The Great Dictator (1940)

	Directed by: Charlie Chaplin	COUNTRY USA GENRE Satire/Comedy NORWEGIAN TITLE Diktatoren RUNNING TIME 125 minutes
	Produced by: Charlie Chaplin
	Written by: Charlie Chaplin

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Hynkel / A Jewish Barber	Charlie Chaplin
Napaloni - Dictator of Bacteria	Jack Oakie	½
Schultz	Reginald Gardiner	½
Garbitsch	Henry Daniell
Herring	Billy Gilbert	-
Madame Napaloni	Grace Hayle	-
Bacterian Ambassador	Carter DeHaven	-
Hannah	Paulette Goddard
Mr. Jaeckel	Maurice Moscovitch
Mrs. Jaeckel	Emma Dunn	-

Review

Not much is more difficult than making valid satire without the luxury of temporal distance, and not much is more difficult than combining satire and comedy into an amalgamation of intelligent and entertaining art. With The Great Dictator, his first sound film, Charlie Chaplin succeeded on both those accounts, just as WWII was breaking out in Europe and Hitler revealed himself to be the madman the pessimists had prophesied. With its large budget and wonderful sets, The Great Dictator has grandeur and panache, but as always with Chaplin’s films, it’s the little man and his girl who are the emotional focal point. And although Chaplin technically had left his Tramp character behind, the Jewish barber we meet in this film retains most of his characteristics. Again the theme is the little man’s heroic fight against injustice, only this time the injustice is more elaborate and emblematic, giving the filmmaker a lot more ammunition – so to speak – to work with. The picture goes from wonderful slapstick comedy via delightful absurdism to heartfelt humanism. And it never feels forced, conceited or dull. A true triumph of moviemaking and ethics. And, sadly, also a film of eternal relevance.