Viva Chaplin | Monsieur Verdoux
Black comedy about a con man who marries rich women and then kills them for the inheritance. A commercial flop upon its release, but according to Chaplin one of his best films.
Inspired by notorious French serial killer Landru, Henri Verdoux lures wealthy women by promising them sweet happily ever afters. After the wedding bells chime, however, he murders them for their fortunes. In this particularly dark comedy, Charlie Chaplin questions our perception of evil: isn’t this refined criminal a mere amateur compared to weapons suppliers and dictators? We stand ready to condemn a murderer, but when war victims are counted in millions, we celebrate a hero!
Charles Chaplin, USA, 1947, 124 min. English spoken, Dutch subtitles.
With Charles Chaplin, Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, Robert Lewis, Mady Correll, Marilyn Nash.