What is the iRankMovies score for Modern Times?

Name: Modern Times
Director: Charlie Chaplin
Genre: comedy, drama, romance
Released: 1936
Duration: 1 h 27 min
Rating: 8.5

Modern Times has an iRankMovies score of 90.4/100, based on a weighted combination of IMDb (×3.0), Rotten Tomatoes (×2.0), Metacritic (×1.5), and TMDb (×1.0).

Modern Times (1936)

He stands alone as the greatest entertainer of modern times! No one on earth can make you laugh as heartily or touch your heart as deeply...the whole world laughs, cries and thrills to his priceless genius!

Release:1936

Runtime:1h 27m

Country:United States

Director:Charlie Chaplin

Language:English

Genre

ComedyDramaRomance

See the best comedy movies →

Keywords

FactoryAmbulanceInventionMental BreakdownTrampGreat DepressionIndustrial RevolutionSlapstick Comedy

iRank90

Modern Times rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.5/10· 277K votes

Rotten Tomatoes98%

Metacritic96%

TMDb8.3/10· 4K votes

With 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.5/10 on IMDb and 96/100 on Metacritic, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About Modern Times

A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..

Cast of Modern Times

Charlie Chaplin
as The Tramp (A Factory Worker)
Paulette Goddard
as A Gamin
Henry Bergman
as Cafe Proprietor
Tiny Sandford
as Big Bill
Chester Conklin
as Mechanic
Hank Mann
as Burglar
Stanley Blystone
as Gamin's Father
Al Ernest Garcia
as President of the Electro Steel Corp.
Richard Alexander
as Prison Cellmate
C
Cecil Reynolds
as Minister
Mira McKinney
as Minister's Wife
Murdock MacQuarrie
as J. Widdecombe Billows

Modern Times facts

Budget: $1.5M
Box office: $1.8M

Our take on Modern Times

Chaplin's 1936 masterpiece sends his Little Tramp into the gears of the industrial age — literally — for a silent-era comedy that doubles as biting social satire about machines, poverty and dignity in the Great Depression. Slapstick of impossible grace meets genuine tenderness and quiet protest. If its blend of laughter and humanity moved you, seek out silent and classic comedies that find heartbreak and social bite beneath the gags.

Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026Methodology Data sources

Audience opinions

What the audience liked

•Silent film craftsmanship demonstrates visual storytelling eloquence transcending verbal language
•Social commentary on industrialization remains relevant examining modern alienation themes
•Chaplin's physical comedy timing achieves timeless humor with remarkable nuance

What the audience disliked

•Episodic structure lacks coherent narrative driving sustained emotional investment throughout
•Silent format combined with period setting creates accessibility challenges for younger audiences