A Countess from Hong Kong Movie Review

Not to be confused with The Lady from Shanghai, this is best known as Charlie Chaplin's first film shot in color (as a director), his film with the largest budget, and the last movie he both directed and appeared in (in a cameo that's easy to miss). The story is vintage Chaplin -- a wealthy Russian countess stows away on a cruise ship to escape Hong Kong and winds up in a politician's suite; naturally they fall in love -- but everything else about it feels a bit strange. For starters: Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren in a Chaplin farce? Surprisingly, they both acquit themselves well here, but the repetitive story (with Loren repeatedly running to hide in Brando's bathroom when there's a knock on the door) gets tiresome.