Director
Charlie Chaplin
Leading Actors/Actresses
Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Harry Myers, Al Ernest Garcia
Genre
Silent, Romance, Comedy
Language
English
Awards
No significant awards
Date of Release
January 30, 1931
Producer
Charlie Chaplin
Setting and Context
A city in the early 1900s
Narrator and Point of View
An omniscient narrator who manifests mainly in the interstitial title cards.
Tone and Mood
Jovial, happy, riotous, melancholic, melodramatic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
The Tramp vs. The Drunken Millionaire
Major Conflict
The conflict between the Tramp and the Drunken Millionaire is the major conflict of the film, turning on the fact that the Millionaire only recognizes and helps the Tramp when he is intoxicated. This misremembering leads to the conflicts that make the Tramp's life difficult.
Climax
The climax occurs when the Tramp sees the Flower Girl for the first time after getting out of jail.
Foreshadowing
Understatement
The attempted suicide and subsequent saving of the Millionaire is played off as nothing important. However, it is very important.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
A perfectionist, Chaplin shot the same scenes over and over again until he got everything he wanted right. Additionally, the film is one of the first "silent" films that integrated sound effects and a coordinated soundtrack.
Allusions
Paradox
Many of the Tramps' situations are paradoxical in that things that should be easy become difficult, and then sometimes, things that seem difficult are surprisingly easy.
