Viva Chaplin | A King in New York
Four years after Chaplin was expelled from the US for his leftist views, he made this villainous satire about a king who is unjustly accused of communist ideas.
Fleeing revolution in his country, a European monarch seeks refuge in 1950s New York City. His corrupt Prime Minister having left him penniless, King Shahdov even stars in TV commercials to fund his living expenses. Meeting a boy whose parents are being persecuted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), he takes the homeless ten-year old under his wing, but soon after is summoned to his own HUAC hearing. Hilarious mayhem ensues, but the boy’s fate is not quite as carefree.
Charles Chaplin, UK, 1957, 105 min. English spoken, Dutch subtitles.
With Charles Chaplin, Dawn Addams, Maxine Audley, Michael Chaplin, Jerry Desmonde, Oliver Johnston.