The Great Dictator (1940)

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (writer)

Release Date:

15 October 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Comedy Masterpiece!

Plot:

In Chaplin's satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double... a poor Jewish barber... who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Plot Keywords:

Biplane | Persecution | Good Versus Evil | Airplane Accident | Mistaken Identity

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Aug. 2

9:30 PM

TCM

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Adenoid Hynkel (Dictator of Tomania) / A Jewish Barber
Paulette Goddard	...	Hannah
Jack Oakie	...	Benzini Napaloni (Dictator of Bacteria)
Reginald Gardiner	...	Commander Schultz
Henry Daniell	...	Garbitsch
Billy Gilbert	...	Field Marshal Herring
Grace Hayle	...	Madame Napaloni
Carter DeHaven	...	Spook (Bacterian ambassador) (as Carter De Haven)
Maurice Moscovitch	...	Mr. Jaeckel
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Jaeckel
Bernard Gorcey	...	Mr. Mann
Paul Weigel	...	Mr. Agar
Chester Conklin	...	Barber's Customer
Esther Michelson	...	Jewish Woman
Hank Mann	...	Storm Trooper

Also Known As:

The Dictator (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Esperanto

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | South Korea:All | Germany:6 (DVD rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 (2003) | Finland:K-12 | Finland:S (re-release) | France:U | Germany:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:PG (re-rating) | Norway:7 | Spain:(Banned) (1940-1976) | Spain:T (re-rating) (1976) | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG (re-rating) (2003) | USA:Approved (PCA #6611) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Color behind-the-scenes footage exists, including the only footage of an aborted ending in which soldiers break into a folk dance.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the barber slides into the basement window while evading the stormtrooper, his hat falls off onto the street. In the next shot, he is wearing his hat again.

Quotes:

Commander Shutz: [plane is upside down] We're upside down!
A Jewish Barber: I know it.
Commander Shutz: Give me that stick!
A Jewish Barber: Impossible.
Commander Shutz: [engine dies] Oh, there it goes. We're out of gas. Well, this is it then.
[pulls out cigarette pack]
Commander Shutz: Cigarette?
A Jewish Barber: Not now.
Commander Shutz: Then I shant need this anymore.
[tosses cigarette pack]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Apa (1966)

Soundtrack:

Prelude to 'Lohengrin'

The best moments are in pantomime...

Since enough plot elements have been discussed in previous reviews, suffice it to say that although I enjoyed this legendary Chaplin film, it is by no means a masterpiece. It's slow in getting started and then becomes a series of heavy-handed vignettes about life in the ghetto contrasted with the life of The Great Dictator, giving Chaplin a chance to emote in high style as both the tramp-like Jewish barber and as Adenoid Hynkel. His funniest bits are of course whenever he does a brilliant piece of "silent" acting with gestures timed to the background music--notably in the barbershop scene where a nervous customer gets a close shave. Unfortunately, none of the dialogue is as brilliant as his use of pantomime.

Indeed, there is a heavy handedness about much of the story's pace and direction. It almost seems as though Chaplin told his actors to play against his comedy by keeping a sober straight face uppermost in mind--watch how Henry Daniell and Reginald Gardiner play their parts with that stiff upper lip approach. An exception is Jack Oakie as Napaloni, doing a brilliant take-off on Mussolini. As a poor Jewish waif, Paulette Goddard shows all the vivaciousness that made her a star in subsequent films throughout the '40s. She adds warmth to all of her scenes with Chaplin.

Some of the gags are carried on at too great a length, outlasting their comic value. And criticism can be made of some of the sequences played against fake scenery when obviously a good deal of money was spent on the main sets. The station scene featuring Napaloni's arrival is staged on an obviously fake studio set where the painted scenery stands out like a sore thumb. Jack Oakie got his only Supporting Role Oscar nomination for this one and Chaplin won a Best Actor nomination.

Whatever the shortcomings, it does manage to keep afloat with some very amusing sequences. Chaplin deserves credit for even attempting such a satire--especially considering this was near the outbreak of the U.S. entry into war. His scene with the globe shows off his rare comic timing.

A final note: the six minute speech at the end seems improbable coming from the timid Jewish barber and strikes a false note because it's so out of character. Obviously, Chaplin intended it to give the film a personal message of hope.