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Theme: Silent films from the sound era. A double Double Feature.

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"Modern Times" (1936) -- With a digital restoration for theatrical re-release at Christmastime, 2003, renewed luster shines in Charlie Chaplin's farewell to the international language of silent pictures.

For the better part of a decade, the actor-writer-producer-director resisted immersing himself into sound, partially because he thought it might be a fad and, firmly, he knew his beloved little tramp character should never speak. So, his output in the 1930s yielded only two features, both universal masterpieces with that word duly bolded and italicized, and both essentially silent movies. "City Lights" and "Modern Times" nod to audio technology with rich, melodious musical scores essayed by Chaplin -- and the occasional sound effect and assorted gibberish enhancements. Title cards with inscribed dialogue and narration do the talking.

"Modern Times" flings our hero into the ever-steamrolling industrial revolution, pitting man against machines. I like to joke this movie is the star's version of "The Matrix," however the more I ponder the point, 67 years ago, the comic set pieces seen here, including Charlie being sucked through the meshing cogwheels and gear works of a giant factory mechanism, must've suggested to agape audiences a troublesome future merging old realities and science fiction.

See it on the big screen. See it at home. "Modern Times" is entertainment forever and a perpetual banquet of food for thought.

::::: Buy "Modern Times" DVD | VHS

"Silent Movie" (1976) -- Following the one-two punch of "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks, the brash writer-director -- and budding film star -- knew his future fame, fortune, and funniness were to be mined in genre spoofs. Audacious for a major studio project, he submerged his 20th Century-Fox zaniness into half-century dead filmmaking techniques, or so it might be presumed. Movies are always visual, in 1975, in 1912, or 3009. What changes are the soundtracks, and Brooks hedged his bets via a reversal on Chaplin's move, relying on wall-to-wall orchestral music and heavy sound effects to pep and pepper the parody.

In his starring debut as Hollywood auteur Mel Funn, Brooks trios with stooges Marty Feldman and Dom DeLuise to produce an against-all-odds contemporary silent movie. Will they land the big stars necessary to secure funding? Watch them chase down five leading actors of their day in extended cameos. I like to preserve the well-kept surprises, as I enjoyed on that much anticipated opening night, so no names from me. These varying successful bits join nice detours by Sid Caesar, Bernadette Peters, Henny Youngman, and Marcel Marceau (in an hilarious moment, which, oddly, never gets a laugh -- and I've seen this sequence with an audience two dozen times or more).

Solid yuks are executed throughout "Silent Movie," but, a previously undetected homogenization of Mel Brooks can be felt creeping into this project (and, so disappointing, all of his comedies to follow).

::::: Buy "Silent Movie" VHS | DVD

"The Bellboy" (1960) -- Yep, the Jerry Lewis silent movie. At least, it is for bumbling luggage jockey Stanley as he schleps and mutes his way through Miami's Fontainebleau Hotel. As studio mogul, Jack Emulsion (Jack Kruschen) explains in the prologue, what we have is a "series of silly sequences" depicting a few days in the life of a magnificent hospitality facility and its resident goofball.

This movie came to be under high stakes business pressure. In early 1960, Paramount's biggest star asked the studio to delay his summer release, "CinderFella," until Christmas, feeling the colorful story would sell better during the holiday season. Theatres around the world were already booked to play the splashy fairy tale comedy, but Jerry had a plan. Before April, from scratch, he would produce and star, plus first-time write and direct an entirely undeveloped project for the July playdates. Shocked and skeptical, the bosses agreed to what they foresaw as lunacy and doom.

In a flurry, Lewis flew to Florida for an extended run of personal appearances. He wrote and filmed his self-funded motion picture during the day, then donned a tuxedo for nightly concerts on the Fontainebleau stage. Principal photography was completed during his three week engagement. Relocating to Las Vegas for similar shows, he edited the movie in the mornings and afternoons.

"The Bellboy" made it to the screen and became one of Jerry's top career hits. The largely unrelated comedy blackouts clicked with audiences. His structural device of stitched together sketches, became an integral part of future Lewis scripts.

This all-sound movie, except for Stanley, rewards best with a crowd and has aged somewhat uneven, but there are many fine, often surreal sight gags, such as the ones involving a clay art sculpture, a powerful flash camera, a ballroom of folding chairs, a Volkswagen, a box of candy, pressed pants, and a symphonic pantomime. Cameo appearances feature Milton Berle, Stan Laurel (impersonated by gag contributor Bill Richmond), and, of course, the man appearing in the showroom, Jerry Lewis (who speaks as this character).

There's a brief, nutty improvisational scene in the hotel lobby where Stanley summons an elevator. Encapsulated in these few seconds are all the reasons I need to love Jerry Lewis. What a superb clown. I'd follow him anywhere for moments like this one. And I certainly have.

::::: Buy "The Bellboy" VHS | DVD

"Mon Oncle" (1958) -- French cinematic heavyweight Jacques Tati is revered around the world for his filmography which consists of six features and a few short subjects. Although the comedian-writer-director's vehicles were made during the sound era, he, too, chose the silent treatment for his charming, befuddled screen presence, generally in the character of Monsieur Hulot. All the while, an interesting contradiction, sound effects were critical to his craft.

In "Mon Oncle," also known as "My Uncle," Mr. Hulot visits his sister's futuristic automated house. He's perplexed, polite, and clumsy dealing with the novel gadgets in a series of obvious and subtle comic touches reverting to Tati's recurring theme of Machines vs. Man. Therein is the connecting link which makes the film the perfect companion piece to Chaplin's "Modern Times."

I welcome Tati viewings at every opportunity, yet I have never been anchored on his wavelength. I'm simply not certain what it is I'm supposed to digest. I suspect I'm a culture shock victim lost in the translation, ironic since his movies are rooted in silent art. Tati's wise, quiet sense of humor can be grasped and harvested. Repeated screenings of his films reveal the details and genius, time well spent.

::::: Buy "Mon Oncle" DVD | VHS

::::: Trivia: Charles Chaplin is the idol of Jerry Lewis. Chaplin wrote the sweet "Smile" for the score of "Modern Times." Lewis has used "Smile" as his theme song for nearly 50 years.

After "The Bellboy" and "CinderFella," Jerry produced "The Ladies' Man," which contains numerous silent movie vignettes. He hired Mel Brooks to co-write the screenplay, later firing him from the production.

::::: Extras: "The Ladies' Man" (1961): Another Movie That Makes Me Laugh | Top 10 Jerry Lewis Comedy Movies (The Films Without Dean Martin) | Top 10 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Comedy Movies