A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate (1923)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (writer)

Release Date:

25 February 1924 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Marie St. Clair believes she has been jilted by her artist fiance Jean when he fails to meet her at the railway station...

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Suicide | Psychological Drama | Railroad Station | Music Score Composed By Director

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Edna Purviance	...	Marie St. Clair
Clarence Geldart	...	Marie's Father (as Clarence Geldert)
Carl Miller	...	Jean Millet
Lydia Knott	...	Jean's Mother
Charles K. French	...	Jean's Father (as Charles French)
Adolphe Menjou	...	Pierre Revel
Betty Morrissey	...	Fifi
Malvina Polo	...	Paulette
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nellie Bly Baker	...	Masseuse (uncredited)
Henry Bergman	...	Head Waiter (uncredited)
Charles Chaplin	...	Porter (uncredited)
Frank Coghlan Jr.	...	Boy (uncredited)
Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast	...	Man in nightclub (uncredited)
Stella De Lanti	...	Revel's Fiancée (unconfirmed) (uncredited)
Jean de Limur	...	Man in nightclub (uncredited)
Charles Farrell	...	Man in nightclub (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Mannequin (uncredited)
Karl Gutman	...	Conductor (uncredited)
James A. Marcus	...	Tramp (uncredited)
Harry Northrup	...	Revel's secretary (uncredited)
Granville Redmond	...	Man in nightclub (uncredited)
Philip Sleeman	...	Gigolo (uncredited)
Arthur Stibolt	...	Cook (uncredited)
A. Edward Sutherland	...	Cook (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Restaurant Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Charles Chaplin		writer

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin		(1976)

Cinematography by
Roland Totheroh
Jack Wilson		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Monta Bell
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Arthur Stibolt

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
A. Edward Sutherland	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jack Wilson	....	second camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Eric James	....	musical collaboration (1976 version)
Eric Rogers	....	conductor (1976 score)
Eric Rogers	....	orchestrator (1976 score)

Transportation Department
Toraichi Kono	....	driver: Mr. Chaplin (uncredited)

Other crew
Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast	....	researcher
Jean de Limur	....	researcher
Monta Bell	....	literary editor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Charles Chaplin Productions
• Regent

Distributors

• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• United Artists (1923) (USA) (theatrical)
• Allied Artists (1923) (UK) (theatrical)
• Cinegate Ltd. (1978) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Cinal S.A. (1980) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Fox Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vídeo (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Una mujer de París (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Die Nächte einer schönen Frau (Germany) [de]
Eine Frau in Paris (Germany) (TV title) [de]
En kvinna i Paris (Sweden) [sv]
L'opinion publique (France) [fr]
La donna di Parigi (Italy) [it]
Nainen Pariisissa (Finland) [fi]
Opinião Pública (Portugal) [pt]
Pariser Maitressen (Austria) [de]

Runtime:

84 min | USA:93 min (original version)

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (1978 re-release) | Silent

Certification:

Germany:o.Al. | Argentina:Atp | Spain:T | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Charles Chaplin conceived this film to help Edna Purviance's career independent of him. However, while the film did boost Adolphe Menjou's career considerably, it did little for hers.

Movie Connections:

References The Kid (1921)

"… the magic city of Paris, where fortune is fickle and a woman gambles with life."

The second film in my somewhat unusual Charles Chaplin double feature (after the delightfully black 'Monsieur Verdoux (1947)'), 'A Woman of Paris' is perhaps the silent comedy master's least mentioned film, perhaps partly due to it not actually being a comedy, or because Chaplin himself appears only in a very brief cameo role. His first and, I'll venture, his only strictly dramatic feature, the film traces the romantic dilemma of a young French woman living in Paris. It was Chaplin's first film with United Artists – which he had founded in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith. Originally entitled 'Public Opinion' and then 'Destiny,' Chaplin considered a dozen more titles before he finally settled on a name.

Marie St. Clair (Edna Purviance) and her romance Jean Millet (Clarence Geldart), an aspiring artist, residents of a small French village, have plans to move to Paris and get married. However, unfortunate circumstances delay their plans, and Marie impulsively boards the train without Jean. A year or so later, Marie has assimilated into the upper-class lifestyle of Paris, having become the mistress of a wealthy, cynical businessman, Pierre Revel (Adolphe Menjou). It is then that she and Jean suddenly meet again. Though there are undoubtedly still feelings between them, Marie must decide whether she can sacrifice all of Pierre's luxuries to pursue the man that she loves.

Written, produced and directed by Chaplin, 'A Woman of Paris' is a tightly-paced drama/romance, employing a lot of dialogue (somewhat unusual for Chaplin, who usually relied on extended slapstick comedic set pieces to drive his silent films) and a three-way relationship that has since become commonplace in films of this sort. The film allowed Chaplin to extend his skills beyond the realm of the lovable little Tramp. Unfortunately, this seemingly was not what audiences wanted. Perhaps perceived as a harmful satire of the American way of life, 'A Woman of Paris' was banned in several US states on the grounds of immorality, and it was a commercial flop. Chaplin had conceived the film as a means of launching the individual acting career of Edna Purviance, though this bid was unsuccessful. It did, however, make an international star of Adolphe Menjou.

Many critics, despite the poor box office performance, praised the film's startling realism. Notably, director Michael Powell ('Black Narcissus,' 'Peeping Tom') cited 'A Woman of Paris' as his greatest inspiration to become a filmmaker. In 1976, a frail Charles Chaplin – just one year before his death – reissued the edited film with a new musical score he had composed, aided by music arranger Eric James. A criminally underrated silent classic, 'A Woman of Paris' is yet another testament to Chaplin's undeniable cinematic genius.