#92 The General and Modern Times 100th & 90th anniversaries with Thomas Doherty and Jeffrey Vance

#92 The General and Modern Times 100th & 90th anniversaries with Thomas Doherty and Jeffrey Vance

From Cineversary by Erik J Martin

March 12, 2026 · 2h 9m · Episode 92

About this episode

The episode celebrates the 100th and 90th anniversaries of Buster Keaton's 'The General' and Charlie Chaplin's 'Modern Times', discussing their impact and themes with expert guests.

In Cineversary podcast episode #92, host ⁠Erik J. Martin⁠ puts candles on two cakes: one for Buster Keaton’s The General , celebrating a 100th birthday, for which he is joined by Thomas Doherty , a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University; and Charles Chaplin’s Modern Times , marking a 90th birthday, for which Erik is accompanied by film historian Jeffrey Vance , author of the book Chaplin: Genius Of The Cinema. Erik and his guests explore how these masterworks by the two greatest silent film comedians have aged so gracefully, their impact on cinema, key thematic takeaways, and much more. Learn more about the Cineversary podcast at www.cineversary.com and email show comments or suggestions to cineversarypodcast@gmail.com .

People in this episode

Hosts: ⁠Erik J. Martin⁠, Erik

Guests: Thomas Doherty, Jeffrey Vance

Topics covered

  • silent film
  • Buster Keaton
  • Charlie Chaplin
  • film history

Keywords

  • anniversary
  • cinema
  • thematic analysis

Mentioned in this episode

Products: The General, Modern Times

Books & works: The General, Cineversary, Modern Times, Chaplin: Genius Of The Cinema

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