In 1931 the ‘talkies’ were on the rise, but Charlie Chaplin made City Lights a silent film. Despite the lack of spoken dialogue, it was immediately popular. Chaplin plays the Little Tramp, who goes through a series of misadventures in an attempt to help out a little flower girl who is blind. There is an operation that could restore her sight, but he doesn’t have the money. Ill-fated jobs, ridiculous boxing matches, and run-ins with burglars ensue, but eventually he gets the money and delivers it to the little girl. She has the operation and her sight is restored, but she has no idea who her benefactor was.

The ending of the movie, when the Little Tramp and the flower girl connect, and she realizes that it was really him who helped her, is one of the most heart-warming moments in film history. 

~ Evan Derrick