Editing Charlie Chaplin (section)

====''City Lights''====
{{Rquote|right|text=I was determined to continue making silent films{{spaces}}... I was a pantomimist and in that medium I was unique and, without false modesty, a master.|author=Charlie Chaplin, explaining his defiance against [[sound film|sound]] in the 1930s{{sfn|Chaplin|p=322}}}}

By the time ''The Circus'' was released, Hollywood had witnessed the introduction of [[sound film]]s. Chaplin was cynical about this new medium and the technical shortcomings it presented, believing that "talkies" lacked the artistry of silent films.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=389|2a1=Chaplin|2p=321}} He was also hesitant to change the formula that had brought him such success,{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=465|2a1=Chaplin|2p=322|3a1=Maland|3y=2007|3p=29}} and feared that giving the Tramp a voice would limit his international appeal.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=389|2a1=Maland|2y=2007|2p=29}} He, therefore, rejected the new Hollywood craze and began work on a new silent film. Chaplin was nonetheless anxious about this decision and remained so throughout the film's production.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=389|2a1=Maland|2y=2007|2p=29}}
[[File:Chaplin City Lights still.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[City Lights]]'' (1931) is regarded as one of Chaplin's finest works.]]

When filming began at the end of 1928, Chaplin had been working on the story for almost a year.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=398|2a1=Maland|2y=2007|2pp=33–34, 41}} ''[[City Lights]]'' followed the Tramp's love for a blind flower girl (played by [[Virginia Cherrill]]) and his efforts to raise money for her sight-saving operation. It was a challenging production that lasted 21 months,{{sfn|Robinson|p=409|ps=, records the date filming ended as 22 September 1930.}} with Chaplin later confessing that he "had worked himself into a neurotic state of wanting perfection".{{sfn|Chaplin|p=324}} One advantage Chaplin found in sound technology was the opportunity to record a musical score for the film, which he composed himself.{{sfn|Chaplin|p=324}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/205-Chaplin-as-a-composer |title=Chaplin as a composer |publisher=CharlieChaplin.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705021919/http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/205-Chaplin-as-a-composer |archive-date= 5 July 2011}}</ref>

Chaplin finished editing ''City Lights'' in December 1930, by which time silent films were an anachronism.{{sfn|Robinson|p=410}} A preview before an unsuspecting public audience was not a success,{{sfn|Chaplin|p=325}} but a showing for the press produced positive reviews. One journalist wrote: "Nobody in the world but Charlie Chaplin could have done it. He is the only person that has that peculiar something called 'audience appeal' in sufficient quality to defy the popular penchant for movies that talk."{{sfn|Robinson|p=413}} Given its general release in January 1931, ''City Lights'' proved to be a popular and financial success, eventually grossing over $3{{spaces}}million.{{efn|{{Inflation|US|3000000|1931|fmt=eq|r=-5}}}}{{sfnm|1a1=Maland|1y=2007|1pp=108–110|2a1=Chaplin|2p=328|3a1=Robinson|3p=415}} The [[British Film Institute]] called it Chaplin's finest accomplishment, and the critic [[James Agee]] hails the closing scene as "the greatest piece of acting and the highest moment in movies".<ref name="bfi great features">{{cite web|url=http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog9 |title=United Artists and the Great Features |work=Charlie Chaplin |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=21 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406094725/http://chaplin.bfi.org.uk/resources/bfi/biog/biog.php?fid=biog9 |archive-date= 6 April 2012}}</ref>{{sfn|Maland|2007|pp=10–11}} ''City Lights'' became Chaplin's personal favourite of his films and remained so throughout his life.{{sfn|Vance|2003|p=208}}