'Modern Times' has Chaplin at his best

The Salt Lake Film Society's salute to Charlie Chaplin continues this week as the classic 1936 comedy "Modern Times" comes to the Broadway Centre Cinemas, 111 E. Broadway (300 South).

Chaplin plays his beloved Little Tramp character in his final silent film (with some brief dialogue, sound effects and a musical score written by Chaplin). Essentially a collection of skits, "Modern Times" finds the Tramp working on an assembly line, being imprisoned after being mistaken for a union organizer and eventually trying to go straight, with help from a young homeless woman (Paulette Goddard).

Among the more memorable gags in the film are Chaplin's assembly-line routine (including his ill-fated use of a "vittles eating machine"), his foiling of a jail-escape attempt and roller-skating while blindfolded.

The American Film Institute placed "Modern Times" on its list of the Top 100 films of all time. The print being shown at the Broadway is part of a theatrical re-release by specialty distributor Kino International, and it features restored picture and sound.

"Modern Times" is in black and white. The film was made before ratings but would probably receive a PG for slapstick violence, some vulgar humor (flatulence) and some drug use (done for laughs).

"Modern Times" replaces the documentary "Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin" on the Broadway schedule (show times: 321-0310, www.saltlakefilmsociety.org).