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''A Countess from Hong Kong'' is a 1966 British comedy film and the last film directed, written, produced and scored by Charlie Chaplin. It was one of two films Chaplin directed in which he did not play a major role (the other was 1923's ''A Woman of Paris''), and his only color film. Chaplin's cameo marked his final screen appearance. The movie starred Marlon Brando, Sophia Loren, Tippi Hedren, and Sydney Earle Chaplin, Chaplin's third son. The story is based loosely on the life of a woman Chaplin met in France, named Moussia Sodskaya, or "Skaya" as he calls her in his 1922 book, ''My Trip Abroad''. She was a Russian singer and dancer that "was a stateless person marooned in France without a passport". The idea, according to a press release written by Chaplin after the movie received a negative reception, "resulted from a visit I made to Shanghai in 1931 where I came across a number of titled aristocrats who had escaped the Russian Revolution. They were destitute and without a country, their status was of the lowest grade. The men ran rickshaws and the women worked in ten-cent dance halls. When the second World War broke out many of the old aristocrats had died and the younger generation migrated to Hong Kong where their plight was even worse, for Hong Kong was overcrowded with refugees."〔http://movies.tvguide.com/countess-hong-kong/review/111578〕 It was originally started as a film called ''Stowaway''〔http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/21-Overview-of-His-Life〕 in the 1930s, planned for Paulette Goddard, but production was never completed. This resulting film, created nearly 30 years after its inception, was a critical failure and grossed US$2,000,000 from a US$3,500,000 budget. However, it did prove to be extremely successful in Europe and Japan. In addition, the success of the music score was able to cover the budget. Critics such as Tim Hunter and Andrew Sarris, as well as the poet John Betjeman and the director François Truffaut viewed the film as being among Chaplin's best works. Actor Jack Nicholson is also a big fan of the film. The film's theme music, written by Chaplin, became the hit song "This Is My Song" for Petula Clark—a UK no. 1 and US no. 3. ==Plot summary== Ambassador-designate to Saudi Arabia Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) sails back to America after touring the world. He meets Natasha, a Russian countess (Sophia Loren, in Hong Kong after she sneaks aboard in evening dress to escape her life at a dance hall for sailors. A refugee, she has no passport and is forced to stay in his cabin during the voyage. Ogden dislikes the situation, being a married man, although seeking a divorce, and worries how it might affect his career if she is found. But he reluctantly agrees to let her stay. They then have to figure out a way to get her off the ship, and it is arranged that she marry his aged valet, Hudson (Patrick Cargill). Although it is only a formality, Hudson wishes to consummate the relationship, a wish she does not share. Natasha avoids him and, before docking at port, jumps off the ship and swims ashore. Ogden's wife (Tippi Hedren) then joins the cruise, having just missed Natasha. Ogden's lawyer friend Harvey (Sydney Earle Chaplin, who helped arrange the marriage, meets Natasha ashore and tells her that the immigration officers have accepted her as Hudson's wife. Ogden's wife then confronts him about Natasha, speaking rather roughly about her and the life she led. He then asks if his wife would have done as well under such circumstances. The film ends with Ogden and Natasha meeting in a hotel's cabaret, where they begin dancing, since he has left the cruise and his wife behind. Charlie Chaplin makes two brief appearances as an aged ship's steward. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「A Countess from Hong Kong」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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