A deposed king (Charles Chaplin) from far country of Estrovia escapes to New York and living at a luxurious hotel along with his Ambassador Jaume (Oliver Johnston) . His funds soon begin to run dry , so he uses his fame to make fortune appearing in advertisements thanks to a beautiful TV reporter , Ann Kay (Dawn Addams). Meantime , his wife Queen Irene (Maxine Audley) asks for a divorce . Along the way , King Shahdov helps a boy called Rupert Macabee (Michael Chaplin, Charles' actual child) who has run away from home but this lands him in trouble with the communist witch-hunt of the time.
Although its plot is melodramatic , thinking and dated , Chaplin demostrates his ability once more to wring a smile as well as emotion enough. This great film has more relevance nowadays than ever . This thorny pic contains large doses of sensibility , thought, emotion , social critical , humor and enjoyable set pieces. This is a vintage flick much in the fashion of 50's melodramatic films with Chaplin showing his humorous skill . And there are moments of high hilarity , not least from the climactic stage routine . The picture depicts the MacCarthyish trials along with dramatic events and hilarious scenes , adding others more innocuous 50s phenomena , such as : noisy rock'n' roll , widescreen movies and TV advertising . In ¨Limelight¨ , Chaplin's acute egocentrity paid dividends , but in ¨A King in New York¨ he seems unable to use his personal feelings for comedy at times, and the bulk of the gags are incredibly crude . When the movie goes serious towards the final , one longs for a return to these blissful interlude of slapstick , especially as the king chokes on an item he is advertising in front of the telelevision set . Here Chaplin is terrific as the king who flees to the States where he is tormented by McCarthys investigations. Being well accompanied by a fine cast , such as : Maxine Audley , Jerry Desmonde, Oliver Johnston, Dawn Addams, Sidney James , among others.
The motion picture was masterfully directed by Charles Chaplin , the shooting lasted twelve weeks , and musical score , by Chaplin himself , is haunting too. The movie received only a limited release in its native Britain and wasn't seen at all in America until 1973 . This was first film that Sir Charles Chaplin made in the UK after his exile from America, due to be pursued by House Un-American Activities Committee or House Committee on Un-American Activities during Witch-hunt at the time and his last leading role in a film . As Chaplin previously had directed 2 or 3 reel short movies, such as : " Our hero, The fireman, Night at the show , The adventurer, The floorwalker, The cure , The inmigrant , The circus , Burlesque on Carmen" , among others . After that , he made long feature films , such as : "The gold Rush" , "The kid" , "City lights", "The great dictator" , "Modern Times" , "Monseur Verdoux" , "Limelight" . And "A king of New York" that was his first in five years since "Limelight" (1952) . Chaplin's last one would not be for another ten years with "A countess from Hong Kong" (1967) . Rating 7/10 . Better than average . Well worth watching . Essential and indispensable seeing , though too much Charlie Chaplin.
Although its plot is melodramatic , thinking and dated , Chaplin demostrates his ability once more to wring a smile as well as emotion enough. This great film has more relevance nowadays than ever . This thorny pic contains large doses of sensibility , thought, emotion , social critical , humor and enjoyable set pieces. This is a vintage flick much in the fashion of 50's melodramatic films with Chaplin showing his humorous skill . And there are moments of high hilarity , not least from the climactic stage routine . The picture depicts the MacCarthyish trials along with dramatic events and hilarious scenes , adding others more innocuous 50s phenomena , such as : noisy rock'n' roll , widescreen movies and TV advertising . In ¨Limelight¨ , Chaplin's acute egocentrity paid dividends , but in ¨A King in New York¨ he seems unable to use his personal feelings for comedy at times, and the bulk of the gags are incredibly crude . When the movie goes serious towards the final , one longs for a return to these blissful interlude of slapstick , especially as the king chokes on an item he is advertising in front of the telelevision set . Here Chaplin is terrific as the king who flees to the States where he is tormented by McCarthys investigations. Being well accompanied by a fine cast , such as : Maxine Audley , Jerry Desmonde, Oliver Johnston, Dawn Addams, Sidney James , among others.
The motion picture was masterfully directed by Charles Chaplin , the shooting lasted twelve weeks , and musical score , by Chaplin himself , is haunting too. The movie received only a limited release in its native Britain and wasn't seen at all in America until 1973 . This was first film that Sir Charles Chaplin made in the UK after his exile from America, due to be pursued by House Un-American Activities Committee or House Committee on Un-American Activities during Witch-hunt at the time and his last leading role in a film . As Chaplin previously had directed 2 or 3 reel short movies, such as : " Our hero, The fireman, Night at the show , The adventurer, The floorwalker, The cure , The inmigrant , The circus , Burlesque on Carmen" , among others . After that , he made long feature films , such as : "The gold Rush" , "The kid" , "City lights", "The great dictator" , "Modern Times" , "Monseur Verdoux" , "Limelight" . And "A king of New York" that was his first in five years since "Limelight" (1952) . Chaplin's last one would not be for another ten years with "A countess from Hong Kong" (1967) . Rating 7/10 . Better than average . Well worth watching . Essential and indispensable seeing , though too much Charlie Chaplin.