Talking about Charlie Chaplin's last films needs a bit of backstory, because building events in his real life greatly influenced the work he did at the end of his life. 

By the time the seeds for his final American movie, "Limelight," were planted, it was on the heels of considerable controversy. Chaplin had ridiculed Hitler in "The Great Dictator," while in real life, he suffered through a very public paternity lawsuit. The New York Times says that when he followed that all up with a movie about a man who married women then killed them for their money, it really didn't do him any favors in the court of public opinion. His "Monsieur Verdoux" was widely condemned, and when there were calls to have him investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee, he was.

Chaplin was devastated, says Slate, and decried one press conference around the release of "Monsieur Verdoux" as "a political brawl." He continued, saying, "I have nothing further to say." In that context, then, it makes sense that Chaplin would next write "Limelight," which returns to a place of nostalgia... kind of. Time has a relentless way of marching onward, after all, and it's fitting that Chaplin's last American movie saw him returning to the music halls of his youth, portraying an older performer who has found his once-adoring public no longer sees him as the beloved star he once was ... much like Chaplin saw himself.

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