{"id":43157,"date":"2019-03-26T12:49:25","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T19:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43157"},"modified":"2020-11-28T11:10:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-28T18:10:00","slug":"monsieur-verdoux-1947","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43157","title":{"rendered":"Monsieur Verdoux (1947)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Don&#8217;t believe too much: this is a ruthless world, and one must be ruthless to cope with it.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Poster-193x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-43195\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Poster-193x300.jpg 193w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Poster-82x128.jpg 82w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Poster.jpg 464w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 193px) 100vw, 193px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nIn Depression-era Paris, a former bank teller (Charlie Chaplin) with an invalid wife (Mady Corell) and young son (Allison Roddan) has a dark record of secretly marrying and murdering wealthy women. While plotting to kill one of them (Martha Raye), Chaplin intends to test his poison on a down-and-out young girl (Marilyn Nash) but takes pity on her instead. Meanwhile, he relentlessly courts a widow (Isobel Elsom) by sending her bouquets through a flower girl (Barbara Slater), and risks imminent discovery by the police.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Black Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Charlie Chaplin Films<\/li>\n<li>Depression Era<\/li>\n<li>Homicidal Spouses<\/li>\n<li>Serial Killers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that &#8220;Charles Chaplin&#8217;s last masterpiece was certainly his most controversial film&#8221;: &#8220;while <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43048\"><em>The Great Dictator<\/em><\/a> had been a comedy about Hitler and the Nazis&#8230; this was perhaps even more daring. After all, in this comedy Charlie Chaplin, once the lovable tramp, plays a cold-blooded murderer.&#8221; However, &#8220;Verdoux, the murderer of 14 women, kills only one person (a woman who has no life to begin with) during the film &#8212; therefore we find his character palatable&#8221;. While Chaplin &#8220;wisely doesn&#8217;t try to make Verdoux sympathetic&#8221;, we &#8220;can see traces of the tender, romantic, life-loving man he once was&#8221;, and we &#8220;understand his bitterness.&#8221; Peary writes that this &#8220;most compelling and unusual film&#8221; &#8212; once &#8220;championed by James Agee&#8221; &#8212; has a &#8220;storyline [that] is serious and sometimes morbid, but there is hilarity, especially in Chaplin&#8217;s scenes with Raye.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>In <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, Peary names this the Best Film of the Year and once again awards Chaplin the Best Actor award (for the third time!), thus providing plenty of additional written analysis. Peary&#8217;s selection of <em>Monsieur Verdoux<\/em> as the &#8220;best film&#8221; in a year filled with so many other worthy contenders &#8212; including the Peary-nominated <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19694\"><em>Black Narcissus<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=13076\"><em>Great Expectations<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=15317\"><em>Miracle on 34th Street<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=4467\"><em>Nightmare Alley<\/em><\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=16993\"><em>Out of the Past<\/em><\/a> &#8212; speaks volumes about his adoration for Chaplin&#8217;s oeuvre (and for underdog films that were unfairly maligned due to their creator&#8217;s politics). He writes that, &#8220;Depite its morbid plot line&#8221;, this film is &#8220;full of wit, ranging from Verdoux&#8217;s sardonic lines to wild Chaplinesque slapstick&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>Peary adds that &#8220;Verdoux&#8217;s scenes with Martha Raye&#8217;s loudmouthed, nasty Annabella are some of the funniest in all of Chaplin&#8217;s work&#8221;, with &#8220;the sequence in which he tries to poison her&#8230; [a] most complex comedy routine&#8221;, and &#8220;Verdoux&#8217;s discovery of Annabella at his wedding to Madame Grosnay&#8221; [Elsom] &#8220;hilariously complicated.&#8221; He writes that &#8220;in addition to the humor, the picture has charm&#8230; poignancy&#8230; and tenderness&#8221;, yet &#8220;we never forget that the Chaplin who wrote and directed this film is quite cynical, quite serious&#8221;: while &#8220;no one would think that Charlie Chaplin could give us the creeps&#8230; that&#8217;s our reaction just before he kills Lydia [Margaret Hoffman]&#8221;. Verdoux is presented as a &#8220;wise but insane man&#8221;, and &#8220;viewers must decide for themselves where Verdoux is bound&#8221; (heaven or hell), given that he isn&#8217;t &#8220;so sympathetic or likable that we automatically forgive his crimes&#8221;.   <\/p>\n<p>In his review of Chaplin&#8217;s acting, Peary writes that his Verdoux was &#8220;without question&#8221; &#8220;the best performance in 1947&#8221;. In addition to Chaplin&#8217;s ability to present a highly complex character (as discussed above), Peary notes that &#8220;at forty-eight he was still a masterful physical comedian, as exhibited when he backflips out of a window and when, without stopping his conversation or spilling his tea, he tumbles off a couch and onto his knees while proposing to Madame Grosnay.&#8221; Among Chaplin&#8217;s many hilarious scenes with Raye, Peary highlights &#8220;Verdoux&#8217;s attempt to drown her <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5902\"><em>American Tragedy<\/em><\/a>-style in a lake. When she suspects something is fishy, he quickly sits down, legs crossed, with the hilariously innocent expression of a naughty five-year-old.&#8221; Peary further adds that it&#8217;s &#8220;most interesting watching Chaplin play a dapper, gentlemanly Lothario, capable of seducing any woman he speaks to&#8230; In his conquests he&#8217;s as aggressive as Groucho Marx&#8230; but uses words like Charles Boyer.&#8221; Peary writes that he sees &#8220;Verdoux as the flip side of Chaplin&#8217;s Little Tramp&#8221;: while &#8220;Verdoux still acts in a gentlemanly manner, he has long given up the dignity and self-respect that is key to the Little Tramp&#8217;s resilience and survival.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Charlie Chaplin as Monsieur Verdoux<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Chaplin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Chaplin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Chaplin.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Chaplin-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Chaplin-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Martha Raye as Annabella<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-1-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-1-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Marilyn Nash as The Girl<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Nash.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Nash.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Nash.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Nash-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Nash-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many memorable scenes and sequences<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Sequences.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Sequences.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43197\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Sequences.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Sequences-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Sequences-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Monsieur-Verdoux-Raye-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a dark classic by a master director. Discussed at length in Peary&#8217;s <em>Cult Movies 3<\/em> book. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?page_id=1784#director\">Important Director<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0039631\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4134verd.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/review\/2887\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/monsverd.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/83877\/monsieur-verdoux#articles-reviews?articleId=70863\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.salon.com\/2008\/06\/12\/verdoux\/\">Salon Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t believe too much: this is a ruthless world, and one must be ruthless to cope with it.&#8221; Synopsis: In Depression-era Paris, a former bank teller (Charlie Chaplin) with an invalid wife (Mady Corell) and young son (Allison Roddan) has a dark record of secretly marrying and murdering wealthy women. While plotting to kill one of them (Martha Raye), Chaplin intends to test his poison on a down-and-out young girl (Marilyn Nash) but takes pity on her instead. Meanwhile, he&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43157\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43157"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55496,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43157\/revisions\/55496"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}