Word: natascha
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...other people, Mack Sennett, and later Chaplin, revelled in low comedy. Cahiers du Cinema theorizes that Countess breaks the barrier between audience and film-maker through use of two extended bits of low comedy: a brilliantly executed seasickness sequence, and a running gag where Ogden, unable to send Natascha out of the bedroom, heightens the volume of the radio to drown out the sound of his urinating in the nearby bathroom...
...general, Chaplin has little sympathy for modern society: the ship's Captain is slightly corrupt; Ogden's wife, Martha excudes coldness and cares only for money: Ogden's best friend, Harvey (Sydney Chaplin), is ineffectual, his part consisting mainly of reacting and commenting on the action. Natascha tells him she thinks Ogden doesn't love her; he thinks for a moment and finally says, rather tentatively, "I don't agree." It is the best...
Ogden, Chaplin's hero, is no more appealing than the people around him. He comes on as a diplomatic prig, spouting. Moral Rearmament gibberish at a press conference, Socially reserved and emotionally up-tight. He never changes. Although he professes love for Natascha in the last third of the film, there is no sign of any difference in his wooden personality. Chaplin's treatment of the character forces us to question his capacity for love, and look for other less romantic motives for his behavior...
...then, has added to Chaplin's disenchantment and made him slightly misanthropic, it hasn't erased his sentimental romantic spirit. He is obviously enchanted with mature women. Andrew Saris, writing in the Village voice, points out that Chaplin loves each dance hall girl in the opening sequence. And when Natascha is introduced with another Countess and a Baroness, she is presented second, not last, as she would be if she were the star attraction; Chaplin's camera lingers lovingly on all three...
Predictably, Natascha stands out as the only multi-faceted character in the film. The first important side of her personality is Natascha as a woman; she is beautiful, enigmatic, infinitely resourceful. Yet basically simple and romantic. In short, she is a tried-and-true Chaplin stereotype, a modern version of the ideal girl Chaplin worships in City Lights and so many of his other films. The second side of Natascha is more interesting: Natascha as Chaplin. With his coaching, Loren frequently gives a brilliant imitation. Wearing Brando's huge baggy pajamas, she waddles as if she were the tramp...