Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writers:

Orson Welles (idea) and
Charles Chaplin (writer)

Release Date:

8 December 1947 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Tagline:

Chaplin's Bluebeard comedy is a killer!

Plot:

A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | Directed By Star | Rowboat | Social Commentary | Capitalism

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Henri Verdoux
Mady Correll	...	Mona Verdoux
Allison Roddan	...	Peter Verdoux
Robert Lewis	...	Maurice Bottello
Audrey Betz	...	Martha Bottello
Martha Raye	...	Annabella Bonheur
Ada May	...	Annette, Annabella's maid (as Ada-May)
Isobel Elsom	...	Marie Grosnay
Marjorie Bennett	...	Marie's Maid
Helene Heigh	...	Yvonne La Salle, Marie's friend
Margaret Hoffman	...	Lydia Floray
Marilyn Nash	...	The Girl
Irving Bacon	...	Pierre Couvais
Edwin Mills	...	Jean Couvais
Virginia Brissac	...	Carlotta Couvais

Also Known As:

A Comedy of Murders (USA) (working title)
The Ladykiller (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Denmark:7 (2003) | Finland:K-11 (re-rating) | Finland:K-16 (original rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:A (1947) (cut) | UK:PG (1986)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Based on real-life French murderer Desire Landru, who was guillotined in 1922.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Although the story takes place in the years 1932-1937, all the women's fashions and hairstyles are strictly in the 1946-1947 mode, when the film was made.

Quotes:

Henri Verdoux: I have made my peace with God, my conflict is with man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)

"One murder makes a villain; millions a hero. Numbers sanctify."

In his autobiography Charles Chaplin called this film his "cleverest and most brilliant" comedy, yet very few people at the time the movie was released shared this view. It was the first Chaplin US failure both with critics and audiences (though in Europe the film did quite well).

Here Chaplin plays Henri Verdoux, a serial killer who makes his living by marrying and murdering lonely reach women. Chaplin softened his character by making him a lifelong bank clerk who was laid off at the age when it was already too late to start life anew, meanwhile he has a family to support (a small son and an invalid wife). He's caught and put to trial where he accuses a hypocritical society of sanctioned mass murders and describes himself as an amateur in the field. Originally the idea belonged to Orson Welles who wanted to make a movie based on the story of a notorious murderer Henri Landru, a Frenchman who was executed in 1922 for murdering 8 women. Welles asked Chaplin to star in his film but the latter refused as he thought it was too late for him to play in a movie directed by someone else. But he bought the original idea from Welles and made what could have been a detective story or a thriller into a black comedy. It was certainly provocative and its sarcastic and ironic gravity was astonishing for the time. There is a scene, for instance, when Verdoux while waiting for the execution, talks to a journalist and pronounces the words that still fill me with horror (as they are as true nowadays as they had been fifty years ago):"Wars, conflicts - it's all business. One murder makes a villain; millions a hero. Numbers sanctify." Yet "Monsieur Verdoux" which is generally known as the most pessimistic of Chaplin films is not devoided of humour. On the contrary, at some moments it's extraordinary funny: take for instance the famous scenes with his "wives" (Annabella or Lydia)or those with madam Grosnay (my favourite bit is when Verdoux is talking to her from a flower shop, the look at the flower girl's face is wonderful!). I believe the film is one of the best I've ever seen and I highly recommend it to everyone.