Monsieur Verdoux (United Artists) (1947)

SPECIAL TIMELY FEATURES The debonair Monsieur Verdoux has a way with the ladies. (Reading clockwise): Yerdoux and the ebullient Martha Raye, as indestructible a gal as films have seen yet; Verdoux and Mady Correll, his gentle invalid wife; Verdoux and Margaret Hamilton, a tough nut to crack but he did it; Verdoux and Isobel Elsoin, a sophisticate who should have known better; and finally Verdoux and Marilyn Nash, Chaplin’s latest discovery who brings to the film a delicate appeal and a refreshing naturalness. As the pivotal figure in “Monsieur Verdoux”, Chaplin is, as usual, unique and perfect. Mat (3A) .45 ROMANCE STRESSES TENSION OF FILM In the ordinary motion picture, romance is used to lighten and pretty-up the plot. In “Monsieur Verdoux,” Charles Chaplin’s sensa¬ tional new film, which opens at the . Theater on ., the strange, terrifying love story instead heightens the intensity and suspense of the theme. Called the most revolutionary and controversial motion picture ever made, “Monsieur Verdoux,” derives much of its novelty and sensational quality from the love between Chaplin as a modern Bluebeard and beautiful Marilyn Nash as The Girl, a waif whom he picks up to murder — and spares. There is a peculiar intensity of drama and an even more peculiar hysteria of laughter in “Monsieur Verdoux”. And this strange love story — that hurts and frightens and possesses — is intense and un¬ forgettable. Chaplin films have always been known for a unique and classic form of love affair, exquisite and different. The heart-break and pa¬ thos of the love stories in his ear¬ lier films are still remembered around the globe by the audiences they have delighted. But in “Monsieur Verdoux,” in which Chaplin has dared once more to cut a new cinematic pattern and present the most sensational theme ever put on film, the love story is more than delightful — it is gripping and spell-binding. Even in the slashing, shocking close of the film, when Verdoux summarizes his social satire, the romantic theme remains constantly and fascinatingly limned. “Monsier Verdoux” features Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, and Robert Lewis, and introduces for the first time Marilyn Nash as The Girl. Chaplin wrote and directed “Monsieur Verdoux” himself, with Robert Florey and Wheeler Dry- den as associate directors. The pic¬ ture is released through United Artists. News, Mag and Radio Coverage of “Monsieur Verdoux" Sets Records Described as “the most contro¬ versial motion picture of all time,” Charles Chaplin’s new film, “Mon¬ sieur Verdoux,” which opens at the Theater on ., has aroused an unprecedented storm of comment in this country and abroad. Record-breaking coverage has been accorded the picture and its startling theme — that of a man who turns to murder as a business. Not only the revolutionary subject matter but also the totally new way in which it is presented has aroused a spontaneous whiidwind of discussion. In the past every Chaplin film has been a news event of interna¬ tional interest, but “Monsieur Ver¬ doux” has topped even earlier .Chaplin film classics in over-all news coverage. In Hollywood, inured to innova¬ tion, every powerful trade journal has devoted complete pages to a discussion of the picture and the impact it will have on movie-goers and future motion picture produc¬ tion. Correspondents from the film capital have flooded the country with their communiques about “Monsieur Verdoux.” National news weeklies have de¬ voted more space to “Monsieur Verdoux” than they have ever be¬ fore given to any film. Drama cri¬ tics have given over entire columns to a “Verdoux” evaluation, and literary magazines, in a move with¬ out precedent in theater annals, have run serial-style reviews of the film, in three and sometimes four consecutive issues. Radio commentators have aired their “Verdoux” comments over every transcontinental network, and the nation’s news editors have awarded it a top spot on their front pages. Even more startling, the most widely-read columnists in the country have taken to advising their millions of readers to read “Monsieur Verdoux” comments— in other columns. The foreign press, spear-headed by their Hollywood correspond¬ ents, have joined the raging con¬ troversy. Leading publications in England, all of Europe, South America and Australia have joined the torrential flood of words which has greeted the most revolutionary film in the history of picture-mak¬ ing. With Chaplin as the star, “Mon¬ sieur Verdoux” features Martha Raye, Isobel Elsom, and Robert Lewis, and introduces for the first time Marilyn Nash. Chaplin wrote and directed “Monsieur Verdoux” himself, with Robert Florey and Wheeler Dryden as associate di¬ rectors. The picture is released through United Artists. Still No. CC7-P61 Marilyn Nash, Charles Chaplin’s latest discovery who makes her film debut in his provocative film, “Monsieur Verdoux”. Mat (2C) .30 Page Twenty-five