Monsieur Verdoux

124 minutes • 1947 • 7.8

After being fired from his job as a bank cashier, Henri Verdoux decides to master the art of marriage fraud, but with a very distinctive motive. With cunning lies about his identity, he lures women with the promise of wealth and happy marriages, while his goal with the conditions is to kill his victims.

Inspired by the French serial killer Henri Henri Désiré Landru, Chaplin made this dark comedy in the wake of World War II. This should prove to be a mistake, as audiences often avoided dark films at this time. Although in retrospect, Monsieur Verdoux is considered a proof of Chaplin's diversity, and a milestone among dark comedies.