Modern Times (1936)
97%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 1 nomination
A slapstick skewering of industrialized America, Modern Times is as politically incisive as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Modern Times is like a big ol’ pie in the face to the whole idea of industrialization in America. It’s got all the political smarts you could want, but it’s also just plain funny. I mean, come on, who doesn’t love a good slapstick routine? This movie is a riot from start to finish. If you’re looking for a good time and a good laugh, Modern Times is the way to go.
Production Company(ies)
Charles Chaplin Productions,
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Sierra Hwy. & Penman Rd., Santa Clarita, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
G
Year of Release
1936
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Silent
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 29m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 5, 1936 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 16, 2010
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, directed by Charlie Chaplin, written by Charlie Chaplin, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ella H McCormick, Mildred Martin, Mae Tinee, Marjory Adams, Kate Cameron, G rating, United Artists, Mono sound mix, Flat aspect ratio, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford, Chester Conklin, Hank Mann, MPAA rating, slapstick, industrialized America, politically incisive, Little Tramp, state-of-the-art factory, machinery, mishaps, prison, orphan girl, modern life, waiter, performer, audience score, original language, producer Charlie Chaplin, release date, distributor United Artists, runtime 1h 29m, sound mix Mono, aspect ratio Flat (1.37:1), factory worker, care proprietor, big bill, mechanic, burglar, critic reviews, audience reviews, satire, homeless love, American Dream, progress, vaudeville, Super Reviewer Alice Shen, neo-silent film, Limelight, The Great Dictator, horror movies, MCU movies, TV shows, Netflix series
Worldwide gross: $458,676
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,930,916
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,904
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,301,081
US/Canada gross: $163,577
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,254,906
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,850
US/Canada opening weekend: $35,809
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $931,451
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,289
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $39,017,462
Production budget ranking: 979
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $21,010,903
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$48,097,450
ROI to date (est.): -80%
ROI ranking: 1,879
Paulette Goddard – A Gamin
Henry Bergman – Care Proprietor
Tiny Sandford – Big Bill
Chester Conklin – Mechanic
Hank Mann – Burglar
Director(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Writer(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Producer(s)
Charlie Chaplin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (111) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (109) | Rotten (2)
Several high spots stand out as notable examples of Chaplin’s expert timing of slapstick burlesque, scenes that are apt to make the spectator shed tears from the strain of laughter.
May 6, 2021
Ella H. McCormick
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
There are reminders of every Chaplin picture that was ever made all through Modern Times and there are enough brand new comic inventions to explain why Charlie takes such a long time between pictures and why they are so superlatively worth waiting for.
May 6, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
What most amazes you about Modern Times, is the fact that, in this day of superfine sound films, it says everything without saying anything.
May 6, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
In many ways Modern Times is old-fashioned film comedy, but it is the kind of comedy which has made millions of people laugh all over the world and which has won Mr. Chaplin the great affection and love.
May 6, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
While he has borrowed a few symbolic touches from the Russian picture makers, there is nothing of real significance in Chaplin s work except his earnest desire, and his really great ability, to entertain.
May 6, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
The monotony of this Job “gets” Charlie and he runs wild, attacking everything and everybody in view with his brandished wrenches in one of the funniest scenes ever filmed.
May 6, 2021
Elinor Ragin
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Modern Times was Chaplin’s last brilliant foray into that singular craft that made him a great artist: a pantomime.
March 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Chaplin at his most inventive and ingenious
March 11, 2022
Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
It’s the greatest comedy – and funniest movie – of all time. … But, as with most of Chaplin’s other films, it’ll also make you cry your eyes out.
November 28, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Cameron Meier
MeierMovies.com
The sequence in which the modern mechanical feeder for workers is introduced is a gem of comedy invention. It is one of the funniest episodes, and certainly the most ingenious.
May 6, 2021
Ada Hanifin
San Francisco Examiner
Modern Times, underneath its farce, is a curiously passionate jibe at the herd-instincts and herd clangour of a machine age.
May 6, 2021
Josephine O’Neill
Daily Telegraph (Australia)
Miss Goddard put us in mind more of a ballet dancer in portraying her role than a screen player, which fits in, on the whole, rather well with Chaplin’s style. She’s attractive and has charm.
May 6, 2021
Marion Aitchison
Tampa Bay Times…
Plot
Chaplin’s last ‘silent’ film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age, (The use of sound in films ?) and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital – When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found on Fresh Kernels about the film Modern Times.
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