City Lights premiered at the Los Angeles Theater on January 30th, 1931. Charlie's guests that evening were Albert Einstein and his wife, Elsa. Charlie recalled that the professor "laughed like a boy" and would nudge him and exclaim, "Ach, das ist wunderbar! Das ist schön!"1, 2 During the emotional last scene he caught a glimpse of the great Einstein wiping his eyes and later noted that it was "further evidence that scientists are incurable sentimentalists."3
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| Charlie with Professor Einstein and his wife, who were noticeably bewildered by the large crowd. Georgia Hale, Charlie's date, is at far right. |
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| Chaplin & Einstein at the premiere. |
Charlie was accompanied to the opening by Georgia Hale, his leading lady in The Gold Rush. "On the way to the theater, the closer it came to the time of the showing, the more apprehensive Mr. Chaplin became. He whispered something he'd never admit only under duress. 'I'm worried. I have an awful feeling the film isn't going to be received well...I don't care about being popular, wanting acclaim...but I do. I do care...I must have it...the applause of people. I love it...I live on it. But I'm afraid tonight.'" When the picture was only a quarter over, Georgia could tell that Charlie's fears were diminished and he was relaxed. "The audience was once again in the palm of his hand and he knew it."4
City Lights is not only a favorite film among fans, but it was also a favorite of Chaplin himself. In 1966, he told Richard Meryman, "I think I like City Lights the best of all my films."
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| 1931 program for City Lights. |
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1"Oh, that's wonderful! It's beautiful!"
2Charles Chaplin, A Comedian Sees The World, Part 1, Sept. 1933
3Charles Chaplin, My Autobiography, 1964
4Georgia Hale, Charlie Chaplin: Intimate Close-ups