City Lights: A Farewell to Silent Film (ENG 225: May 6, 2018)

City Lights: A Farewell to Silent Film

Charlie Chaplin was critical as a director, actor, composer, editor, and producer for his films, so not only does he fit Sarris’s auteur criteria, but is also a total auteur. Hefner (2014) defined a total auteur as, “An extension of its (film’s) possibilities. The total auteur often has more control over the source material (as well as a variety of other aspects of production) than most studio directors ever dreamed of having” (p. 5). As “talkies” gained popularity and silent film was becoming an obsolete medium, Chaplin invested his money and energy to release City Lights in 1931. City Lights delights audiences with a tale of romance dispersed with Chaplin’s iconic slapstick humor. Chaplin establishes the mood, plot, and story with selective mise-en- scène choices, so while City Lights is a silent film, Chaplin’s message is far from diminished . City Lights uses elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound to address the theme that money, and conformity, does not bring happiness while using the Tramp character’s displacement to acknowledge the social impact of the Depression and the invention of the “talkie”.

City Lights stars Virginia Cherrill as the blind girl and Charlie Chaplin as the Tramp. Chaplin gained popularity through his embodiment of the Tramp character as Welsh (1989) stated, “Everyone knows the Chaplin Tramp figure, which made Charlie Chaplin world famous and established him as the single most outstanding comedian of the Twentieth Century” (p. 210).  City Lights is a romantic, screwball comedy in which Chaplin juggles unbelievable obstacles, miss-timing, and irony around the central love story. City Lights is about a tramp that becomes immediately smitten with a blind woman. Due to the timing of specific events, and mistaken identity, the woman believes the tramp has money. The Tramp tries to keep up the façade for the blind woman. Goodykoontz and Jacobs (2014) explained, “After a variety of comic misadventures, including preventing a drunken millionaire from committing suicide, the Tramp is able to get money from this newfound friend and pays for an operation to restore the woman's sight” (Section 4.4, para. 6). Shortly after the tramp gives the blind woman money, he is arrested for a robbery he did not commit. When the Tramp is finally released from jail he learns the surgery was successful, while the Tramp and blind woman share a tender encounter where she finally learns the poor Tramp was her benefactor. The central question of this romantic comedy is whether the Tramp and blind woman will be together in the end. The suspense of mistaken identity and hope drive the plot forward. Regardless of the obstacles overcome, the end of the film makes the struggle for the characters and the audience worth the emotional roller-coaster ride. The couple finds each other. It is left to the viewer to imagine what occurs after the film stops.

 True to the romantic comedy genre, City Lights uses natural or high-key lighting during upbeat moments such as when the Tramp is walking with the blind woman, driving her home, or buying her flowers. Low-key lighting is used in the nighttime, dark scenes. In the evening the Tramp gets to live among the affluent and finds himself involved in slapstick shenanigans as when the Tramp stops the Millionaire from drowning himself in the river and is wrongly accused of robbery. The lighting choice contrasts the duality experienced by the Tramp, as Miller (2015) stated, “In each plot of City Lights, we see Chaplin occupying two roles. By night (or with the days first cocktail, perhaps poured in the early afternoon), the Tramp is at ease in the world of the wealthy, but as dawn comes he is expelled from that gaudy paradise and put back on the streets. He oscillates between one role and the other” (p. 41-42). The flower from the blind woman is often illuminated to reflect the Tramp’s relentless feelings. By controlling the lighting, Chaplin offers more depth to the contrasting roles of wealthy millionaire and poor. The selected light physically establishes, for the viewer, that the tramp’s world is a darker place without the blind woman.

City Lights uses the convention of props to keep the story moving. The flower that the tramp purchased from the blind woman is initially dropped to reveal she is blind. The flower is smelled several times and often brightly illuminated to symbolize the Tramp’s consistent romantic feelings. Chaplin uses some props for over-the-top comedic purposes. In the opening scene, the statue provides comedic relief at the public unveiling ceremony when Chaplin backs into the figure, rips his pants, and then takes a seat on it. During the restaurant party, thin decorations fall from the ceiling and Chaplin accidentally eats a piece of the streamer while eating spaghetti noodles. During the boxing scene, the bell string that is used to start or end the round gets wrapped around the tramp’s neck, and confusion ensues.

Chaplin’s unique acting style, “Creates the subject of the film by making himself the main subject of the camera. His bodily gestures have their own specific relationship with the camera which then transforms the medium both externally and internally. Chaplin blurred the boundary between the actor and the audience.” (Hank, 2013, p. 192). A great actor will, “Invite us into films, allow us to accompany them on their journey, while, like any good magician, never letting us see how they perform their tricks” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2015, Section 5.1, para. 5). In City Lights, Chaplin demonstrates a broad range of emotions as Miller (2015) stated, “Soured annoyance, blank innocence, clammy-handed embarrassment, desperate pusillanimity, whinging terror, servile fastidiousness, eyebrow-arched hauteur, radiant joy, clear-eyed resignation” (p. 34-35). Chaplin is known for his comedy, so the audience expects screwball antics, but the Tramp displays gentle, endearing qualities around the blind woman. The final scene displays the Tramp’s vulnerability as Woal and Woal (1994) reflected, “What will happen now? With a combination of hope and fear playing across his face, Charlie appears to look out of the screen, as if to ask us, and gives a nervous laugh before the final fade” (p. 14).

The selection of shots in City Lights creates intimacy with the audience. A pattern Chaplin uses across films is that, “Romance,  measured in the distance between Charlie's desire and its likelihood of fulfillment. Chaplin began to underscore this melodramatic emotionalism formally, with lingering close ups of Charlie's face balanced against the full-body long shots customarily used to showcase the tramp's physical comedy” (Woal, M. & Woal, L., 1994, p. 6). The emotional end scene contains close-up shots of both the Tramp’s and blind woman’s faces. Long shots are used to display Chaplin’s comedy routine such as his performance on the statue and at the restaurant (Woal, M. & Woal, L., 1994).

The framing in City Lights is primarily for comedic effect.  Chaplin creates tension by allowing the audience to see more on the screen than the characters. The framing creates opportunities within the plot as, “The film repeatedly turns on characters’ blindness to and ignorance of what is behind them. The soigne woman cannot see the cigar onto which her derriere descends; the boxer cannot see the Tramp dancing behind him; the millionaire cannot see the burglar who, blackjack in hand, is about to clock him. Trap doors open behind them all. They don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads” (Miller, 2015, p 36).

            Chaplin uses the synchronization of sound to satirize the recent release of talkies. In the opening scene, Chaplin uses trumpet sounds for the voices of the characters presenting the statue to the city (Cott, 1975).  This scene held two purposes as Miller (2015) stated, “In any case, the unintelligible noise issuing from their mouths announces that this will be a silent movie. The talkies were sweeping America’s theaters as Chaplin filmed, and City Lights was his tendentious response” (p. 34). Because City Lights is a silent film, the music is critical. Chaplin stated, “Even in those early comedies I strove for a mood; usually music created it” (Woal, M. & Woal, L., 1994, p. 6). City Lights uses dialogue text frames to develop the plot and present the audience with vital information (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Sound effects are added into scenes to add realism or humor. For example, a chime sounds when the Tramp falls into the river, and a slide-whistle plays as Chaplin slurps spaghetti.

Charlie Chaplin creates a fitting score for the love story. In the opening scene, the music changes from slow, ceremonial music to a faster pace as Chaplin tries to get down from the statue. The crowd pauses to observe the National Anthem which starts playing. This juxtaposition provides extra comic relief since the Tramp’s pants catch on the statue and he cannot maintain a serious composure. Chaplin used sound selectively as he explained, "I tried to compose elegant and romantic music to frame my comedies in contrast to the tramp character, for elegant music gave my comedies an emotional dimension. I wanted the music to be a counterpoint of grace and charm” (Woal, M. & Woal, L., 1994, p. 11).

To create a rewarding film, Goodykoontz and Jacobs (2014) stated, “It is crucial that the successful film have both parts in equal measure—romance and comedy. When that is the case, the romantic comedy can be much more than a lark and become a more satisfying film on a deeper level” (Section 4.4, para 1). City Lights is, “And emblematic of its time, the beginning of the Depression, it is an explicit presentation of the economic gap between rich and poor” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014, Section 4.4, para. 6). The Tramp character represents, “The common man in the audience. He portrays the struggles of a common individual who is also struggling to make meaning of the order of the new world which threatens his life in the wake of rapid industrialization. The common man, who now has become an outsider in his own society, dazzles with speed and action on screen to imitate the changing reality of contemporary life, one of technological development and growing commodification” (Ghalian, 2017, p. 192). The Tramp desires acceptance but cannot find his place in society. Using slapstick, Chaplin visually reveals the struggle between conforming and inability to do so. 

City Lights contains a perfect balance of romantic exchanges and funny moments, but also provides deeper insight into societal changes as Sickels (2008) inferred, “These films explore American courtship rituals through the lens of the social and economic conflicts of Depression-era America, and if they have a consistent overriding moral, it is simply this: money does not buy happiness” (p.116). Not only is the Tramp ostracized from society within the film, but he would soon lose mass appeal in the changing film industry.  City Lights signaled the end of an era for Chaplin who was, “Acutely aware that the appeal of the Tramp would be entirely lost were he to speak, finding the very idea ‘unthinkable’” (Harrington, 2012, p. 127). Chaplin’s acting style, cinematography, score, and mise-en-scene choices for City Lights present the story and plot, with minimal text frames, at a pace that is easy for the audience to follow. The Tramp finds acceptance when he allows the blind woman to see the real him.  By staying true to the voiceless Tramp character, Chaplin creates a strong voice and the perfect ending of an era . The audience can relate to the displaced Tramp character who does not know where he fits into the present society. City Lights is a delightful experience and as with any Chaplin film one can expect to laugh and maybe shed a few tears.

References

Cott, J. (1975). The Limits of Silent Comedy. Literature Film Quarterly, 3(2), 99-107.

Ghalian, S. (2017). Tramping it out: Charlie Chaplin and the modern. Rupkatha Journal On Interdisciplinary Studies In Humanities, 9(2), 186-194. doi:10.21659/rupkatha.v9n2.19

Goodykoontz, B. & Jacobs, C. P. (2014) Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Harrington, Alexandra, (2012). Eloquent silence: Akhmatova, Mandel’shtam, early cinema, and modernism. Slavonica, 18(2), 108-140.

Hefner, B. E. (2014). Milland alone: The end of the system, post-studio stardom, and the total auteur. Journal Of Film & Video, 66(4), 3-18.

Miller, Andrew H., (2015.) City lights: Five scenes. Raritan, 35(1), 34-44.

Sickels, R. C. (2008). “We’re in a tight spot!”: The Coen Brothers’ screwy romantic comedies. Journal Of Popular Film & Television, 3(3), 114-122.

Welsh, J. (1989). A big year for the Little Tramp. Literature-Film Quarterly, (3), 210-212.

Woal, M. & Woal, L. (1994). Chaplin and the comedy of melodrama. Journal Of Film and Video, 46(3), 3-15. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/stable/20688043

 Reflection

By analyzing film, the viewer can fully understand and appreciate the vision the director has for the film. In many ways analyzing film can create a deeper experience for the viewer. Since taking this class, I have a better understanding of the choices directors make when creating a film and the work involved to create a good film. Before ENG 225, I liked certain films that I would have on defined as pleasing to the eye, but I could not accurately convey with the appropriate terminology why I enjoyed or disliked the film. Now that I have learned the definitions of the various components and techniques which are involved in making a movie, I notice so much more in movies now. I even have a deeper understanding of a few of my favorite films that I have watched a dozen times. My newfound knowledge makes me love my favorite movies on a whole new level. 

Film class has taught me to look at the bigger story told and find possible social issues that are being addressed within. Before this film class, I was only aware of blatant themes and would rarely question to find deeper meaning, but now I find it fun to look for deeper meaning, intention, and parallels. Sometimes the assignments took a lot of time and mental energy to analyze certain components. When you have only watched films for many years, it can be difficult to switch to amazing mode, but after completing assignments and discussions, I find it much easier. Since my major is in Marketing, I can apply this information to commercials, photography, or print ads in the future. I am already putting some of this information to use in my personal photography such as centering the object being photographing, some lighting techniques, and the principle of thirds. Film has taught me to be more observant and how to develop a keen eye, which will be beneficial in a visual program.