Charlie Chaplin's first production for newly formed United Artists had another first: he did not take a leading role in the film. While Chaplin produced, directed, and wrote the story and title cards, he appears only in an unrecognizable cameo role in A Woman of Paris. It is not an easy task to spot him, as a weary porter lugging a heavy trunk.

Also uncharacteristic of A Woman of Paris was that it was a drama, and not a comedy. While Chaplin films would become well known for their social commentary, a trend that had begun earlier with The Kid, never again would they have as few laughs.

The story features Chaplin's favorite leading lady Edna Purviance, who made nearly forty shorts and features with Chaplin between 1915 and 1926. Purviance plays Marie St. Clair, a small town French girl who plans to elope to Paris with struggling artist Jean (Carl Miller). Through a misunderstanding, Marie goes to Paris alone, where she becomes the mistress of wealthy playboy Pierre (Adolphe Menjou). When Marie by chance meets Jean in Paris, he again proclaims his love to her.

While many of the story elements have lost their punch with time, they were considered shocking for some in 1923. Chaplin had difficulty getting the film past state censorship boards; several edited the film to change elements that were considered 'immoral'. Today, much of the melodrama seems dated, especially the cold-hearted fathers of both Marie and Jean, obsessed with keeping their grown children virginal. Jean, the passionate lover and painter, more closely represents a concept rather than a human being.

It has to be said, though, that during his 'salad days', Chaplin was an expert storyteller. The fate of Marie and Jean is more compelling than their simplistic characters deserve it to be.

Marie is inevitably forced to choose between Pierre and Jean. In moral terms, should she continue her life of decadent sin as a mistress, or redeem herself in the sanctity of marriage? In practical terms, should she live in luxury with the fun-loving Pierre, or live in poverty with a humorless painter and his manipulative mother who disapproves of her? In the real world, practicality wins, but in the fantasy world of cinema, the choice is not so clear.

A Woman of Paris is often credited with being the film that made Adolphe Menjou a star. True, Menjou's wealthy playboy character is the highlight of the movie, and it would eventually become nearly a stereotype for him (Morning Glory (1993), Stage Door (1937)). But he had supporting roles in two of the most popular films of 1921, The Three Musketeers with Douglas Fairbanks Sr, and The Shiek with Rudy Valentino. These two films probably contributed as much to his rising career.

While A Woman of Paris was well received by critics, it was a failure at the box office. The audiences that flocked to see Chaplin playing his famous tramp in The Kid (1921) and The Gold Rush (1925) had no interest in seeing a 'serious' drama in which he did not appear. Disappointed, Chaplin shelved the film, which only returned to distribution more than a half century later. By this time, Chaplin had added a score of his own composition.

Chaplin did not completely learn his lesson. While he did not direct A Woman of the Sea (1926), he did produce the film, a romantic drama which also featured Edna Purviance. After the movie stiffed, the negatives were destroyed in 1933 so that the production costs could be written off as a loss for tax purposes. It is the only feature produced by Chaplin that remains lost today. (70/100)

Visit me at filmsgraded.com

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8