Monsieur Verdoux

Henri Verdoux, a model bank clerk, is reduced to unemployment after the 1929 crisis. To provide for his family, he marries wealthy widows and murders them right after the wedding. As Chaplin’s first entirely talking film, Monsieur Verdoux marks the final disappearance of the character of the Tramp. The filmmaker gets even with society by portraying Verdoux as a refined killer, producing more empathy than his victims. Crime here becomes a routine matter, and its methodic refrain is reminiscent of Modern Times. It is a danse macabre, but above all a dance, with its share of humor and delightful dialogues.