Chaplin glows in ‘City Lights’

Oh, to be brilliantly oblivious and carefree like Charlie Chaplin’s iconic Little Tramp.

The famed silent film character made us all pay attention — and care — Tuesday night in the Mount Pony Theater with his dazzling “City Lights” from 1931.

Directed, produced, written, composed by and starring Chaplin, this tour-de-force uses expressive eyes, facial expressions, a cheerful score, uproarious sound effects and curlicued captions to tell a love story that is timeless, selfless and true.

Up on the big screen, I see now why Chaplin is so revered. Hey, who needs words when you’ve got the Little Tramp?

When this “comedy romance in pantomime” first came out, talkie movies were already five years on the scene and Chaplin faced much pressure to do what the rest of Hollywood was doing.

Unmoved, he stood by his silent craft; the end result is a cinematic treasure for the ages that defies social classes.

The movie opens and our Tramp is asleep under a cloth placed on a monument to peace and prosperity that’s about to be unveiled in the city square.

Dignitaries say a few “words” that sound like a kazoo, and the cloth is pulled away. Chaplin awakes, not startled, and proceeds to rip the back of his pants on a sword-wielding statue. Alas, the state of his clothes will not improve much beyond that in “City Lights.”

But it’s all in a day for the Tramp, who waddles away characteristically to see what else awaits him in the city.

What awaits him is a chance for love with a beautiful blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) selling flowers on the sidewalk. She thinks him a gentleman and the Tramp plays along.

Wandering the streets later at night, he rescues an intoxicated millionaire (Harry Myers) from throwing himself into a public waterway. Then the penniless Tramp offers inspiring sentiments as if he knows it’s not money that makes one happy.

“Tomorrow birds will sing! Be brave! Face life!”

Life just got a little easier for our mustached hobo because now he’s got a rich best friend, albeit a rich best friend only enamored of the Tramp when intoxicated. The millionaire’s wife has left him and so there will be much alcoholic carousing in the city.

The tipsy millionaire tips the bottle down the Tramp’s ragged pants more than once and Chaplin looks absolutely hilarious sliding across a slippery dance floor at some swanky party.

And is that confetti or spaghetti on his plate?

The Tramp doesn’t care: he’s hungry for both.

It’s daylight when the party ends and it’s the early days of drunk driving.

“Be careful how you drive,” Chaplin says in captions.

“Am I driving?” the millionaire responds.

A sober dawn on another day awakens a different rich guy who wants nothing to do with Chaplin and his shabby clothes.

The beautiful blind girl, sick with fever and unable to sell her flowers, is not conscious of such trivialities though; she’s more worried about getting evicted.

Millionaire “friend” off on European vacation, the Tramp finds work to get her the money she needs for rent. He ends up in the boxing ring, where a remarkably agile and quick-footed Chaplin again amazes with choreography that only a star is born with.

The Tramp doesn’t win any money in the ring against the prizefighter (Hank Mann), but he more than holds his own. Eventually, he reunites with the millionaire, who readily hands over $1,000 to help the girl.

When the deal goes bad, Chaplin ends up in the slammer, not before delivering the money to his sightless muse who must be an angel. He won’t keep a cent for himself on the chance that she can pay to fix her eyes.

“City Lights” glows with truth and beauty as it ends, more than confirming my choice of Chaplin over the latest Bond flick.

Now that was easy.

Allison Brophy Champion can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 101 or