Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

If anyone still needs proof that Charlie Chaplin was a great film maker and storyteller then here you go, another example of this artist's genius.   Gone is the lovable Little Tramp and instead we're treated to the strange but likable wife killer Verdoux.  Inspired by a real case, Chaplin is able to take what is a sinister story of a man marrying multiple wives and killing them for their money and make a darkly funny experience.  Sixty years before Dexter Morgan, Chaplin makes serial killing fun.  My favorite scene in the movie is the part where he's about to kill the girl he met on the street, in order to test out his latest poison, only to change his mind after hearing her story.  There's also a fantastic series of gags where he tries to kill his obnoxious wife Annabelle played hilariously by Martha Raye, only to constantly be thwarted.  Don't miss what is probably, in my view, one of Chaplin's best if most inventive work.   Grade: A