January 18

The first film from silent film legend Charlie Chaplin that included sound was The Great Dictator. This movie was written, directed and starring Chaplin in a dual role. He played Dictator Adenoid Hynkel and a Jewish Barber.

At the beginning of the film, it lists that “Any Resemblance Between Hynkel the Dictator and the Jewish Barber is Purely Co-Incidental.”  This is really funny as the film is clearly mocking Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, without even trying to be subtle.

According to IMDB, “Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel’s regime.”

A biting satire, The Great Dictator condemns the ideas of the dictators as well as Fascism, antisemitism and hatred in the world. The final monologue given by Charlie Chaplin is very powerful and fits extremely well in our time as well as the early days of World War II.

Despite the dark tone of much of the movie, there is still some wonderful comedic moments and standout slapstick scenes. There is one where Hynkel is tapping a ball in the shape of the planet in the air around his office. It is a beautifully choreographed scene with plenty of metaphorical importance.

In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have done this movie had he known the true terrors and abominations that was being perpetrated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. There was references to concentration camps and ghettos in the film, but as of 1940, when the film came out, there was not the widespread comprehension of exactly what atrocities that had been going on.

This is a truly powerful film from one of the most iconic men of the time period. His work was inspirational to many future directors and creatives.