djfone

So much to love about "Modern Times"...and I'm not even a fan of silents!

Anyone who's ever punched a clock for a cold, heartless employer will be grabbed by the very first image, of hogs being herded into pens just like their blue-collar brethren entering the factory.

The corn-eating scene --- truly technology run amuck --- might be applied to today's use of A. I., for its good intentions but disastrous potential ìmpacts.

I was startled at the natural, raw beauty and girlish charm of Chaplin's "gamin", the lovely Paulette Goddard without makeup or any Hollywood poofery, who was Chaplin's love for màny years despite a 21-year age difference.

There's also a very funny jailhouse scene involving Myra McKinney as the gastroenterology-distressed minister's wife. Fans of reruns of the 1950s TV series "Adventures of Superman" will be shocked to learn that wife was the insane, cruel Madame Selena from the dark, disturbing "Mystery In Wax" episode from Superman's first season.

Marvel at the amazing sets constructed for "Modern Times" at Chaplin Studios on Sunset Blvd. @ LaBrea, most of which years later was sold to Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss for their A& M Studios, then 25 years later to Jim Henson for his Muppets Productions.

Disney owns it now. But when you arrive at the front gate, look at who's atop the brick pillar: Kermit the Frog, dressed like The Little Tramp.

This fascinating episode is not so much about naturopaths vs. Traditional medical training, but about fans'/patients' cult-like devotion to a clueless deliberate spreader of misinformation for profit...and you can scan that through any 2025 prism you like, but it's timeless, just like Shakespeare..... whose quote is framed on the country quack's office wall. This disturbing trope is nicely wrapped in a cozy rural setting which appears to be Hope Ranch near Los Angeles, occupied by a snake oil salesman and his family, preying on the kindness of their trusting townsfolk and thousands of gullible mail order subscribers. And the science-based Dr. Richard Kimble is like a contemporary journalist, refusing to proven sacrifice facts for ignorant fans' fallacies. Attach your own current newsmaker's verisimilitude.

This is perhaps my least-favorite episode of this --- and of any other --- season, thanks to an overwritten, overacted crime victim and her harridan of a protective sister.

The delicate, ultra-high maintenance crime victim, a witness to an arson case, is constantly shown sobbing or on the verge, and she's exhausting to see and hear.

Add to that eternally uptight Lt. Bale's rigid rules not followed by cash-starved Medavoy, with Draconian --- the only kind Bale knows --- results.

Charlotte Ross's Connie, Sipowitz's lady love, looms larger each episode with her absence, particularly since her caress and support would be dearly welcomed by Andy after every day putting up with Lt. Bale.

A good episode for advertising depression meds.