Modern Times
Chaplin's last 'silent' film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age, (The use of sound in films ?) and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital - When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.
Working with a limited budget of $1.5M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $1.8M in global revenue (+20% profit margin).
6 wins & 1 nomination
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Modern Times (1936) demonstrates deliberately positioned plot construction, characteristic of Charlie Chaplin's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 11-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 27 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.9, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes The Little Tramp works as a factory assembly line worker, tightening bolts in a dehumanizing, mechanical environment. He is trapped in the machinery of industrial capitalism, a cog in the machine.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 9 minutes when The Tramp has a nervous breakdown from the relentless assembly line, goes mad, and is literally sucked into the giant machine gears. He runs amok through the factory with wrenches, attacking anything that resembles a bolt.. At 11% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 20 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 23% of the runtime. This reveals the protagonist's commitment to The Tramp is released from jail against his will - he actually wants to stay. Thrust back into the harsh reality of the Depression, he must now survive in the "new world" of unemployment and poverty outside institutional walls., moving from reaction to action.
The Collapse moment at 58 minutes (66% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Police raid the café where the Tramp is performing. The Gamine is nearly captured by welfare officers. Their brief moment of success (his singing debut) collapses as authorities close in. They must flee, losing everything: the job, the café, their fragile stability., shows the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Synthesis at 62 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 72% of the runtime. The finale: They walk away from the city together, hand in hand, down an open road toward the horizon. No resolution to their economic problems, but a resolution to the thematic question - they choose freedom, companionship, and dignity over submission to the machine., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Modern Times's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 11 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Modern Times against these established plot points, we can identify how Charlie Chaplin utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Modern Times within the comedy genre.
Charlie Chaplin's Structural Approach
Among the 4 Charlie Chaplin films analyzed on Arcplot, the average structural score is 4.4, showcasing experimental approaches to narrative form. Modern Times represents one of the director's most structurally precise works. For comparative analysis, explore the complete Charlie Chaplin filmography.
Comparative Analysis
Additional comedy films include The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Bad Guys and Lake Placid. For more Charlie Chaplin analyses, see The Great Dictator, The Kid and City Lights.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
The Little Tramp works as a factory assembly line worker, tightening bolts in a dehumanizing, mechanical environment. He is trapped in the machinery of industrial capitalism, a cog in the machine.
Theme
Title card: "A story of industry, of individual enterprise - humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness." The film explicitly states its theme about human dignity versus industrial mechanization.
Worldbuilding
Establishes the dehumanizing factory system: the Tramp struggles with the assembly line speed, is force-fed by an automatic feeding machine, and the president monitors workers through telescreens. The modern industrial world treats humans as replaceable parts.
Disruption
The Tramp has a nervous breakdown from the relentless assembly line, goes mad, and is literally sucked into the giant machine gears. He runs amok through the factory with wrenches, attacking anything that resembles a bolt.
Resistance
The Tramp is hospitalized and recovers. Released into unemployment during the Depression, he inadvertently leads a communist demonstration and is arrested. In jail, he accidentally stops a prison break and becomes a trustee with special privileges. He debates whether prison life is preferable to freedom in a broken economy.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
The Tramp is released from jail against his will - he actually wants to stay. Thrust back into the harsh reality of the Depression, he must now survive in the "new world" of unemployment and poverty outside institutional walls.
Premise
The "fun and games" of two outcasts trying to survive: the Tramp gets a job as a night watchman at a department store and invites the Gamine for a night of luxury. They play house in the store, roller-skating and feasting. He loses the job when burglars arrive. They dream of a little home together.
Opposition
The Tramp loses the shipyard job almost immediately. He gets work as a singing waiter, but welfare officers pursue the Gamine to put her in an orphanage. The system closes in: every attempt at stability is undermined by economic forces and authorities. The pressure intensifies.
Collapse
Police raid the café where the Tramp is performing. The Gamine is nearly captured by welfare officers. Their brief moment of success (his singing debut) collapses as authorities close in. They must flee, losing everything: the job, the café, their fragile stability.
Crisis
The Gamine sits dejected on a curb, having lost all hope. The Tramp sits beside her, equally defeated. They have nothing - no home, no job, no prospects. This is their dark night of the soul, processing the reality that the system will never let them win.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
The finale: They walk away from the city together, hand in hand, down an open road toward the horizon. No resolution to their economic problems, but a resolution to the thematic question - they choose freedom, companionship, and dignity over submission to the machine.