Monsieur Verdoux (Charles Chaplin, 1947)

It's about time I started keeping track of this thing again. So here's a brand spanking new, albeit short and shoddily written, review from yours truly.


Based loosely on a true story and originally planned by Orson Welles, Chaplin loved the idea and purchased the rights to the screenplay from Welles and spent the next four years rewriting it. Monsieur Verdoux is easily Chaplin's darkest film. The film centers on a Parisian bank clerk (Chaplin) who has been fired during an economic crisis. To provide for his wife and child he starts marrying moderately wealthy women and then murdering them to take their money when the need for it arises.

Chaplin mostly disposes of the physical comedy that made him the most famous man in the world and trades it in for a superbly written and darkly witty screenplay. But perhaps the biggest triumph is Chaplin's performance, the best of his career, in my humble opinion. At first he comes off as a bit sleazy, but as we progress through the story, we grow more fond of Verdoux and eventually come to somewhat sympathize with him. But really only just enough to understand why he's doing what he's doing, but without ever really condoning it.

At around two hours, this is also one of Chaplin's longest films. Comedy is a difficult thing to sustain for that time. For example, Chaplin's previous effort, The Great Dictator, had a similar running time, but became tiresome after awhile. This one, however, never runs out steam. It may become a bit preachy towards the end, but I'll forgive that. Chaplin's most intriguing and philosophical film may just be my favorite from him.