Charlie Chaplin’s most well-regarded film was also his biggest headache. He fired an actor who would do a scene that was asked of him. He and his leading lady, Virginia Cherrill, did not get along to the point where Chaplin fired her and then, when he realized he had filmed too much of her to replace her, hired her back at her new demanded rate. His success in previous years had driven Chaplin to such a degree of perfectionism that he filmed more takes than most other filmmakers did at that time. For reference, the final film is made of a little over 8,000 feet of film, but over 314,000 feet of film was shot, which makes a ratio of almost 39 feet per foot of film in the final version. Above all of that, in 1931 when City Lights was released, silent films were already out of favor with general audiences who had since moved on to “talkies”. Chaplin, when he was working on City Lights, believed that “talkies” wouldn’t last and gave them “three years” tops. He even had the opportunity to be on the ground floor of sound films when Eugene Augustin Lauste reached out in 1918, offering Chaplin the chance to make a sound film with him (Lauste was not necessarily the inventor of such technology, but his help in developing the sound-on-film process was vital to the rise of “talkies”). Instead, Chaplin relied on the popularity of his Little Tramp character (which he also understood wouldn’t be able to translate to sound films very well), as well as his own name, to sell the movie. City Lights was not only one of his most financially successful films (and the highest-grossing film of the year), but it is widely considered his best, including by the man himself.

The Tramp walks along the street and comes across a woman selling flowers. He buys one from her and, over the course of their interaction, realizes she is blind. For the Tramp, it’s love at first sight. The door of a chauffeured vehicle shuts as the Tramp leaves, making the blind woman believe he’s an incredibly wealthy man. That night, the Tramp saves a drunken millionaire from drowning. The grateful millionaire takes his new best friend out for a night on the town. The Tramp returns the millionaire home in the morning to sleep it off. The millionaire offers the Tramp some money and the use of his car to get wherever he wants to go, and he uses the money to buy all of the flower girl’s flowers and uses the car to take her home. The Tramp leaves the flower girl and the girl tells her grandmother about her rich and helpful friend. The Tramp returns to the millionaire’s mansion, but the millionaire is now sober and doesn’t remember him, promptly kicking him out. Later, when the millionaire is drunk again, he invites the Tramp to his mansion for a party, but the next morning, a sober millionaire kicks him out again. The Tramp goes to find the flower girl, but she is not at her usual spot, so he goes to her house where he overhears a doctor say she is very sick. The Tramp gets a job as a street sweeper to raise money to help. He takes the girl groceries and reads to her from a newspaper a story about a doctor that can cure blindness. As he leaves, he sees an eviction notice and vows to pay the girl’s rent, but when he returns to work, he is promptly fired for showing up late. A boxer offers to fight him for an easy fight and they can split the prize money, but just before the fight, that boxer is replaced by another and the new boxer has no intention of sharing the money or going easy on the Tramp. The Tramp meets the millionaire again, and the millionaire offers him money for the flower girl’s operation, but after the Tramp leaves, burglars knock the millionaire out and take what money is left. The police think the Tramp is the thief and chase after him, but the Tramp gets the flower girl the money before he is apprehended and thrown in jail. When he gets out some time later, he sees the flower girl now owns a flower shop and she can see. She sees his downtrodden state and offers the Tramp a flower and some money, but when she goes to place the money in his hand, she realizes he is the man who paid for her operation. She smiles at him, and the Tramp smiles back.

City Lights is considered one of the greatest romantic comedies – and one of the greatest films – of all time. The final scene where the two reunite is one of the most lauded shots in cinema history for its humanity and performances. So moving is it that, famously, Albert Einstein was brought to tears at the premiere. Very rarely does a movie seem so genuine and heartfelt and still make us laugh so much. Some of Chaplin’s most famous routines happen in this film, notably the boxing match and a scene with the millionaire at a night club. I don’t know that it’s his funniest movie, but it is for sure Chaplin’s most accessible. It blends the comedy and pathos so beautifully that it is my go-to recommendation for anyone willing to try a silent film.

Bonus Review: The Kid

If you’re willing to take on more of the great Charlie Chaplin, look no further than his feature-film debut. It toes the line of “feature film” since it runs a measly 68 minutes, but it makes excellent use of its time, and gives you enough comedy and emotion to sustain. It also marks an early appearance of the world’s first “child star”, Jackie Coogan. Coogan was hired for The Kid at just seven years old, but already he had impressed Chaplin greatly for his ability to mimic others for the sake of performance, and that ability is used to great effect in building the relationship between the Tramp and the kid.

An orphan child is left by its mother in a car with a note. The car is stolen, but the thief leaves the child in an alley where it’s picked up by the wandering Tramp. When he sees the note, the Tramp decides to keep the child and raise him. Later, the mother returns, having had a change of heart, and is informed the car she placed her baby in has been stolen, prompting her to faint. Five years later, the Tramp and kid have a business together: the kid throws rocks at people’s windows and the Tramp is paid to fix them. At the same time, the mother has become wealthy and charitably gives presents to poor children. Unbeknownst to either of them, the mother and the kid cross paths because of this. Later, the kid gets sick in the presence of the mother, and she calls the doctor. The doctor discovers the boy is not the Tramp’s biological child by way of the note the mother left a long time ago and notifies the authorities. The Tramp and kid escape the cops and remain close to each other’s side. The mother comes back to visit the kid, and the doctor shows her the note. She now realizes the kid is hers. The Tramp and kid stay the night in a flophouse, but the proprietor learns of the reward for the kid and takes him while the Tramp is sleeping. After awaking, the Tramp frantically and fruitlessly searches for the kid. Meanwhile, the kid and his mother are reunited. Later, a cop finds the Tramp and drives him over to a mansion. When the door opens, the kid jumps into the Tramp’s arms and the mother invites him in.