On the Channel: Chaplin’s Comedy of Murders
July 27, 2017
Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux is one of the most unsettling comedies of its era and a brilliant showcase for his talent for mixing modes of comedic performance. Read more »
Film Info
- United States
- 1947
- 124 minutes
- Black and White
- 1.33:1
- English
- Spine #652
Charlie Chaplin plays shockingly against type in his most controversial film, a brilliant and bleak black comedy about money, marriage, and murder. Chaplin is a twentieth-century bluebeard, an enigmatic family man who goes to extreme lengths to support his wife and child, attempting to bump off a series of wealthy widows (including one played by the indefatigable Martha Raye, in a hilarious performance). This deeply philosophical and wildly entertaining film is a work of true sophistication, both for the moral questions it dares to ask and for the way it deconstructs its megastar’s lovable on-screen persona.
Cast
| Henri Verdoux, alias Varnay, alias Bonheur, alias Floray | Charles Chaplin |
| Mona, his wife | Mady Correll |
| Peter, their son | Allison Roddan |
| Maurice Bottello, Verdoux’s friend | Robert Lewis |
| Martha, Bottello’s wife | Audrey Betz |
| Annabella Bonheur | Martha Raye |
| Annette, her maid | Ada May Weeks |
| Marie Grosnay | Isobel Elsom |
| Her maid | Marjorie Bennett |
| Yvonne, Marie’s friend | Helene Heigh |
| Lydia Floray | Margaret Hoffman |
| The Girl | Marilyn Nash |
| Pierre Couvais | Irving Bacon |
| John Couvais | Edwin Mills |
| Carlotta Couvais | Virginia Brissac |
| Lena Couvais | Almira Sessions |
| Phoebe Couvais | Eula Morgan |
| Prefect of police | Bernard Nedell |
| Detective Morrow | Charles Evans |
| Vicki La Salle | Vera March |
| Jean La Salle, wedding guest | William Frawley |
| Nutall, real estate agent | Arthur Hohl |
| Flower shop girl | Barbara Slater |
| Mr. Karno, wedding guest | Millard Sherwood |
| First reporter | Herbert Vigran |
| Second reporter | William Self |
| Priest | Fritz Leiber |
Credits
| Director | Charles Chaplin |
| Produced by | Charles Chaplin |
| Written by | Charles Chaplin |
| Based on an idea by | Orson Welles |
| Associate directors | Wheeler Dryden and Robert Florey |
| Music composed by | Charles Chaplin |
| Music arranged and directed by | Rudolph Schrager |
| Cinematography | Roland Totheroh |
| Camera operator | Wallace Chewning |
| Art direction | John Beckman |
| Assistant director | Rex Bailey |
| Editor | Willard Nico |
| Sound | James T. Corrigan |
| Artistic supervision | Curt Courant |
| Wardrobe | Drew Tetrick |
| Makeup | William Knight |
| Hair | Hedvig Mjorud |
| Production manager | John McFadden |
| Publicist | Russell Birdwell |
Disc Features
- New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- Chaplin Today: “Monsieur Verdoux,” a 2003 documentary on the film’s production and release, featuring filmmaker Claude Chabrol and actor Norman Lloyd
- Charlie Chaplin and the American Press, a new documentary featuring the director of the Chaplin company Roy Export, Kate Guyonvarch, and author Charles Maland
- Illustrated audio interview with actor Marilyn Nash
- Radio advertisements and trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and reprinted pieces by Chaplin and critic André Bazin
New cover by Yann Legandre
Current Posts
Video
Photo Galleries
Features
A Comedy of Murders: Chaplin, Monsieur Verdoux, and Black Comedy
By March 29, 2013
When the world’s favorite comedian asked his audience to see him as a sociopathic serial killer, he was venturing where cinema had barely dared to tread. Read more »
Film Essays
Monsieur Verdoux: Sympathy for the Devil
By March 26, 2013
Charlie Chaplin manages to make a ruthless murderer likable in his brilliant satire of middle-class morality. Read more »
Film Essays
Monsieur Verdoux: Sympathy for the Devil
By March 26, 2013
Charlie Chaplin manages to make a ruthless murderer likable in his brilliant satire of middle-class morality. Read more »
Video
On the Channel: Chaplin’s Comedy of Murders
July 27, 2017
Charlie Chaplin’s Monsieur Verdoux is one of the most unsettling comedies of its era and a brilliant showcase for his talent for mixing modes of comedic performance. Read more »
Photo Galleries
Posters
Features
A Comedy of Murders: Chaplin, Monsieur Verdoux, and Black Comedy
By March 29, 2013
When the world’s favorite comedian asked his audience to see him as a sociopathic serial killer, he was venturing where cinema had barely dared to tread. Read more »
Film Essays
Monsieur Verdoux: Sympathy for the Devil
By March 26, 2013
Charlie Chaplin manages to make a ruthless murderer likable in his brilliant satire of middle-class morality. Read more »
