Charlie Chaplin - 5.

Chaplin on the set of Monsieur Verdoux

03/03/2017.

 Overview of His Life :

Filming Monsieur Verdoux :

1.Introduction :

I.
Charles Chaplin, without modesty, described Monsieur Verdoux as “the cleverest and most brilliant film of my career”.

II.
He was from time to time to qualify this opinion; but Verdoux was certainly the blackest of his comedies - the story of a serial killer who ends up beheaded on the guillotine. As he had always said, comedy is never very far from tragedy and horror. “Under the proper circumstances,” he wrote, “murder can be comic”.

2. Details :

I.
Year :1947

II.
Cast :

Charles Chaplin, Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, Marilyn Nash, Robert Lewis, Mady Correll, Allison Roddan, Audrey Betz, Ada-May Wells, Marjorie Bennett, Helene High, Margaret Hoffmann, Irving Bacon, Edwin Mills, Virginia Brissac, Almira Sessions...

III.
Production :

United Artists

IV.
Description :

Inspired by notorious French serial killer Landru, Henri Verdoux lures wealthy women by promising them sweet happy-ever-afters. After the wedding bells chime, however, he murders them for their fortunes. In this particularly dark comedy, Chaplin questions our perception of evil: Isn’t this refined criminal a mere amateur compared to weapons suppliers and dictators? We stand ready to condemn a murderer, but when war victims are counted in millions, we celebrate a hero!

To be continued ..

Charlie Chaplin and his wife  Oona, at the Manoir de Ban