Monsieur Verdoux

In this 1947 film—the first after his daring but popular The Great Dictator—Charlie Chaplin took a dark turn to black comedy and savage social satire, dismissing the plucky Little Tramp once and for all to play a suave, dapper gigolo who marries and murders wealthy widows and disposes of their bodies as if he were taking out the trash (imagine the Henri Désiré Landru serial killer story as a comedy of manners in postwar Europe). The humor is alternately slyly subtle and played for broad slapstick laughs, especially the scenes with Martha Raye in the role of Annabella Bonheur, a grotesque nouveau riche woman with a braying voice and uncouth manner. Chaplin plays on our disgust with her crude behavior to justify his own predatory plans. The movie was a flop when originally released, and Chaplin was vilified by audiences and many (but not all) critics, who were appalled that their beloved Little Tramp had become a petty, charming killer who defended his lifestyle by proclaiming himself no more than an amateur in a world full of war mongers and tyrants. Only after a couple of decades did viewers come to appreciate Monsieur Verdoux and recognize its commentary on the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. Mastered from a new 2K digital restoration for DVD and Blu-ray, extras include two new retrospective documentaries, an illustrated audio interview with costar Marilyn Nash, radio advertisements, and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and reprinted pieces by Chaplin and critic André Bazin. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)