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One murder makes a villain, millions a hero. Numbers sanctify.

Charlie Chaplin, Monsieur Verdoux, 1947

Literature

The story behind the card

In Monsieur Verdoux (1947), which Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed and starred in, a sacked bank clerk marries rich widows and kills them for their money. Near the end, awaiting the guillotine, Verdoux says this to a journalist, calling war just another business. The line echoes Death (1759), a prize-winning poem by Beilby Porteus, later Bishop of London: one murder made a villain, millions a hero. Released amid claims that Chaplin was a communist, the film failed in the United States, but its screenplay was nominated for an Oscar.

Türkçe oku
Bir cinayet insanı cani yapar, milyonlarcası kahraman. Sayı, suçu kutsallaştırır.
Charlie Chaplin, Mösyö Verdoux, 1947

Charlie Chaplin'in yazıp yönettiği ve başrolünü oynadığı Mösyö Verdoux'da (1947), işten çıkarılan bir banka memuru zengin dul kadınlarla evlenir, sonra paraları için onları öldürür. Filmin sonunda giyotine götürülmeyi bekleyen Verdoux, hücresine gelen bir gazeteciye savaşın da bir ticaret olduğunu anlatırken bu sözü söyler. Bu cümle, sonradan Londra piskoposu olan Beilby Porteus'un 1759'da ödül kazanan Death (Ölüm) adlı şiirini hatırlatır: Porteus da tek cinayetin insanı cani, milyonlarcasının kahraman yaptığını yazmıştı. Chaplin'in komünist olmakla suçlandığı günlerde vizyona giren film ABD'de tutmadı, ama senaryosu Oscar'a aday gösterildi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Monsieur Verdoux
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