A Woman of Paris - Reception

Reception

The public did not receive this film very well. Chaplin was very popular at this time, and many went to this film expecting to see Chaplin in his traditional role. There were two efforts made to help "ease" the public into the idea of Chaplin doing a film without Chaplin in it. On the night the film premiered, Chaplin had flyers given to those in line. The flyers essentially state that this is a deviation from his normal work, and that he hopes the public will find these deviations enjoyable. The film also contains a message at the beginning stating that Chaplin will not be appearing in the film. Some film historians have speculated about what the public's reaction would have been if they did not know A Woman of Paris did not star Chaplin — it may have been received much differently.

Critical response to the film was very positive, and it is credited with influencing later filmmakers. In particular, the film's characters and their motivations had a complexity that was new to cinema. Some consider it to be the first true Chaplin feature, since it is the first feature done under the company he co-founded United Artists.

The film's box office failure was painful for Chaplin, and after its initial release it was not seen by the public for over fifty years. Chaplin reissued the edited film with a new musical score—replacing the original score by Louis F. Gottschalk -- in 1976, a year before his death. In fact, the score he composed is credited as being the final completed work of his 75 year career.