The hero of the title played by Chaplin is King Shadov. His name can be pronounced ‘shadow’ or ‘shadow off’, but by now he is not even a shadow of the powerful man he once was. Through the anachronistic figure of the king in exile in modern New York, Chaplin tackles themes such as the excrescences of ideologies, the manipulation of children (his own son Michael plays an interesting role as wilful youth), New York nightlife, life at court, nuclear power and many other conflicting issues.The film was made by Chaplin in exile in London. A King in New York can be seen as a parable of Chaplin’s own exile during the post-war age of blacklisting communists. It could not be screened in the United States until 1973 because Chaplin was accused of making an anti-American film. In fact it is a subtle and mild satire on social taboos, witch-hunts and the technology of the fifties.The film was not well received by the critics at the time; they missed the old burlesque Chaplin figure and were notinterested in the richer and more modern interpretation of his character. Great Chaplin fans such as André Bazin were disappointed. Bazin thought the social analysis was too meagre, but had to admit that the mise-en-scène was ‘sublime’. The revaluation of this late Chaplin started some time ago partly thanks to Jean Domarchi and Jean-Claude Biette in the Cahiers du Cinéma.
