Ten years have past since Chaplin’s last film opened in 1957. Chaplin’s brand new film, titled ‘A Countess from Hong Kong’ was starring Sophia Loren and Marlon Brando.
The Countess has been quite an adventure for me because I have never directed start before. … I found that I had a great desire to please Marlon and Sophia. I wanted their respect more than anything else. I also found that these star actors have a fear about their ability. It is very easy to destroy their confidence. You have to treat them very carefully. (LIFE Magazine, March 1967)
The new picture, though it is the 81st of Chaplin’s 52-year movie career, is a first in a couple of significant categories: it is Chaplin’s first film in color; it is the first time he hasher directed established stars, let alone a pair of Oscar winners and staggering personalities like Loren and Brando; and it is the first time in years that he has worked for a company not his own. …. Hardly a day passes that Charlie doesn’t mutter ‘We’re using too much film.’ Actually, Charlie’s first feature-length film, the six-reeler Tillie’s Punctured Romance in 1914, had almost exactly the same shooting time as this present film, 14 weeks. (LIFE Magazine, April 1966)
The press and the audience had great expectations. Before its release Chaplin said: “I think ist’s the best thing I’ve done. I can be more objective about it than the pictures I’ve acted in. … I’ve never done anything as funny as the valet Hudson. We took three weeks working out the fight scene in ‘City Lights’ and it was techincally good - but it wasn’t so funny as Hudson.” (The Milwaukee Journal, April 1967)
However, things went wrong. In the afternoon of January 5th 1967 Chaplin held a press screening in the Empire Theatre but the whole film looked faded. Jerry Epstein, family friend of the Chaplins’ remembered it this way:
During the projection I noticed that the color seemed different. Charlie and I looked at each other askance. The print had a faded, washed-out look. The sound suddenly started crackling. The film then flickered, sputtered and stopped. Charlie and I were frantic. It was a living nightmare. I rushed into the projection booth. I noticed it was a new projectionist. “What the hell’s happening???” I shouted. It didn’t seem to matter him. He was simply paid to run the film; whatever the fault, it had nothing to do with him. (The Charlie Chaplin Archives)
The actual problem was that for the film being shown before (Dr Zhivago) they had been using a special spherical lens. The projectionist had forgotten to take it off for the 35mm print.
The reviews had already been published by the time the evening ceremony started, saying things like “Oh dear, Charlie in these modern times you’re so out of date”. Chaplin was hoping the public was going to like his film more. The premiere was held at Carlton Theatre and was attended by Oona and six of Chaplin’s children, Brando, Sophia’s husband, Carlo Ponti (Sophia was heavily pregnant at the time) and even Princess Alexandra (cousin of the Queen). You can catch a glimpse of many of them in this footage and even more!
(Present with actor and film director Charlie Chaplin are his children Josephine Hannah Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Sydney Chaplin and his wife, Michael Chaplin and his wife Patricia, Eugene Chaplin, Geraldine Chaplin and Oona.)
After the film was being shown the company went on to the Savoy Hotel and had an afterwards party. (This photograph was taken there for instance.)
Chaplin was having a great time and was up until 5 a.m., dancing to the music of “Knees Up Mother Brown”. Brando’s dancing partner was Princess Alexandra and he caused indignation when he left her alone on the dancing floor for a couple of minutes.
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