The Great Dictator

Watch: The Great Dictator

10/15/19402h 5m

Premiere Release (US)

~ Once again - the whole world laughs! ~

Overview:

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

Director:

Charlie Chaplin

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$2,000,000.00

Revenue:

$11,000,000.00

Key words:

amnesia
nazi
hairdresser
propaganda
world war i
dictator
jewish ghetto
fascism
world war ii
national socialism
national socialist party
satire
speech
black and white
barbershop
anti war
fictitious country

Cast

Charlie Chaplin

~ as ~

Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber

Paulette Goddard

~ as ~

Hannah

Jack Oakie

~ as ~

Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria

Reginald Gardiner

~ as ~

Commander Schultz

Henry Daniell

~ as ~

Garbitsch

Billy Gilbert

~ as ~

Field Marshal Herring

Grace Hayle

~ as ~

Madame Napaloni

Carter DeHaven

~ as ~

Spook

Maurice Moscovitch

~ as ~

Mr. Jaeckel

Emma Dunn

~ as ~

Mrs. Jaeckel

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

wizzardss
Written 4 year(s) ago
8
In September 1939, six days after Britain declared war on Nazi Germany, Charlie Chaplin began filming his next feature. Drawing on the public perception of the similarities between himself and Adolf Hitler - not just his toothbrush moustache but also their upbringings - Chaplin sought to directly parody and attack the German führer and fascism.

In The Great Dictator, Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin) rules Tomania and sets about his conquest of the world. In doing so, he persecutes Jewish people, including a former veteran of World War I who is now a barber (also Chaplin).

Unsurprisingly, the film was a hit on release, resonating well with the anti-Nazi sentiment in both American and British public. Chaplin understood that delivering his political message was so important that he forewent his usual desire for a silent film in order to get his message across.

Sound is used to great effect in The Great Dictator. By studying many of Hitler's speeches, Chaplin was able to create a ludicrous, yet believable, gibberish parody of the Nazi leader's oratory style.

Of course, the physical comedy remains, typically reserved for the barber (who may or may not be Chaplin's silent hero, The Tramp). This combination of physical comedy and irreverent one liners together makes the film feel like a very early Carry On.

While The Great Dictator remains arguably Chaplin's best "talkie", it often feels like it is the end of Chaplin's era of classical pantomime. People being hit on the head with a saucepan comes across as a cheap laugh and it is often the verbal jokes that are the cleverest. Overall the comedy has not aged well.

But The Great Dictator was never designed for longevity. It was perfect propaganda for the Allies, released at a perfect point in the War. For that reason, The Great Dictator can only be judged in the context of its release.