Goofs for
Modern Times (1936) More at IMDbPro »

• Continuity: During the visit of the Minister in jail, Charlie sits next to the Minister's wife and they make funny noises. The distance between them varies between shots.
  
  
• Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the Singing Waiters musical number, the singers' lips do not match the soundtrack.
  
  
• Continuity: Charlie attempts to go swimming and hangs his bathing suit out to dry. It disappears a few minutes later when he leaves for the factory.
  
  

• Continuity: When the factory worker is trapped in the machine, the position of some of the wheels changes between shots.
  
  
• Continuity: When Charlie goes to let the gamin into the department store, the escalators are off, allowing him to rush down the stairs going up. However, when he goes back downstairs and notices the burglars, the escalator is working, allowing him to do his stunts.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: During the scene with the press at the factory machine shop, Chaplin leaves his boss's coat under the press, flattening his pocket watch. A trap door under the press is clearly visible as a stagehand accidentally leaves a corner of the coat caught in it, and Chaplin must yank on the coat twice to free it.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: The wire holding the flag on the back of the truck is clearly visible.
  
  
• Continuity: When the wrench gets stuck on the bolt, Chaplin loses hold of it, but he has it in his hand when the foreman comes by.
  
  
• Continuity: After going on break, he turns both wrenches in the same direction. Before that he appears to be tightening them in opposite directions.
  
  
• Continuity: After Charlie goes crazy, he comes back with an oil can and sprays Big Bill in the face with the oil. We then catch a quick glimpse of Big Bill's back which is already stained black, but in the following long shot, his tank top back is pristine white in color.
  
  
• Continuity: In the final scene Chaplin and Goddard are shown walking towards the camera and their shadows are in front of them. When they are next seen, walking away from the camera, their shadows are behind them.
  
  
• Continuity: After a brick hits the police officer all the officers go over to the tramp. The gate he is in front of is open at first with a wheelbarrow in the gate opening. This position of the gate and wheelbarrow occur for two or so scenes. In the last scene the gate is suddenly closed and the wheelbarrow has been moved to outside of the gate.
  
  
• Continuity: The Bellows Feeding Machine moves closer to the boss's desk between shots.
  
  
• Continuity: When Chaplin grabs the passing chain to flee from his workmates, the next shot shows him actually sitting in the chain with the straps of his overalls undone and hanging free. Prior to this and when he is back on the ground the straps of his overalls are done up.
  
  
• Continuity: When Chaplin accidentally launches the ship, his position in relation to the moving ship changes between shots - he launches the ship from the side but when is looks at it descending into the water he is directly in front of the ship.
  
  
• Continuity: (At 65:00) Chaplin accidentally hits the cop with a stone and three of them grab him. The gate in the background (the smallest) is open, but in the next shot, it's closed.
  
  

Related Links