfied with the finished product, that's how hard he worked in telling the story visually.
As the performer Chaplin was also a master thespian and one of the greatest actors in film. Like Keaton, (whom he's most commonly compared to) Chaplin had complete control of his body and could convey any level of emotion, and he could also perform physical comedy as if it were a dance. Take the most famous set piece in the film, the boxing fight, Chaplin isn't necessarily fighting as he is dancing around the ring avoiding the other fighter as much as possible. Watch him hide behind the referee as the three men in the ring perform a sort of boxing ballet in perfect unison.
Of course much has been said about the ending of this film, and many regard it to be the most perfect ending in all of cinema. The ending is looked at for its simplicity in that we are looking at the reactions of both The Tramp and the flower girl, who can finally see who he really is for the first time. There are a few dialogue cards at the end, but the image of the characters are so strong, I feel Chaplin didn't really need them, we knew what the scene means, we know the stakes, and we know what they are feeling at that moment, that is why this ending is so perfect.
"City Lights" would be considered Charlie Chaplin's last real silent film, his next one, "Modern Times" added even more sound effects and has speaking lines, however The Tramp is left silent save for a song he sings all in gibberish. When Chaplin finally went full sound in "The Great Dictator" it was really the end of an era. Silent comedy is probably the biggest loss we had with the advent of sound, most comedies today rely only on dialogue, but the great silent comedians had a grace to them and an elegance that was beautiful to watch. For many, Chaplin was cinema, he influenced many people of the french New Wave and is still well renowned throughout Europe. Chaplin's movies were magic, he never forgot the power of cinema which wasn't in what you heard, but what you saw.
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