Modern Times (1936)

In 1936, long after Hollywood had learned to talk, Charlie Chaplin made a mostly silent comedy, and he still out-jokes almost everyone who came after him. The factory opening earns its legend. The Tramp works the line so long that his arms keep twitching after the shift, a lunch machine built to save time goes haywire on his face, and he ends up riding through the giant gears like film through a projector. The honest weakness is the shape. After that, it’s a string of short adventures, a jail stint here, a department store there, held together by a road and a romance more than a plot. Paulette Goddard keeps it moving, though. Her Gamin is fierce, hungry and funny, a real partner instead of a prize. And when Chaplin finally sings, it’s in gibberish, the best joke about sound ever made. A 9.5 because it’s a loose string of sketches that adds up to something huge and sweet. $60.16 says you get home from work this week and do the twitchy wrench arms without realizing it.

What works: The factory sequence is one of the great comedy openings ever, and Paulette Goddard is a lively, equal partner for Chaplin.

What doesn’t: After the factory, it becomes a loose chain of episodes with a thin plot, and some stretches drift between gags.

Who it’s for: Anyone who thinks old movies are slow, and anyone whose job feels like an assembly line.