It is a masterpiece. See it.Andrew Sarris, New York Observer
Charlie Chaplins Monsieur Verdoux is widely considered one of his best works, and his most political. Chaplin immodestly proclaimed it the cleverest, most brilliant film of my career. Nominated for the 1948 Academy Award
for Best Screenplay, and originating from a true story, this self-described comedy of murders was based on an idea by Orson Welles, which Chaplin reportedly bought for five thousand dollars in a refusal to be directed by
anyone but himself. Verdoux stars Chaplin as the mustachioed bluebeard in beret and cravat whose charming manners and good looks cloak a deepseated, murderous hatred, festering since the loss of his longstanding job as
a bank clerk. Plagued with censorship problems early on, and temporarily pulled from distribution in the US at the height of the Cold War Hollywood witch-hunts, Verdoux was initially vilified for its risqu societal critique.
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