Film of the month:
[?]* (Directed by Charlie Chaplin, 1936; 1h 27m; FSK: ab 6)
(Banned in Germany in 1936; first shown in West Germany in 1956
and in East Germany in 1978)
May is the month when the rights of working people are celebrated throughout the world. Reason enough to watch one of Chaplin’s most beloved films, a seriously funny take on the dehumanizing effects of poverty, unemployment and industrial automation which he released at the height of the Great Depression. Due to the sweeping success of talking pictures in the 1930s, [?]* was Chaplin’s sendoff to silent comedy and a fond farewell to his iconic Little Tramp. Starring Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford and Chester Conklin.
"Chaplin exhibits his amazing versatility in the fast-forgotten art of pantomime and makes you laugh when you had perhaps expected to cry."
– E. de S. Melcher, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C. (1936)
“Chaplin's satiric dissection of the economy circa 1936 looks downright prescient.”
– Sean P. Means, Salt Lake Tribune
“[?]* magically reaches forward through the decades, resonating loudly for these difficult modern times.”
– Mike Scott, Times-Picayune
“If the world is trying to suppress the little man, what better figure to rally against it than the ultimate little man, Chaplin's Little Tramp?”
– John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Shown in English. Admission is free.
American Library in Karlsruhe
Kanalweg 52, 76149 Karlsruhe, Tel.: 0721-72752
*We aren't legally allowed to advertise the films we show by name, but we may describe them!
