Editing Charlie Chaplin (section)

==== Travels, Paulette Goddard and ''Modern Times'' ====
''City Lights'' had been a success, but Chaplin was unsure if he could make another picture without dialogue. He remained convinced that sound would not work in his films, but was also "obsessed by a depressing fear of being old-fashioned".{{sfn|Chaplin|p=360}} In this state of uncertainty, early in 1931, the comedian decided to take a holiday and ended up travelling for 16 months.{{sfnm|1a1=Louvish|1p=243|2a1=Robinson|2p=420}}{{efn|Chaplin left the United States on 31 January 1931, and returned on 10 June 1932.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=664–666}}}} He spent months travelling Western Europe, including extended stays in France and Switzerland, and spontaneously decided to visit Japan.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=429–441}} The day after he arrived in Japan, Prime Minister [[Inukai Tsuyoshi]] was assassinated by ultra-nationalists in the [[May 15 Incident]]. The group's original plan had been to provoke a war with the United States by assassinating Chaplin at a welcome reception organised by the prime minister, but the plan had been foiled due to delayed public announcement of the event's date.{{sfn|Silverberg|pp=1–2}}
[[File:Modern Times poster.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Modern Times (film)|Modern Times]]'' (1936), described by Jérôme Larcher as a "grim contemplation on the automatisation of the individual"{{sfn|Larcher|p=64}}]]

In his autobiography, Chaplin recalled that on his return to Los Angeles, "I was confused and without plan, restless and conscious of an extreme loneliness". He briefly considered retiring and moving to China.{{sfn|Chaplin|pp=372, 375}} Chaplin's loneliness was relieved when he met 21-year-old actress [[Paulette Goddard]] in July 1932, and the pair began a relationship.{{sfnm|1a1=Robinson|1p=453|2a1=Maland|2y=1989|2p=147}} He was not ready to commit to a film, however, and focused on writing a [[Serial (literature)|serial]] about his travels (published in ''[[Woman's Home Companion]]'').{{sfn|Robinson|p=451}} The trip had been a stimulating experience for Chaplin, including meetings with several prominent thinkers, and he became increasingly interested in world affairs.{{sfn|Louvish|p=256}} The state of labour in America troubled him, and he feared that capitalism and machinery in the workplace would increase unemployment levels. It was these concerns that stimulated Chaplin to develop his new film.{{sfnm|1a1=Larcher|1p=63|2a1=Robinson|2pp=457–458}}

''[[Modern Times (film)|Modern Times]]'' was announced by Chaplin as "a satire on certain phases of our industrial life".{{sfn|Louvish|p=257}} Featuring the Tramp and Goddard as they endure the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], it took ten and a half months to film.{{sfn|Robinson|p=465}} Chaplin intended to use spoken dialogue but changed his mind during rehearsals. Like its predecessor, ''Modern Times'' employed sound effects but almost no speaking.{{sfn|Robinson|p=466}} Chaplin's performance of a gibberish song did, however, give the Tramp a voice for the only time on film.{{sfn|Robinson|p=468}} After recording the music, Chaplin released ''Modern Times'' in February 1936.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=469–472, 474}} It was his first feature in 15 years to adopt political references and social realism,{{sfn|Maland|1989|p=150}} a factor that attracted considerable press coverage despite Chaplin's attempts to downplay the issue.{{sfn|Maland|1989|pp=144–147}} The film earned less at the box-office than his previous features and received mixed reviews, as some viewers disliked the politicising.{{sfnm|1a1=Maland|1y=1989|1p=157|2a1=Robinson|2p=473}} Today, ''Modern Times'' is seen by the British Film Institute as one of Chaplin's "great features",<ref name="bfi great features"/> while David Robinson says it shows the filmmaker at "his unrivalled peak as a creator of visual comedy".{{sfn|Schneider|p=125}}

Following the release of ''Modern Times'', Chaplin left with Goddard for a trip to the Far East.{{sfn|Robinson|p=479}} Chaplin, Goddard and a Japanese servant named Yonnemori arrived in [[Saigon]] in April 1936, and visited multiple locations in [[French Indochina]].<ref name="Vua-hề-Charlie-Chaplin-thăm-Đông-Dương-năm-1936">{{cite web|url= https://archives.org.vn/gioi-thieu-tai-lieu-nghiep-vu/vua-he-charlie-chaplin-tham-dong-duong-nam-1936.htm|title= Vua hề Charlie Chaplin thăm Đông Dương năm 1936.|date=26 May 2023|accessdate=31 May 2023|author= Bùi Hệ|publisher= National Archives of Vietnam|language=vi}}</ref> They then visited [[Phnom Penh]] to view [[Angkor Wat]], and [[Da Lat]], followed by [[Huế]], arriving in [[Đà Nẵng]] where he visited the [[Marble Mountains (Vietnam)|Marble Mountains]] and the [[Museum of Cham Sculpture|Henri Parmentier Museum]].<ref name="Vua-hề-Charlie-Chaplin-thăm-Đông-Dương-năm-1936"/> In [[Hanoi]] (the capital city of French Indochina)<ref name="Vua-hề-Charlie-Chaplin-thăm-Đông-Dương-năm-1936"/> they visited the popular tourist destination [[Hạ Long Bay]], and the couple then left from [[Hải Phòng]] to [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] on board of a ship the ''Canton''.<ref name="Vua-hề-Charlie-Chaplin-thăm-Đông-Dương-năm-1936"/> The couple had refused to comment on the nature of their relationship, and it was not known whether they were married or not.{{sfn|Robinson|p=469}} Sometime later, Chaplin revealed that they married in [[Guangzhou|Canton]] during this trip.{{sfn|Robinson|p=483}} By 1938, the couple had drifted apart, as both focused heavily on their work, although Goddard was again his leading lady in his next feature film, ''The Great Dictator''. She eventually divorced Chaplin in Mexico in 1942, citing incompatibility and separation for more than a year.{{sfn|Robinson|pp=509–510}}