Word: verdoux
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Chaplin's Monsieur Verdoux is a sophisticated gentleman, quite unlike the character with the big feet and the penguin walk, but for the most part his face is as alive, his movement as adroit, his spirit every bit as poignant as that of the wonderful little tramp. Yet there is a savage distinction: Verdoux is a multiple bigamist and mass murderer. He marries rich women, murders them, quickly counts his money, expertly disposes of the bodies...
Chaplin builds no sympathy for Verdoux's crimes. The profits accruing from Verdoux's enterprises support a crippled wife and a small son, so, at first glance, the film appears to be an apology for the economic ruthlessness forced on Verdoux after he lost his job in the depression. But when he surprises his wife (Mady Correll) by telling her that he has been able to pay off their mortgage, she realizes that they were happier when they were poor. Cut off from the truth about her husband, she nevertheless recognizes the corrosive side effects of his work...
...black comedy full of social comment, Monsieur Verdoux is not at all like the Chaplin's silent films. Don't expect to be doubled up in laughter...
...Monsieur Verdoux...
...Monsieur Verdoux, in its New England premiere at the Harvard Square theater, is a "comedy for murderers" made in 1947 by Charlie Chaplin. It played in several cities this summer, but before this year it had had almost no exposure in the U.S. It came out when the witch hunts and blacklisting within the movie industry were just beginning, and Chaplin, a British citizen was one of the first people attacked...