After several minutes of slapstick, he manages to escape the assembly's wrath to perambulate the city. After droning speeches, the veil is lifted to reveal the Little Tramp asleep in the lap of one of the sculpted figures. Plot Ĭitizens and dignitaries are assembled for the unveiling of a new monument to "Peace and Prosperity". In 1949, the critic James Agee called the film's final scene "the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid". In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked it 11th on its list of the best American films ever made. In 1991, the Library of Congress selected City Lights for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance believes " City Lights is not only Charles Chaplin's masterpiece it is an act of defiance" as it premiered four years into the era of sound films which began with the premiere of The Jazz Singer (1927). Today, many critics consider it not only the highest accomplishment of Chaplin's career, but one of the greatest films of all time. Chaplin lost a lawsuit to Padilla for not crediting him.Ĭity Lights was immediately successful upon release on January 30, 1931, with positive reviews and worldwide rentals of more than $4 million. The main theme, used as a leitmotif for the blind flower girl, is the song " La Violetera" ("Who'll Buy my Violets") from Spanish composer José Padilla. City Lights marked the first time Chaplin composed the film score to one of his productions and it was written in six weeks with Arthur Johnston. Filming started in December 1928 and ended in September 1930. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl ( Virginia Cherrill) and develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire ( Harry Myers).Īlthough sound films were on the rise when Chaplin started developing the script in 1928, he decided to continue working with silent productions. City Lights is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy-drama film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin.
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