197. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Running Time: 124 minutes
Directed By: Charles Chaplin
Written By: Charles Chaplin
Main Cast: Charles Chaplin, Mady Correll, Audrey Betz, Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom
Click here to view the trailer

GOODBYE CHARLIE

I must admit that the prospect of a nearly two hour Chaplin comedy didn't really appeal to me, prior to watching "Monsieur Verdoux" last night. However, once again, I am completely wrong in judging this book by it's cover, as this was possibly the best Chaplin film I watched for THE BOOK.

Henri Verdoux (Chaplin) lives in France and up until three years ago, made his living as a bank clerk. It was then that he lost his position at the bank and was forced to find other means for supporting himself and his family. Verdoux lives in the South of France with his wife and young son and in order to support them, spends his time traveling around France, marrying widows and either conning them out of their money or murdering them to collect insurance and their assets. In addition to the wife that he acknowledges, Henri also maintains a second wife through the duration of the film, in the form of Annabella Bonheur (Raye). With her he pretends to be the Captain of a ship and thus has his excuse for being away so often. The film also follows Henri as he works to woo a third woman into being his wife, Ms. Marie Grosnay (Elsom). Add to that the Couvais family, who interact with police in hopes of helping to catch Verdoux, as their certain he's murdered their family member Thelma, another one of Henri's wives.

Perhaps I misspoke above and perhaps this isn't quite AS good as "The Gold Rush" and "Modern Times", but it is damn good and thank God Orson Welles sold the rights to the story to Chaplin (for a generous $5000, a hefty sum at the time) so that this film could be made by Charlie, into the black comedy that he envisioned. Sure, a two hour Chaplin film doesn't sound all that intoxicating, especially since I was used to ninety minutes or less when it came to Charlie's films, but this film uses it's time to perfection and everything makes sense. It's not just another comedy, but also provides a nice dose of suspense, some messages about current world affairs and is just a flat out, really good story. Take this line for example, something so poignant, that I'd never think to hear it in a Chaplin film:

Wars, conflict - it's all business. One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify, my good fellow!

That line was spoken by Chaplin in the film and apparently he fell under heavy scrutiny by the U.S. and ultimately fled the United States completely in 1952, moving to Switzerland. "Monsieur Verdoux" proves that Chaplin didn't hit his peak with movies like "Modern Times" and "City Lights" but that he still had some spunk left in him well into the 1940s. This is a fantastic picture, one that Charlie was rightfully proud of and another reason I'm glad I'm making my journey through this book. It's gems like this that make it all worthwhile. Unfortunately, we're done with Charles Chaplin as it pertains to THE BOOK, but I look forward to seeing more of his films on my own time - "The Kid", "The Circus", "The Great Dictator", just to name a few.

RATING: 10/10 Screw it! I'm going all the way on this one. There wasn't anything bad about it and I this is the kind of movie that makes you glad you're a movie fan. It's one that can really sweep you away, pull you in and tell you a good story, filled with laughs, entertainment, suspense and heart.

MOVIES WATCHED: 422
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 579

April 5, 2012 4:49pm