Director: Charles Chaplin
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Charles Chaplin Productions
Best Actor - Charlie Chaplin
Best Supporting Actor - Jack Oakie
Best Original Screenplay - Charlie Chaplin
Best Original Score - Meredith Willson
Plot: A dictator and a barber look a bit alike. The dictator wants to invade a country while condemning the Jews in his own country while the barber invades our hearts while exhibiting physical hilarity.
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Charles Chaplin Productions
Best Actor - Charlie Chaplin
Best Supporting Actor - Jack Oakie
Best Original Screenplay - Charlie Chaplin
Best Original Score - Meredith Willson
Plot: A dictator and a barber look a bit alike. The dictator wants to invade a country while condemning the Jews in his own country while the barber invades our hearts while exhibiting physical hilarity.
The only Charlie Chaplin film to be nominated for Best Picture, The Great Dictator (1940) was also the biggest commercial success for a Chaplin film. Although the process to start this satirical take on Nazism and dictatorships started well before World War II commenced in Europe, by 1940 this became an incredibly timely story. Born just days apart, Chaplin and Adolf Hitler have similar backgrounds as we as similar physical appearances, down to both of their trademark mustaches. Chaplin was an early adopter in terms of recognizing the dangers of Nazism and he sought to use his physical similarities to show the dichotomy of good and evil - one made millions suffer and one made millions laugh. This is also Chaplin's first and only Oscar nomination for his acting, one he lost to James Stewart in what many consider was a make-up for Stewart's role the previous year. The film was banned in Nazi-occupied countries but historical accounts say that Hitler himself watched it twice. Let's take a closer look at what makes Chaplin's first all-talking sound picture one of the all-time greats, mainly being Chaplin's performance itself.
First of all - Chaplin speaks! Eat your heart out Garbo! Chaplin's performance still incorporates his patented physical comedy with pratfalls, daring stunts, fun with props, and sleights of hand. He does all this in a dual role as he plays the all-around good guy Jewish barber living in the ghetto (twenty years after serving in World War I and recovering from amnesia) and the ruthless dictator modeled after Hitler. The barber is akin to his Tramp character, even sporting a bowler hat and cane, but Chaplin has stated the Tramp would never be in a sound picture. However, to keep in that spirit, the barber does not speak a whole lot and his mannerisms are very Tramp-like. My favorite sequences involving the barber include him applying shaving cream on the girl next door (Hannah, played by his wife Paulette Goddard) and the coin in the pudding scene. Him recovering from amnesia and being thrust into this oppressive setting is a highly effective way to show just how terrible the situation was in Nazi-occupied areas for someone who doesn't have that perspective of gradual change. It's not as heart-breaking as, say, Schindler's List (1993), but it still provides a gut-punch in this mostly pure comedy. The Hynkel character also uses physical comedy but Chaplin speaks! There are a few speeches and other dialogue-laden scenes in which Chaplin improvises a German-esque language. He uses some German words and other English words with a German slant and it's all pretty funny. My favorite phrase is "cheese and cracken." As the dictator, his interactions with his counterpart from Italy played by Jack Oakie is also comedic gold. Moving the carpet back and forth on the train landing had me in stitches and I also blurted out laughing when he was just chewing and Hynkel asked what he was saying. All of the power moves between these two make for so many hilarious scenarios. The best sequence that involves Chaplin as the dictator is the globe dance. If you know you know. Although I haven't seen Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940) yet, I can't imagine this dual role losing to it. All of this without even me commenting on the final infamous speech. Yes, Chaplin speaks to enormous comedic effect, but his dramatic soul-lifting oratory that concludes the film is must-see and must-hear.
There isn't much I dislike about this film. The narrative is a bit uneven as it jumps back and forth between the barber and dictator but the extended silent film era type physical comedy bits makes the barber sequences rewarding and worthwhile. With that being said, some of the scenes feel a bit long and this certainly could have been trimmed up a bit. There's also a somewhat uncomfortable nature of satirizing Nazis during the era of concentration camps and ghettos. Chaplin is on record of saying he wouldn't have made the film if he knew the extent of the atrocities happening in Europe. Alas, showing Hitler in such an exaggerated light allows us to see how silly the premise of this persecution was.
Overall, one of the best dual roles of all time bolsters the only Chaplin film to be nominated for Best Picture. Iconic comedy, inspiring moments, and an emboldening speech that concludes the movie summarize the first sound picture from Sir Charlie. Although it feels a bit uneven and some sequences go on too long, this is guaranteed to make you laugh.
My Score: 8/10
First of all - Chaplin speaks! Eat your heart out Garbo! Chaplin's performance still incorporates his patented physical comedy with pratfalls, daring stunts, fun with props, and sleights of hand. He does all this in a dual role as he plays the all-around good guy Jewish barber living in the ghetto (twenty years after serving in World War I and recovering from amnesia) and the ruthless dictator modeled after Hitler. The barber is akin to his Tramp character, even sporting a bowler hat and cane, but Chaplin has stated the Tramp would never be in a sound picture. However, to keep in that spirit, the barber does not speak a whole lot and his mannerisms are very Tramp-like. My favorite sequences involving the barber include him applying shaving cream on the girl next door (Hannah, played by his wife Paulette Goddard) and the coin in the pudding scene. Him recovering from amnesia and being thrust into this oppressive setting is a highly effective way to show just how terrible the situation was in Nazi-occupied areas for someone who doesn't have that perspective of gradual change. It's not as heart-breaking as, say, Schindler's List (1993), but it still provides a gut-punch in this mostly pure comedy. The Hynkel character also uses physical comedy but Chaplin speaks! There are a few speeches and other dialogue-laden scenes in which Chaplin improvises a German-esque language. He uses some German words and other English words with a German slant and it's all pretty funny. My favorite phrase is "cheese and cracken." As the dictator, his interactions with his counterpart from Italy played by Jack Oakie is also comedic gold. Moving the carpet back and forth on the train landing had me in stitches and I also blurted out laughing when he was just chewing and Hynkel asked what he was saying. All of the power moves between these two make for so many hilarious scenarios. The best sequence that involves Chaplin as the dictator is the globe dance. If you know you know. Although I haven't seen Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940) yet, I can't imagine this dual role losing to it. All of this without even me commenting on the final infamous speech. Yes, Chaplin speaks to enormous comedic effect, but his dramatic soul-lifting oratory that concludes the film is must-see and must-hear.
There isn't much I dislike about this film. The narrative is a bit uneven as it jumps back and forth between the barber and dictator but the extended silent film era type physical comedy bits makes the barber sequences rewarding and worthwhile. With that being said, some of the scenes feel a bit long and this certainly could have been trimmed up a bit. There's also a somewhat uncomfortable nature of satirizing Nazis during the era of concentration camps and ghettos. Chaplin is on record of saying he wouldn't have made the film if he knew the extent of the atrocities happening in Europe. Alas, showing Hitler in such an exaggerated light allows us to see how silly the premise of this persecution was.
Overall, one of the best dual roles of all time bolsters the only Chaplin film to be nominated for Best Picture. Iconic comedy, inspiring moments, and an emboldening speech that concludes the movie summarize the first sound picture from Sir Charlie. Although it feels a bit uneven and some sequences go on too long, this is guaranteed to make you laugh.
My Score: 8/10