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sabotai · 04-23-2007, 12:20 AM

A Woman of Paris (1923)

Directed by: Charlie Chaplin
Starring: Edna Purviance, Carl Miller, Adolphe Menjou
Length: 84 min

Kinema Junpo Award for Best Artistic Film (1925)

"What ever happened to that Marie St. Clair?"

Charlie Chaplin's drama about a man and woman who become seperated, only to meet again years later.

I didn't see much that seperated this from most other romantic dramas of the time. It was well acted, and had a good pace, but it was pretty much the typcial romantic drama. One person was poor, the other wasn't, and they wanted to be together but various forces kept them apart, most importantly, another man.

But then the ending happens, and it kind of took me off guard. It didn't have a happy ending. In fact, the ending felt oddly modern. This was one of the first, if not the first, movie I've seen on my journey that didn't have the happy-ending conclusion. The poor man dies. He brought a gun, supposedly to shoot and kill the rich playboy that had his love wrapped around his finger, but then turns the gun on himself and commits suicide right there at the resturant they were at. After that, the woman finally leaves the playboy and ends up spending her time at an orphanage with the poor man's mother.

The ending really did it for me. It took the traditional movie plot for the time and turned it completely on its head.

The public did not receive the film well. They expected to see a Charlie Chaplin comedy, and did not get one (they didn't have TV commercials or movie trailers at the time). Chaplin did his best to make sure people knew this was a drama and he did not appear in the movie, but it turned out to be a flop. It did receive much deserved critical praise, though.

Entertainment Rating: 7/10
Historical Rating: 7/10

04-23-2007, 12:20 AM	#97
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	A Woman of Paris (1923) Directed by: Charlie Chaplin Starring: Edna Purviance, Carl Miller, Adolphe Menjou Length: 84 min Kinema Junpo Award for Best Artistic Film (1925) "What ever happened to that Marie St. Clair?" Charlie Chaplin's drama about a man and woman who become seperated, only to meet again years later. I didn't see much that seperated this from most other romantic dramas of the time. It was well acted, and had a good pace, but it was pretty much the typcial romantic drama. One person was poor, the other wasn't, and they wanted to be together but various forces kept them apart, most importantly, another man. But then the ending happens, and it kind of took me off guard. It didn't have a happy ending. In fact, the ending felt oddly modern. This was one of the first, if not the first, movie I've seen on my journey that didn't have the happy-ending conclusion. The poor man dies. He brought a gun, supposedly to shoot and kill the rich playboy that had his love wrapped around his finger, but then turns the gun on himself and commits suicide right there at the resturant they were at. After that, the woman finally leaves the playboy and ends up spending her time at an orphanage with the poor man's mother. The ending really did it for me. It took the traditional movie plot for the time and turned it completely on its head. The public did not receive the film well. They expected to see a Charlie Chaplin comedy, and did not get one (they didn't have TV commercials or movie trailers at the time). Chaplin did his best to make sure people knew this was a drama and he did not appear in the movie, but it turned out to be a flop. It did receive much deserved critical praise, though. Entertainment Rating: 7/10 Historical Rating: 7/10 Last edited by sabotai : 07-23-2007 at 09:44 PM.