Charlie Chaplin is one of the greatest icons of early cinema, a pioneering producer, director, and performer that helped shape the days of early cinema. Yet, Chaplin’s most indelible remarks are his comedies, uplifting movies that brought hilarious humor while adding a sizable heart and certain sensibilities in them. In this post, let’s look at Charlie Chaplin’s funniest and great movies that will split your sides about many aspects of life but poke fun where they need to.
City Lights (1931)
Deemed as one of Chaplin’s greatest and most beloved masterpieces, City Lights is a beautifully orchestrated romantic comedy banking featuring his famous character, the Tramp, a vagabond who falls in love with a blind flower seller, but having difficulties winning her heart, given his social status and rib-tickling misfortunes. While it’s a film that will bring you in stitches, City Lights does more than bringing the laughs. It’s an insignia of Chaplin’s resistance to the coming of sound, released four years after the first talkie “The Jazz Singer,” but jogging the world’s memory of artistry and beauty of the silent era.
The Circus (1928)
Released in 1928, The Circus features Tramp stumbling in a circus roadshow and falling in love with a gorgeous horse rider. Though he has poor luck in love, Tramp has a persevering spirit and continues to try. Considered as one of Chaplin’s best comedy flicks, The Circus became a massive hit and became one of the highest-grossing silent films of all time. What’s remarkable is that such a feat was made amidst several tragedies that hit Chaplin during the shoot, including a studio fire, his divorce from his second wife, Lita Grey, and the death of his mother.
The Gold Rush (1925)
Chaplin again displayed his comedic prowess in The Gold Rush. The 1925 flick centers on another adventure of Tramp, this time traveling to Yukon, Alaska, and playing the role of a fearsome prospector during the Klondike Gold Rush. Nothing comes easy as bears and snowstorms face the dauntless character. What’s certain is that the film is brimmed with uproarious gags and well-executed pathos, including a cabin hanging off the edge of a cliff and Tramp having to eat a boiled just to stay alive.
Modern Times (1936)
Modern Times is the last Chaplin film that showcased the odyssey of Tramp but just like the precursory films makes viewers laugh their heads off. As a factory worker, Tramp struggles on the assembly line, receiving a very low wage despite exhausting himself, only to be fired after a work accident. He became even more hapless after being sent to jail due to another unfortunate mix-up. Luckily, Tramp met a girl from the streets, and together and apart they battle difficulties of modern life ensued by industrialization.
A King In New York (1957)
Charlie Chaplin takes on the lead role for the last time in A King In New York, a satire-comedy movie released in 1957. Serving as one of the culmination of his long prestigious career, Chaplin does his best in playing the role of King Igor Shahdov, a deposed royalty, who flees to New York nearly penniless. He catapults into popularity after doing TV commercials but was eventually summoned by the House Un-American Activities Committee, spraying them with water from a firehouse at its gleeful climax.
The Kid (1921)
Starring Chaplin as the Tramp, he finds an abandoned baby, takes him, and raises him like his own child. The two become emotionally attached and develop a touching father-son relationship, dealing with the difficulties in life with ample mutual support and a sense of humor. All things change when the child’s mother, now a successful actress, comes back and begins to search for her lost child. With the social services and police now in the picture, the Tramp and the kid try to escape separation. The movie will definitely make you laugh but expect your heart to melt as well.
The Great Dictator (1940)
After years of defiance, Chaplin eventually made his first talkie, “The Great Dictator,” in 1940. It was an artful satirical comedy-drama that showed the courage and soul of Chaplin in tracking the difficult subject of authoritarianism. He plays the role of a Jewish Barber, who resembled and was mistaken for Adenoid Hynkel, the tyrannical dictator of Tomainia (a brave parody of Adolf Hitler, which Chaplin also plays). Extremely, funny, and witty in many aspects, but also very profound and poignant. It’s one of the best films in the history of cinema, proving how comical slapsticks can make people laugh while conveying strong ideologies.
Final Words
That’s the rundown of some of Charlie Chaplin’s funniest that also boast meaningful messages that will make you laugh and ponder as well. Indeed, he’s a legend that changed the world of cinema and his legacy and masterpieces are certainly bound to linger for many generations.