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 small-scale budget of $1.5M, the film achieved a modest success 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) exemplifies meticulously timed story structure, characteristic of Charlie Chaplin's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 10-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.
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
The Tramp
Ellen
Main Cast & Characters
The Tramp
Played by Charlie Chaplin
A factory worker driven to a nervous breakdown by the mechanized dehumanization of industrial work, who seeks dignity and connection in the modern world.
Ellen
Played by Paulette Goddard
A young homeless gamine struggling to survive and care for her sisters after their father's death, who dreams of a better life.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes A flock of sheep dissolves into workers flooding into a factory, establishing the dehumanizing comparison between industrial laborers and livestock. The Tramp works on an assembly line, mindlessly tightening bolts in an endless, soul-crushing rhythm.. Structural examination shows that this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 9 minutes when The Tramp suffers a complete nervous breakdown from the relentless pace of the assembly line, going berserk and sabotaging the machinery. He is taken away to a hospital, losing his job and his place in the industrial system.. 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 Collapse moment at 59 minutes (67% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Just as the Tramp's singing act becomes a hit at the café, juvenile officers arrive to arrest the Gamin. Their hard-won success crumbles instantly. The dream of a stable life together seems to die—the system that has pursued them throughout finally catches up., 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. Reinvigorated by the Tramp's optimism, the Gamin smiles through her tears. They stand together, facing an uncertain future but united in spirit. Their synthesis is complete—they have found something more valuable than the security society denied them., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Modern Times's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 10 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 Bad Guys, Ella Enchanted and The Evening Star. For more Charlie Chaplin analyses, see The Great Dictator, The Kid and City Lights.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
A flock of sheep dissolves into workers flooding into a factory, establishing the dehumanizing comparison between industrial laborers and livestock. The Tramp works on an assembly line, mindlessly tightening bolts in an endless, soul-crushing rhythm.
Theme
The factory president demands increased speed on the assembly line via surveillance screen, stating the need for maximum productivity. The theme is established: humanity versus the machine age, where people are reduced to cogs in an industrial system.
Worldbuilding
The oppressive factory environment is established through the Tramp's repetitive labor, the Bellows Feeding Machine demonstration that treats workers as mere productivity units, and the constant surveillance by the factory president. The world is one of dehumanization and industrial tyranny.
Disruption
The Tramp suffers a complete nervous breakdown from the relentless pace of the assembly line, going berserk and sabotaging the machinery. He is taken away to a hospital, losing his job and his place in the industrial system.
Resistance
The Tramp is released from the hospital into a world of unemployment and social unrest. He accidentally picks up a red flag and is mistaken for a communist agitator, leading to his arrest. In prison, he inadvertently foils a jailbreak and becomes a hero, but struggles with whether freedom or imprisonment offers a better life.
Act II
ConfrontationPremise
The Tramp and the Gamin pursue their shared dream of a home and stability through various comic misadventures: he works as a night watchman at a department store where they playfully enjoy luxury, he gets a job at a shipyard but immediately sinks a ship, and they set up housekeeping in a ramshackle waterfront shack.
Opposition
The factory strike destroys the Tramp's job. He is arrested again after being caught up in a street demonstration. Meanwhile, the Gamin finds work as a café dancer and gets the Tramp hired as a singing waiter, but they face constant threats: police seek to return the Gamin to juvenile authorities, and society repeatedly crushes their attempts at normalcy.
Collapse
Just as the Tramp's singing act becomes a hit at the café, juvenile officers arrive to arrest the Gamin. Their hard-won success crumbles instantly. The dream of a stable life together seems to die—the system that has pursued them throughout finally catches up.
Crisis
The Tramp and Gamin flee the café, escaping into the night. Exhausted and dejected, the Gamin sits weeping by the roadside at dawn, lamenting that their efforts have been useless. All their struggles seem to have led nowhere—homeless, jobless, and hunted once again.
Act III
ResolutionSynthesis
Reinvigorated by the Tramp's optimism, the Gamin smiles through her tears. They stand together, facing an uncertain future but united in spirit. Their synthesis is complete—they have found something more valuable than the security society denied them.