IMDb > City Lights (1931)
City Lights
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City Lights (1931) More at IMDbPro »

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962) -- AFI's 10 Top 10 - The 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres
City Lights (1931) -- Moviesbox.us - Trailer (Flash)
City Lights (1931) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Charles Chaplin
Writer:
Charles Chaplin (writer)
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Contact:
View company contact information for City Lights on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 February 1931 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
Plot:
The Tramp struggles to help a blind flower girl he has fallen in love with. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(7 articles)
A-z Movie Reviews – C’s
 (From HeyUGuys. 4 November 2009, 5:00 AM, PST)

San Jose Theatre Presents 'Another Night Before Christmas' Nov. 19 - Dec. 20
 (From BroadwayWorld.com. 25 October 2009, 11:35 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A classic film made with love and precision more (141 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Virginia Cherrill ... A Blind Girl
Florence Lee ... The Blind Girl's Grandmother
Harry Myers ... An Eccentric Millionaire
Al Ernest Garcia ... The Eccentric Millionaire's Butler (as Allan Garcia)
Hank Mann ... A Prizefighter

Charles Chaplin ... A Tramp (as Charlie Chaplin)
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
City Lights: A Comedy Romance in Pantomime (USA) (copyright title)
more
Runtime:
87 min
Country:
USA
Aspect Ratio:
1.20 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Silent | Mono (musical score)
Certification:
France:U | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | West Germany:12 (1951) | Germany:6 (re-rating: 1997) | USA:G (1972) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | South Korea:All | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Denmark:A (2003) | Norway:7 | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At one point, Virginia Cherrill came back to the set late from an appointment, keeping Charles Chaplin waiting. Chaplin, whose relationship with Cherrill was not friendly, fired her on the spot. He intended to reshoot the film with Georgia Hale, his heroine from The Gold Rush (1925), playing the flower girl; he even reshot the final scene between the tramp and the flower girl with Hale in the role. However, Chaplin had already spent far too much time and money on the project to start over. Knowing this, Cherrill offered to come back to work - at double her original salary. Chaplin reluctantly agreed and the film was completed. (Source: Virginia Cherrill interview, "Unknown Chaplin" (1983)) more
Goofs:
Continuity: When the Tramp takes the girl home, the birdcage outside the window is gone, but later reappears. more
Quotes:
The Tramp: Be careful how you're driving.
Eccentric Millionaire: Am I driving?
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: 10th Anniversary Edition (2007) (TV) more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Why is it called "City Lights"?
List: Wacky boxing
more
17 out of 22 people found the following comment useful.
A classic film made with love and precision, 6 February 2001
Author: BYUmogul from New York

Film has become a medium that is strongly influenced by nostalgia. Old films have become journeys to the past; ways to visit times and people that no longer are. Since film is an art that is based on the innovation of previous works, it has an element of nostalgia in its foundation. We look on the old to find what elements should make up the new. In City Lights, and other silent works of film, a passion emerges that is uniquely honest and sincere. While watching the film, I was impressed that Chaplin really did love the story, the sets, the crew; the whole project. While this may not have been the complete reality, it felt that way, and thus made the film more enjoyable. In silent films the audience is forced to be completely reliable on the visual elements of the film; there are no elaborate sound effects or dialogue to provoke an emotional response.

Since film is at its very core a visual medium, I find silent films to be the basic form of the medium. I don't use the word basic here in a demeaning sense, but I compare the beauty of silent films to the beauty of early European art, before the concept of perspective was developed in the Renaissance. Many books and tomes featured people as tall as the castles they stood in; these works of art were not technologically advanced, but they were, and are, beautiful. The same example is found when comparing early darreographs of wild animals to contemporary photographs found in National Geographic. There is a warmth found in City Lights, and other Chaplin films (The Kid, Modern Times) that would be lost in the sea of cinematic technology that floods films today. Maybe it's just that with simplicity comes honesty, and honesty is perhaps the most powerful emotion that can cross through the screen and be felt by the viewer.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for City Lights (1931)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Really Disappointed (Spoilers) michaelgrilo
What is the best joke in the movie? nirvanasaneurysm
Am I THAT cynical? (Spoilers) cwood0609
Is the ending the best in film history? laffalott1
how is this movie not in TOP 10 premier46
Your Top ten favorite silent films Brawlski
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