101) City Lights

[00:00:15] Step right up ladies and gents, a show for the ages, a spectacle of silent silver, gather around folks, don't be shy, a real humdinger of a picture of eight, thrills, chills, and plenty of laughs From the golden days of flickering reels and grand Nickelodeons comes a program most extraordinary, a real corker of a show, a top-notch talkie about a world with no talk at all, it's Casabloga Silent Treatment

[00:00:36] We begin this season at the end. By 1931, Hollywood had moved on from silent films. However, Charlie Chaplin had a disagree. His film, City Lights, proved that silence still had stories left to tell. The film wasn't entirely silent, it had synchronized sound, but it still used intertitles for dialogue.

[00:01:06] In fact, the film opens with a scene mocking the talkies of the day. Early microphones weren't that great yet, so... So, yeah, the silence was an intentional choice, not a limitation of the technology.

[00:01:26] The story of the movie involves Chaplin's tramp character meeting a blind flower girl, played by Virginia Cheryl, and falling in love with her. Chaplin's tramp, she would sell flowers on the street. She actually confused him for a rich person due to a misunderstanding, which happens a lot in this movie.

[00:01:53] Misunderstandings are, like, a regularly occurring occurrence in this movie. He also befriends a drunken millionaire, played by Harry Myers. So, he... the millionaire is about to take his own life, and Chaplin comes along and gets him to stop, and he's like, My friend! I made a new friend! I've got a friend!

[00:02:22] And so he takes him to his house, and they hang out. But here's the thing. There's, like, a running... kind of a running gag in this movie. The millionaire only remembers him when he's drunk. In the morning, he wakes up fully sober, and he's like, Who is this guy? Kick him out! And the butler kicks him out. And that happens regularly throughout the movie. In fact, at one point, while he's drunk, he gives him his car. And then later, he doesn't even remember, and he's like, My, you stole my car!

[00:02:50] This film also features one of the funniest sequences I've ever seen, And it doesn't include any dialogue at all. Not even intertitles. It is... The boxing scene. And... I think it's all one take? Like, all one shot? I don't remember it cutting away. But... Yeah, that's... You've got... I think it's on YouTube. Like, if you don't want to watch the whole film,

[00:03:18] At least watch this scene. The boxing scene. And... If you're probably thinking, How can a boxing scene be funny? How can it be one of the funniest scenes in cinematic history? Check it out. But... But yeah, like, the... The comedy's kind of built like a dance in that scene. I'll just... I'll just say that. I will say, though, um... There is an important historical note. There is a black boxer,

[00:03:47] Portrayed respectfully by Victor Alexander. He's not a stereotype or a caricature, Which was very common in the day. He's just treated as a competent, equal human. And... So, like, uh... This is kind of an example of how comedy doesn't really need words to be funny. Or, in the case of Victor Alexander,

[00:04:17] Progressive. Chaplin also was known for composing the score himself. Like, he would do that regularly. Uh, the music kind of functions as, like, the emotional dialogue. You don't need actual words, dialogues, inner titles in this movie. It is in there. But you kind of don't need them, Because the music functions as emotional dialogue.

[00:04:46] The themes of the music kind of replace spoken language. That's basically what it feels like. I don't want to spoil the ending, Because I want everyone to watch it. It's not that long of a movie. But the ending is... It's surprisingly emotional. Especially when you think Charlie Chaplin, You think, oh, this guy's funny. But then you remember, like, the kid exists, And it's, like, one of the saddest movies ever. But, yeah.

[00:05:15] Like, I'm not going to spoil what happened. I'm just going to say that... That... There's a hand. There's a look. A moment of recognition. And it is one of the most powerful endings in film history. And dialogue would have completely ruined it. So, while Hollywood had essentially moved on

[00:05:43] From silent films, Chaplin used this film to prove that The medium had Still kind of evolved past where it had been. There was still things you could do With silent films. Even though Hollywood had moved on. But, yeah. This wasn't his last movie. And it also wasn't his last silent film. But I think it's one of the best ones

[00:06:13] That emphasize kind of the point. I think, especially, like, Him opening it, mocking talkies. And, um... Like, the emotional storytelling That he does With limited dialogue. Even with the intertitles. There's still intertitles, But there's a limited number of it. You get the whole story With minimal words. And I think that's amazing. And the fact that you can even do that. That...

[00:06:42] Well, that he could do that. Modern movies... If they were... I'm not... I hope they never remake this. But if they were to remake this movie And, like, completely modernize it And make it just like a regular modern movie It would be Exposition heavy. And... Yeah. Like, Chaplin... Watching Chaplin growing up Like, it kind of showed me that Comedy Could be silent. Like, silence can be funny.

[00:07:12] And sometimes... Like, having no reaction To a situation And just reacting with Like, a facial expression Or... A movement Is sometimes funnier than Welp! Or, you know, Something like that. But anyway, This is what I wanted to start the season with. I'm gonna start it at the end And...

[00:07:40] I'm not gonna say what the next episode is But I will say... If... This... What's kind of the teaser? Well, the next episode's more of the intro... I have the teaser Then I have the in... Next... Next episode's more of the intro Talking about silent films in general And then episode 3 Will actually be getting into The season It's... It'll make more sense Once you see what I'm actually doing

[00:08:10] I... I'm excited for this season It's... It's different Than what I've done in the past And I'm excited for it And... Cut! Step right up, folks Don't let the show end here If you enjoyed tonight's picture There's plenty more waiting Just beyond the curtain Follow the show on Instagram At Rambler Network And for even more stories That's about curiosity

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