That final scene. Last week, CNN asked -- in "The Screening Room's Top 10 Romantic Moments" -- whether this was the most touching film moment of all time. Could be. Either way, if it doesn't move you, you're beyond human reach.
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City Lights
Overview
A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
Director and cast
- Charlie Chaplin Director
- Charlie Chaplin as A Tramp
- Virginia Cherrill as A Blind Girl
- Florence Lee as Her Grandmother
- Harry Myers as An Eccentric Millionaire
- Al Ernest Garcia as His Butler
- Hank Mann as A Prizefighter
- Albert Austin as Street Sweeper / Burglar (uncredited)
- Eddie Baker as Boxing Fight Referee (uncredited)
- Henry Bergman as Mayor / Blind Girl's Downstairs Neighbor (uncredited)
- Buster Brodie as Bald Party Guest (uncredited)
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Only someone with slow-drying cement in their veins wouldn't be moved.
With its themes of selflessness and grace, as well as its graceful intertwining of comedy and pathos, this is a fine time for a revisit.
Is this film still funny after 76 years? I think and hope it is.
The British comic is still the consummate pantomimist, unquestionably one of the greatest the stage or screen has ever known.
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