The movie Marlon Brando regretted making: “A fearsomely cruel man”
If there’s one thing most movie fans can agree on, it’s that Marlon Brando was one of – if not the – greatest actors of his generation and that Charlie Chaplin was one of the most influential filmmakers of all time. But when these two cinema giants were put on the same project, the results were disastrous. Brando was an emotional actor who often phoned in his performances during bouts of low self-confidence or a lack of interest in the project, and his collaboration with Chaplin proved to inspire both
Chaplin had been working on his idea for A Countess from Hong Kong since the early 1930s and had intended for it to be a vehicle for his then-wife, Paulette Godard. The eventual leading lady, Sophia Loren, wasn’t even born when he started developing the story. Set on a cruise ship, it centres on an American diplomat who falls in love with a Russian refugee (Loren) who stows away in his cabin.
There is little genius to be found in the film. In fact, it’s remarkable just how bland it is. It isn’t even an interesting mess; it’s just a colourful farce that lacks romantic chemistry and overstays its welcome. It really didn’t need to be made, and that’s exactly how everyone involved felt about it.
Brando’s issues with Chaplin started early. Used to playing it fast and loose with his schedule, the actor quickly discovered that his director had no tolerance for lateness and did not coddle his performers. In his 1994 autobiography, Brando called Chaplin “a fearsomely cruel man”, “an egotistical tyrant”, and “probably the most sadistic man [he’d] ever met”. On one occasion, the actor said he arrived 15 minutes late and that Chaplin berated him in front of the cast and crew and called him a disgrace to his profession.
Tippi Hedren, who played a supporting role in the film, had a slightly different take. Speaking to The Guardian in 2016, she said that Brando’s main issue with Chaplin was that the filmmaker’s directing technique involved acting out everyone’s part in order to show them what he wanted.
“Marlon was so insulted to see someone acting out his role and that’s why he wanted to leave,” she said.
Whatever the cause of the friction, Brando disowned the film as “a disaster”, and most people who saw it understood why.
A Countess from Hong Kong’s box office flop
Despite the jaw-dropping talent involved in A Countess from Hong Kong, it was a complete flop. With a budget of about $3.5million, it barely managed to scrape together $1.1m at the box office, and critics didn’t like it much either. One called it an embarrassment, while others lamented the director’s decline as a filmmaker.
Most reviews focused their disappointment on Chaplin, but there was plenty of disapproval about Brando and Loren, whose chemistry is lacklustre and whose performances often feel half-hearted. It ended up being Chaplin’s last film. Luckily for Brando, he still had The Godfather ahead of him.
