A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 5 wins & 1 nomination total
Ada May
- Annette - Her Maid
- (as Ada-May)
Bernard Nedell
- Prefect of Police
- (as Bernard J. Nedell)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaVerdoux's quote "One murder makes a villain; millions a hero" is taken from the abolitionist Bishop Beilby Porteus (1731-1808).
- GoofsAlthough the story takes place in the years 1932-1937, all the women's fashions and hairstyles are of the 1946-1947 styles, when the film was made.
- Quotes
Henri Verdoux: Wars, conflict - it's all business. One murder makes a villain; millions, a hero. Numbers sanctify, my good fellow!
- Alternate versionsThe West German theatrical version was cut by approximately 15 minutes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Shallow Hal (2001)
Featured review
"I have made my peace with God, my conflict is with man."
A brilliant and funny film. Some have even called this Chaplin performance the greatest acting in the history of film. This film came out long before the term serial killer was even a thing. Here the term is mass killer, and it's also hard to argue with his character's assessment that governments of the world are truly the biggest of all mass killers, (Now referred to as serial killers.). In typical Chaplin fashion, this film often challenges and questions the integrity of various powers/authorities and even capitalism itself. Truly though this is sort of a sweet film at it's heart, as most Chaplin films are. A dark comedy with heart, but in truth I feel this film is much more than a dark comedy. There is a much grander subtle narrative in this film. Many a well known critic even have often drastically underrated the writing, the in fact brilliant storytelling of Chaplin. He was in truth one of the first great master storytellers in the history of film, and he really doesn't often get the credit he deserves in this regard. He is more known for his comedic brilliance and comedic writing, but overall the man was extremely brilliant and talented beyond measure. Storytelling itself was really Chaplin's greatest talent in my view. Not just in the comedic sense, but in an intellectual sense. To me, this is definitely an intellectual film even much more than it is a dark comedy, and overall one of Chaplin's greatest films.
"Despair is a narcotic. It lulls the mind into indifference." - Henri Verdoux (Chaplin)
If you like mature classic films at all, then you definitely should see Monsieur Verdoux. It's simply a brilliant piece of 1940's art. 9/10.
"Despair is a narcotic. It lulls the mind into indifference." - Henri Verdoux (Chaplin)
If you like mature classic films at all, then you definitely should see Monsieur Verdoux. It's simply a brilliant piece of 1940's art. 9/10.
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- TheAnimalMother
- Aug 21, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- A Comedy of Murders
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $64,636
- Gross worldwide
- $65,718
- Runtime2 hours 4 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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