Main Cast: Charles Chaplin, Ada-May, Marjorie Bennett, Isobel Elsom, Audrey Betz, Marilyn Nash, Virginia Brissac
Release Year: 1947
Country: US
Run Time: 125 minutes
Plot
"Von Clausewitz said that war is the logical extension of diplomacy; Monsieur Verdoux feels that murder is the logical extension of business." With his controversial "comedy of murders" Monsieur Verdoux, Charles Chaplin makes his final, definitive break with the Little Tramp character that had brought him fame and fortune. Verdoux (Chaplin), a mild-mannered family man of pre-war France, has hit upon a novel method of supporting his loved ones. He periodically heads out of town, assumes an alias, marries a foolish, wealthy woman, then murders her for the insurance money. He does this thirteen times with success, but wife #14, brassy Martha Raye, proves impossible to kill (nor does she ever suspect what Verdoux has in mind for her). A subplot develops when Verdoux, planning to test a new poison, chooses streetwalker Marilyn Nash as his guinea pig. She tells him so sad a life story that Verdoux takes pity on her, gives her some money, and sends her on her way. Years later, the widowed and impoverished Verdoux meets Nash once more; now she is the mistress of a munitions magnate. This ironic twist sets the stage for the finale, when Verdoux, finally arrested for his crimes and on trial for his life, gently argues in his own defense that he is an "amateur" by comparison to those profiteers who build weapons for war. "It's all business. One murder makes a villain. Millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify..." Sentenced to death, Verdoux remains calmly philosophical to the end. As the condemned man walks to the guillotine, a priest prays for God to have mercy on Verdoux's soul. "Why not?" replies Verdoux jauntily. "After all, it belongs to him." The original idea of Monsieur Verdoux originated with Orson Welles, who'd wanted to make a picture about notorious modern "Bluebeard" Landru. Welles wanted to cast Chaplin in the lead; Chaplin liked the idea, but preferred to direct himself, as he'd been doing since 1914. It is possible that Chaplin might have gotten away with the audacious notion of presenting a cold-blood murderer as a sympathetic, almost lovable figure. Alas, Monsieur Verdoux was released at a time when Chaplin was under a political cloud for his allegedly Communistic philosophy; too, it came out shortly after a well-publicized paternity suit involving Chaplin and Joan Barry. Picketed in several communities, banned outright in others, Monsieur Verdoux was Chaplin's first financial flop. Today, it can be seen to be years ahead of its time in terms of concept, even though the execution is old-fashioned and occasionally wearisome. Monsieur Verdoux doesn't always hit the bull's-eye, but it remains one of Charles Chaplin's most fascinating projects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Monsieur Verdoux was a box-office failure on its release in 1947. Conventional wisdom has it that writer/director/star Charles Chaplin was in disfavor from paternity suits and alleged Communist sympathies. However, it is difficult to find any film like Monsieur Verdoux in or near 1947 that was a box-office success; most likely the film would have flopped commercially no matter what Chaplin's personal situation. The story is a darkly disturbing allegory that contrasts the horrific acts of an individual with the horrific acts of society at large. In his own mind, the title character feels that his acts of murder are justified: they are simply a matter of business. As Chaplin's story challenges the conventional view of war as valiant and necessary, there was little chance that American audiences of 1947, still celebrating U.S. victories in World War II, would flock to see the movie. Similarly, Chaplin's visual style here is reminiscent of his fixed location work in the silent era, a style that seemed outmoded and dull to 1947 audiences. While current-day viewers may enjoy Monsieur Verdoux for its trenchant audacity, the film was largely unloved in its own time and a significant setback to Chaplin's career. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine. The film ends as Verdoux is being led to the guillotine in the prison courtyard after dismissing his killing of a few as no worse than the highly-praised killing of large numbers in war.
Production
The script for this film, the idea for it given by Orson Welles, was inspired by the case of serial killerHenri Désiré Landru. Welles sought to direct the film with Chaplin as star, but Chaplin backed out at the last minute, on the grounds that he'd never been directed in a full length film before and wasn't willing to start. Instead, Chaplin bought the script from Welles and rewrote parts of it, crediting Welles only with the idea. The lead character kills to make money, hence he is not (in his eyes) a murderer.
Another story suggests that although the script had yet to be written, Welles wanted Chaplin to play the lead role. Chaplin, deciding that he didn't want to have to write the script with Welles, opted out, saying in effect "If it isn't written yet, I'm not interested." After seeing the film, Welles insisted on receiving a screen credit for the story idea.
Since the film is a talking picture, there is some comedy in the dialogue as well as some physical comedy. Chaplin tended to work with a repertory company of actors who performed exclusively in Chaplin's films. Monsieur Verdoux, atypically for a Chaplin film, features some familiar Hollywood actors, including Martha Raye, William Frawley and Fritz Leiber, Sr.. Rumors have persisted that Chaplin's 1915-1923 leading lady Edna Purviance made an appearance in the film. Chaplin biographer David Robinson wrote that Purviance did return briefly to the Chaplin Studios and prepared for a small role in the film, but that she did in fact not go before the cameras. Purviance did have a small part in Chaplin's next film, 1952's Limelight.
Reception
The film was the first to feature no resemblance to Chaplin's famous "Tramp" character (The Great Dictator did not feature the Tramp, but his "Jewish barber" bore sufficient similarity), and consequently was poorly received in America when it first premiered. It was, however, more successful in Europe. The film and its dark themes were ill-suited to the American political and cultural climate of the time (less than two years after World War II ended), and Chaplin's popularity and public image had been irrevocably damaged by multiple scandals and political controversies prior to its release.[1]
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. At one press conference to promote the film, Chaplin made his speech, then in inviting questions from the press with the words "Proceed with the butchering". Since then it has gained enough of a following to be considered a cult film.
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 film festival. The film was not only the biggest hit of the entire festival, but it broke box-office records for the Plaza. It is presumed that the reason for the successful re-release was the film being put out during a time that was more receptive to black comedy satires, such as the successful contemporary comedy film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which has a similarly dark premise.
References
^Peary, Danny (1988). Cult Movies 3. New York: Simon & Schuster Inc.. pp. 136–140. ISBN 0-671-64810-1.
