Written, produced and directed by Charles Chaplin; music by Charles Chaplin;

Attempting to be a comedy charmer about a murdering polygamist and gigolo, ?Monsieur Verdoux? (subtitled ?A Comedy of Murders?) is a 1947 talkie that fails to hit the mark in the typical Charlie Chaplin comedy mould, but nonetheless is quite an entertaining little ditty. I have to say that I have never been a particular fan of making fun of the theme of mass murder, and like some obvious exceptions - notably ?Kind Hearts and Coronets? - in most scenes it manages to retain some decency regardless of the storyline. The credits indicate that the movie is an original story written by Chaplin, based on idea by Orson Welles; but I am led to believe that the story is actually based on a celebrated case of the early 20th Century - the Landru case in France, and the film is based entirely in France.

The simple basis to the plotline is that Henri Verdoux, an ex bank clerk, seeks out single or widowed well-do-do women - marrying them, extorting them of their money, and eventually murdering them - to support his original wife (an invalid who is totally unaware of her husband?s actions) and their son. Despite lacking Chaplin?s normal bull-at-a gate comedic flair; at times he is still capable of some subtle sight comedy, mild slapstick and trademark mannerisms, and his flair for dialogue delivery is more than competent - superior to many of his contemporaries and subsequent performers. And whilst the film lacks the frenetic slapstick pace of his earlier work, at least the plotline continues the tradition, and runs at a pace that maintains interest. There is, in fact, quite a bit of darkness in Verdoux?s quite nasty intentions - his setting up of a female ex convict to test out a poison is quite bleak, though her admission to loving an invalid saves her from certain death. I?ve got to say that I found it hard for the character to justify the number of affairs and subsequent murders that were perpetrated - except as a Depression era ?autobank? - he didn?t seem in quite bad enough straits for such largesse.

Somewhat surprisingly, Chaplin still manages to extract brief periods of empathy from the viewer (mainly through his physical gestures), when the Depression strikes home and he is financially ruined, and at subsequent sequences involving his trial and pending execution (this was not the only time Chaplin ?died? in a film, but I?m sure it was the most unusual!).

During the final reel, in a trait that seemed to become one of his later trademarks (note ?The Great Dictator? in 1940) Chaplin is inclined to produce morality monologues, both in justification of his on-screen actions, but also as a plea to the viewers of the film on the situation of society of the day - I must say there is quite a degree of wisdom in his words; words that in those days were considered subversive and highly controversial.

It is a quite un-Chaplin type role (I?ll never get fully used to him in a ?talking? role) but I quite enjoyed his performance and character, and the particularly large support cast all have their ?time in the sun?. Martha Raye as Annabelle (the one wife he couldn?t seem to dispose of) is particularly irritating - and wonderful!

THE EXTRAS

There is a welter of special features on this disk, and I?m glad to have an opportunity to see them this time:

? A 5 ? minute documentary written and presented by David Robinson Chaplin?s biographer) that, among other things, certainly confirms the origin of the original storyline. This featurette also contains many other very interesting anecdotes and contains one of Charlie?s more famous quotes ?Comedy is never very far from tragedy and horror?under the proper circumstances murder can be comic?. This short is nearly worth the cost of the DVD in itself! Trivia time: this is the first film in which Chaplin grew his own moustache!

? ?Chaplin Today? a 27-odd minute documentary containing a wealth of insights into Chaplin and the making of ?Monsieur Verdoux? - his filmmaking techniques, his problems with US authorities during the McCarthy era of communist ?witch hunts?, and other interesting details. The main interviewee is French director Claude Chabrol, who clearly enjoyed Chaplin?s work. If the first featurette was nearly worth the cost of the DVD; then this gem gives you spare change in return!

? Two theatrical trailers over a 5-minute period - both different, with one in German to complement the initial English piece. If not for anything else, they highlight the excellent quality of the restored film.

? A self-propelling photo gallery of 76 B/W and sepia shots containing about 55 on-location scenes and 20 studio portraits of Martha Raye and Charles. Ho hum?

? A long series of plan drawings of sets intermingled with movie stills. Though one becomes well aware of the meticulous attention to set detail (this is obvious when watching the film), this particular segment did not excite me particularly.

? A series of 13 British, European, American and Japanese movie posters from the 1940s to the 1970s with an overlying sequence of radio-type promotional adverts. Judging by the audio quality of these adverts, I presume these tracks are all original. A quite fascinating little featurette.

? A selection of shorts from feature length films comprising ?The Kid?, ?A Woman of Paris?, ?The Gold Rush?, ?The Circus?, ?City Lights?, ?Modern Times?, ?The Great Dictator?, ?Monsieur Verdoux?, ?Limelight?, ?A King in New York?; and ?The Chaplin Review? containing many short films - all set to a modern soundtrack. An interesting trip down ?memory lane? that would have been a little more enjoyable had the ?shorts? been longer!

CONCLUSION

As one of only a few full-length feature films of Charlie Chaplin?s I have not seen, I was quite uncertain of what was in store for me with ?Monsieur Verdoux?. I was not to be disappointed!

The film, and the role of Charles Chaplin in it are somewhat out of character, and the subject matter (a comedy about a mass murderer?) is a little questionable; but as gentle light comedy it succeeds quite well. And, within the film, he manages to have a dig at modern society? It is yet another indication of ?The Little Tramp?s? genius for satire and/or comedy. Add to this a bevy of special features - a couple brilliant - this is but one of the films in a collection of Chaplin classics that deserves attention.