Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

A former bank clerk (Charles Chaplin) is a doting husband to his invalid wife (Mady Correll) and son (Allison Roddan) and provides a comfortable home for them. He is also a serial killer who marries wealthy women and murders them for their money. Written and directed by Chaplin, along with CITY LIGHTS, this is my favorite Chaplin film. Black comedies weren't unusual in the 1940s (MURDER HE SAYS, ARSENIC AND OLD LACE) but nothing like this! Chaplin's blend of comedy and tragedy pushed the envelope and although it received good notices from most critics and an Oscar nomination for its screenplay, the press was hostile toward the movie and it didn't fare well at the box office. Chaplin's Verdoux is a complex man of contradictions. He cherishes his family, loves cats and has a soft spot for the downtrodden yet he's a cold blooded killer! The movie attempts to make a connection between the mass killing in war and Verdoux's "modest" murders. Aside from Chaplin, two other performances stand out: Martha Raye is hilarious as the "wife" he can't seem to kill though he tries several times and Marilyn Nash as a waif he finds in the rain and whose life he spares. With Isobel Elsom, Marjorie Bennett, Almira Sessions and William Frawley.