197. Monsieur Verdoux (1946)

Directed By Charlie Chaplin

Synopsis

Man charms and kills women for money in order to support wife and child, he is tried and executed.

Review

That synopsis doesn't really sound like a Chaplin film, but if he was anything throughout his life it was a socially and politically conscious man and this film is that. Chaplin figured this was the smartest film he ever made and he was quite right. He bought the concept from Orson Wells and made his own changes. Changes which didn't help his image as a communist in America.

The political content of the film is just there in a couple of minutes near the end where he compares his killing to that made by bombs which also catches women and children unaware, and he is such a sympathetic character that you actually thinking incredibly more beneficent than those same governments. At least Verdoux chooses his victims and can show compassion and has the balls to get to know them before killing them.

Verdoux is a cruel and cynical character, cruel because he is a murderer and cynical because of the circumstances of his life, sacked form a job as a bank clerk in his middle life he finds it impossible to care for his invalid wife and child except by scamming and killing women. He becomes tremendously cynical also because it is the only way he can keep living his life. But he is ultimately endearing, he is funny and he loves something.

This is possibly one of the first completely sympathetic serial killers in English language films, we had one here before with Fritz Lang's M. Verdoux is never the monster that M is however, his motivation does not arise from disease but from circumstances, a ruthless society made him ruthless, a cynical society made him cynical. An excellent film.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The film's premise is that "murder is the logical extension of capitalism". The lead character kills to make money, he is hence not (in his eyes) a murderer.

Chaplin was subjected to unusually hostile treatment by the press while promoting the opening of the film, and some boycotts took place during its short run. It has since gained enough of a following to be considered a cult film -- Chaplin fans are divided over its quality. Its dark humor, so strikingly different from Chaplin's usual sentimentality, is perhaps better appreciated today.

Despite its poor critical and commercial performance, the film was nominated for the 1948 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

In 1964, Chaplin allowed Verdoux to be re-released along with several Chaplin films to play at the New York Plaza as part of a Chaplin Festival. Verdoux was not only the biggest hit of the entire festival but it broke box-office records for the Plaza. It has been assumed that the reason for the successful re-release was the film being put out during a time of more overt criticism of the government.

Verdoux shows compassion: