Charlie Chaplin: The End of Silence. The Appeal in Passion

Two interpretations of Charlie Chaplin’s transitional films between the silent era and talking pictures.

Modern Times (1936)

The silent film era effectively ended in 1927 with The Jazz Singer. Al Jolson both astounded and delighted audiences when he spoke—spoke out loud in a movie!—“Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain’t heard nothing yet!” From there Jolson launched into a lively rendition of the pop hit “Toot, Toot Tootsie, Goodbye.” An appropriate choic…