In Hong Kong, the wealthy Ogden Mears (Marlon Brando) is traveling in a transatlantic and is near to be assigned Saudi Arabia Ambassador and is divorcing from his wife Martha (Tippi Hedren). His friend Harvey (Sydney Chaplin) and he are invited by their old friend Clark (Oliver Johnston) to go to a nightclub with three aristocratic Russian refugees on their last night. Ogden drinks too much and spends the night with Countess Natascha (Sophia Loren). On the next morning, while sailing back home, Ogdeb finds Natascha hidden in his cabin wearing a ball gown and with no documents. The stowaway explains that she wants to go to the United States and Ogden is worried with his career. But Harvey convinces him to help Natascha. Ogden falls in love with Natascha and together with Harvey, they plot a fake marriage of Natascha with his valet Hudson (Patrick Cargill). But things get complicated when immigration requests her documents and Martha arrives on board.

"A Countess of Hong Kong" is a naive movie by Charles Chaplin but also very funny and with a great soundtrack. The romance between Ogden and Natascha is unnecessarily hard to believe since Ogden is the son of the richest oil tycoon and Natascha is a prostitute; therefore he would be the target of any gold-digger. Ogden could be a simpler character to give more credibility for his crush on Natascha. But the last movie directed by Charles Chaplin is worthwhile watching and may be considered a classic. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Condessa de Hong Kong" ("The Countess of Hong Kong")

Am a big fan of Charlie Chaplin, have been for over a decade now. Many films and shorts of his are very good to masterpiece, and like many others consider him a comedy genius and one of film's most important and influential directors.

It is hard to not expect a lot with all his feature films between 'The Kid' and 'Limelight' being very good to masterpieces. On that front Chaplin's penultimate film 'A Countess from Hong Kong' disappoints . As far as his feature films go it is his weakest and is really not a worthy film to go out on, being nowhere near the standard of 'The Gold Rush', 'The Kid', 'Modern Times', 'The Great Dictator' and especially 'City Lights'. As far as his overall career goes it is among his lesser efforts, though marginally better than his early career short films it is much better than the worst of his Keystone period and even his much improved Essanay period had a couple of lacklustre ones. He also did a couple of historical curios and patchworks that this is also superior to. Not an awful film and better than its reputation, but really not great or a good representation of a genius and talented cast. Not really much to add here.

'A Countess from Hong Kong' has its very big problems. It is one of Chaplin's least visually refined feature films. Some of the camera work and editing are rough and the setting is not convincing at all, not evocative in any way and more reminiscent very obvious stage-bound sets. Chaplin's direction is him at his most uninspired and unfocused, he came over to me as not very interested.

The film does feel rather ponderous and stagy, and suffers further from being simplistic, even for a film intended to be slight, and repetitive. This is also apparent in the script, which doesn't sparkle enough and too often lacks sophistication and wit. It does feel bland, with the biting satire being absent, the comedy lacking variety and inspiration (some of it feeling fatigued) and the pathos too far and between, didn't mind the lack of the political element, and do have to agree that its approach is more suited to the 30s than the late 60s because it felt out of date even by 60s standards.

Marlon Brando was an amazing actor responsible for some of the best performances on film (his performance in 'The Godfather' in particular is iconic),but he was not immune to bad performances. Of which his painfully miscast role here is one of his worst, he is completely out of his depth, looks uncomfortable and miserable and plays the role too seriously and heavily. The chemistry between him and Sophia Loren is not there and too many of the cameos are pointless and wasted.

However, Loren does inject some charm and sensuality, while Tippi Hedren is a high point in a suitably icy, charming and ironic performance.

Margaret Rutherford is great fun, but other than Hedren the performance comes from a delightful Patrick Cargill.

Chaplin's music score is beautifully incorporated and is a vibrant, characterful and pleasing to hear score in its own right. There are amusing moments, some wit and charm and a couple of the latter dramatic scenes have touching tenderness, again not coming consistently.

Overall, rather disappointing swansong, with everybody involved deserving much better, but it for all its faults is not as bad as its lukewarm at best reputation. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Charles Chaplin's last film A Countess from Hong Kong could have been a great one, but for the unreal miscasting of Marlon Brando as an unhappily married diplomat.

Brando, great talent that he was, did not have any great knack for comedy. Probably he could have gotten by in comedy had he stuck closely to some of the dramatic images he created, maybe so, maybe not. But in A Countess from Hong Kong, Brando is doing a part that Cary Grant or Rock Hudson would have fitted in nicely, but is an absolute disaster with Brando. I wonder if Chaplin tried to get Hudson or talk Cary Grant out of retirement.

On the other hand Sophia Loren as the mysterious Countess who's among the flotsam and jetsam of refugees in Hong Kong without any official status anywhere. She says she was a countess back in old mother Russia, she is a prostitute in Hong Kong. Whatever she is, she's perfect.

A night of entertaining a party of wealthy Americans including Brando finds her stowing away on his ocean liner bound for Honolulu. Brando maybe unhappily married to ice princess Tippi Hedren, but married he still is and about to be named U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Don't want any scandal where those people are concerned. And Tippi's coming to Honolulu to meet up with him.

Stuff that Rock Hudson could have handled, that Cary Grant could have phoned in lays like a lead balloon in Marlon's hands. It's a comedy that just ain't funny around him.

Best performance in the film, Patrick Cargill as Brando's valet Hudson who is asked to perform some unusual service for his boss. Some might even call it a dream assignment.

I will say this, among his other talents Charles Chaplin was a great composer as well and the number This is My Song comes from this film. He composed the soundtrack for the whole film and did a fabulous job.

If he had only cast the male lead better.