City Lights (1931)

I think the joke was more that The Tramp was totally lacking in social graces, until he gets money, and then he's totally lacking in happiness. 

The last shot of this might be the happiest, most soul-touching moment in the history of cinema. His smile is just so endearing.

I was surprised by how much more effective I found the romance compared to the comedy in this, since Chaplin was first and foremost considered a comedic genius. A lot of the jokes felt rather cheap, lame, and unfunny to me like his various pratfalls (i.e. water being poured down his pants). What really enthralled me was the music, which was consistently great from start to finish (making me respect Chaplin even more as an artist, since he wrote all of it) and the love story. It was a very predictable and obvious love story, but the acting really sold it and made it work, as did its simple words. I agree that the smile at the end was amazingly lovely.

I'm a sucker for the sentimental stuff. I admire Buster Keaton's physical prowess in his movies, but I prefer the more lovable Chaplin. He's trying really hard to be lovable, but I don't mind. It's been said that Keaton took a more mature approach by never seeming to try so hard to be loved in his movies like Chaplin with the constant emoting. Since Chaplin was the first silent comedian I ever saw, I assumed most of them were like him, so I was caught off guard by Keaton's lack of emoting (hence the nickname, "The Great Stone Face"). Some people may prefer him for that reason, but again, being a softie, I can't help but favour Chaplin's smiling deer-in-headlights persona. The action and stunts in "The General" are still damn fine entertainment, though.