Charlie Chaplin (1951)

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cc 296 thing different and for speaking his mind about some of today's problems as he sees them. Some of his own bitterness and despair went into it. The scene in court is not unlike some of his own experiences. Granted that the film is not uproariously funny or entirely successful, it reflects an individuality. As Archer Winsten points out, "That's like the old, fine days of the American movies when everyone tried to be a genius and some succeeded. Not like today's smooth, mindless, faceless products of the group." Chaplin's new character is perhaps the logical extension of the Tramp who might have turned into a Verdoux had he lived today. As the actor said, "Things are in just as much of a mess now [as during the war] and I could hardly come on again in baggy pants, pretending that life is still all Santa Claus." Impersonating the difficult role of a man who is both a ruthless killer and a person of delicate sensibilities, Chaplin performed with his usual finesse. Super-waiter, super-skater, super-boxer, superpoliceman, super-tightrope walker, and now super-bank clerk, Chaplin's best effects have been gained through super-expert professional dexterity. In "Verdoux," the super-bank clerk counts his victim's money and leafs through directories with machine-like speed. In the supporting cast, in addition to the antic Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, a recruit from the stage, was effective as the society woman (Edna Purviance made tests for this part); Ada-May Weeks, former musical comedy star, was amusing as the maid who dyed her hair with poison; but Marilyn Nash, the much-publicized "find," was rather amateurish as The Girl whom Verdoux freed. The rest of the cast, including some old faces, had little to do other than serving as foils for the star. The Verdoux script, too, is uneven. In places the dialogue rises to almost Shavian wit; but elsewhere, in the opinion of many, the writing, as well as the ideas, is