A King In New York

In modern life there is nothing quite so annoying as a revolution. So when King Igor Shahdov has to flee to America it is a little annoying. New York becomes his new home but he is swindled by his ambassador and has to find another way to make money. Money must be made anyway it can and during a dinner party he shares that he can act. He gets a TV commercial and an offer to visit a school. Rupert Macabee gives a lecture and as his parents are communists and have been imprisioned because of a Joseph McCarthy-type, he is a bad choice for the King to listen to. The King is suspected of being a communist and trouble is about to kick off!

The film is an assualt on the land he loved and loathed. Harsh in tone but funny in spirit, where Limelight is darker this is funnier. Chaplin makes films that punch and this is the most hard of them. Take the early cinema scene. Filled with the noise of emptyness and ignorance. Filled with the dull joys of empty nothing and themeless violence. Yes it is a little harsh but this is his best modern film. American political landscapes are commented on in a way that is astonishing. This is the comedy like the later 50s satires by Frank Tashlan. It sees the American dream as it starts to sour and Chaplin never backwards about his opinion. Do not under estimate it. This film was unreleased in America until 1973 and that is telling. The other thing of interest is that it was filmed in Britian as Chaplin was banned from the US.

The disc is great and the package has the most to offer of the very good series. Take the documentary that has such richness and this is the time of Chaplin at his most defeated and against the wall. This story is as interesting and complex as any Hollywood drama. Sadly the film made of his life was so weak and lacked bite, too leave this area as a mere dot. Well done Curzon for giving it a well needed airing....