Modern Times: “Smile”

Composer: CHAPLIN, Charles
  • Modern Times (1936) was Chaplin’s last silent movie. Though it has no dialogue, Chaplin released it with a soundtrack including sound effects and music which he co-composed,1  including the theme that became the song “Smile.” 
  • Story: in Modern Times, Chaplin’s Little Tramp character tries to navigate mind-numbing factory work, social unrest, and other problems of modern industrial society.
  • Smile is derived from a theme that occurs at the very end of the film, as the Tramp and his leading lady (“The Gamine”) walk off into the sunset in search of a new life.2 In this scene Chaplin’s character points to his mouth to indicate they should smile.3
    • In the 1950s, John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons added lyrics to this theme to create the song “Smile.”4
  • This arrangement was made by John Williams, who also conducts this recording.5

Sources

  1. Harold L. Erickson and Michael Barson, “Charlie Chaplin,” Encyclopædia Brittanica (April 12, 2019), accessed August 19, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charlie-Chaplin.
  2. Royal S. Brown, liner notes to Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age, Itzhak Perlman, John Williams, The Boston Pops Orchestra, Sony 60773, CD, 1999.
  3. “Smile Lyrics,” CharlieChaplin.com, accessed August 19, 2019, https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/42-Smile-Lyrics.
  4. Ibid.
  5. Royal S. Brown, liner notes to Cinema Serenade 2: The Golden Age, Itzhak Perlman, John Williams, The Boston Pops Orchestra, Sony 60773, CD, 1999.

Cut IDs

43198