A Countess from Hong Kong
Original film poster
Directed by	Charles Chaplin
Produced by	Charles Chaplin Jerome Epstein
Written by	Charles Chaplin
Starring	Marlon Brando Sophia Loren
Music by	Charles Chaplin
Cinematography	Arthur Ibbetson
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	January 5, 1967
Running time	120 min
Country	United Kingdom  United States
Language	English
Budget	$3,500,000 (estimated)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

A Countess from Hong Kong was a 1967 comedy film and the last film directed by Charles Chaplin. It was one of only two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role (the other was 1923's A Woman of Paris), and his only color film. It starred Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Tippi Hedren, and Sydney Earle Chaplin, Chaplin's second son. The film was a financial and critical failure.

The plot concerns ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Ogden Mears sailing back to America after traveling the world. He meets a Russian countess in Hong Kong who sneaks on board to escape forced prostitution.

This film is best known for the theme music, written by Chaplin, which became the hit song This Is My Song for Petula Clark. Since the film was and remains almost universally disliked, the success of the song made back the money spent on the film. Chaplin was distraught by its failure, and the difficulties in the film production. His on-set conflicts with Brando stemming from ego clashes and their radically different approaches to acting are legendary ^{[citation needed]}. This is Tippi Hedren's first feature film after her break from director Alfred Hitchcock. She had high hopes for the film, until she received the script. When she realized that she had a small part as Marlon Brando's estranged wife, she asked Chaplin to expand her role. And although Chaplin tried to please her, he couldn't find a way to expand her role, as the story mostly takes place on a ship, which Hedren's character boards near the end of the film. In the end, she remained in the film and later said that it was a pleasure working for Chaplin.

Chaplin's brief cameo marked his final on-screen appearance.

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• It was filmed entirely at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, just outside London in 1966.
• "Countess from Hong Kong" is also the title of a song by The Velvet Underground, released on the Peel Slowly and See set in 1995.

Main cast

External links

• A Countess from Hong Kong at the Internet Movie Database
• A Countess from Hong Kong at All Movie Guide

Donate to Wikimedia