Monsieur Verdoux

I've mentioned a bunch of times how there are movies that I've heard of and that keep showing up on TCM, but that I haven't actually paid attention to watching before for whatever reason. One such example is the later Charlie Chaplin movie Monsieur Verdoux, which I'll admit that one of the big reasons for my not having watched it is that I've never considered myself the biggest fan of Chaplin's work. But I figured that at some point, considering Chaplin's reputation, I ought to watch it. With that in mind, the last time TCM ran it, I recorded it, and finally got around to watching the recording and doing a post that I put in the queue to show up here. Now that it's back on TCM, tonight (Sept. 4) at 8:00, it seems like a good time to move this post out of the queue.

The movie opens up with a shot of a grave marker reading "Henri Verdoux 1880-1937" and the voiceover of Verdoux (played by Charlie Chaplin) telling the audience how he had worked for 30 years at a bank in Paris, only to be summarily dismissed when the Depression hit, at which point he turned to murder to make ends meet. Now, somewhat like Arsenic and Old Lace but with more drama and less zany comedy, Verdoux tends toward killing widows or other people who have a reasonable amount of money and no close relatives.

But we then switch to the relatives of a woman close enough have cousins. The Couvais family are cousins to Vilma (never seen because she's already been killed off) who emptied her bank account and went off to live with a Monsieu Varnay, although she did send along a photo, which is important as it will allow them to show up later in the movie and identify Verdoux; after all, there is that Production Code that will require Verdoux to pay for his murder. Verdoux, for his part, is trying to sell off the house he and Vilma lived in to Mme. Grosnay (Isobel Elsom), another widow, from Paris. The only problem is that Henri also tries to put the moves on Grosnay, which she decidedly doesn't want.

Verdoux returns to Paris and eventually finds out where Grosnay lives, at which point he starts wooing her with flowers until she gives in. But he needs more money for his investments which are supposed to support his legitimate, invalided wife and their son, so he fleeces another of his illicit spouses. When he brings the money to that actual Mme. Verdoux, he learns from an old friend about a formula the friend was working on to kill animals with a limited amount of pain and suffering. He then tries that formula on another of his wives, Mme. Bonheur (Martha Raye), only to find that she's the wife who seems unkillable for some reason.

Back in Paris, Mme. Grosnay gives in to Verdoux's advances, and is all set to marry him, except that Mme. Bonheur shows up at the wedding, causing Verdoux to flee and start living in severely reduced circumstances, at least until the law finally catches up with him, as we all know it must thanks to the Production Code.

I can see why fans of Charlie Chaplin would enjoy Monsieur Verdoux. But I can also see why the film was not successful at the box office on its original release. One of those reasons is that audiences back in the day did not see material like this coming from Chaplin, especially since there's none of the Tramp character here. I don't think Monsieur Verdoux quite hits the right mix of comedy and drama On top of that, the movie runs a shade over two hours, which is too long for material like this. And then to top it off, while Chaplin was subtly making points about the economics of human dignity, those points become unsubtle and jarring during the courtroom scene.

So watch Monsieur Verdoux, but know in advance that it has some substantial flaws.