Cinema: New Picture, May 5, 1947

Monsieur Verdoux (United Artists), Charles Spencer Chaplin's first film since The Great Dictator (1940), is the story of a middle-aged French bank clerk who loses his job during a depression. Tenderly devoted to his invalid wife, his little boy, and their security, and disastrously ill-equipped to fend for them in a prolapsed economy, he nevertheless manages to set up in business for himself. The business: murder.

His victims are stupid, wealthy women. His difficult task is to woo them, marry them, pry their money loose, murder them, dispose of the corpses, and invest his...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!