Trivia / A King in New York

• California Doubling: Even though New York was the locale of the film, Chaplin was unable to film there, due to his involuntary exile. With the exception of a few sequences of stock footage, none of the film was shot in the United States. Instead, New York City was recreated on a soundstage at England's Shepperton Studios.
• Late Export for You: The film, which was produced in Europe after Charlie Chaplin's exile from the U.S. in 1952, did not open in the United States until 1973.
• Real-Life Relative: Charlie Chaplin's son Michael played Rupert.
• Reality Subtext: Charlie Chaplin plays an exiled king. This was the first film he made after being deported from America.
• Working Title: The Ex-King.
• Write What You Know: A few scenes were directly inspired by Chaplin's own difficult experiences, and these grim memories are envisioned as comedy, laced with more than a trace of bitterness. The scene in which King Shadov jests with reporters as he is being fingerprinted by American immigration officials was inspired by an incident when Chaplin was arrested in 1944 (ostensibly for violation of the Mann Act, but in reality as a form of harassment for his Communist affiliations). Photographers were invited to attend the fingerprinting, which resulted in public humiliation of the once-cherished actor/director. In another scene of King, Shadov is stalked by a sinister stranger, who is ultimately revealed as a mere autograph hunter, an incident that occurred in New York shortly before Chaplin left the United States.

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