by Paul Costello
Arguably his greatest film (City Lights being the real challenger), and certainly his most financially successful film, The Great Dictator was something Chaplin had been working on for years before its release, as he watched the steady rise to power of Adolf Hitler in the newsreels. Indeed, it was upon his viewing of Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 Triumph of the Will that was reportedly the clinching moment that prompted Chaplin to undertake his satirical swing at Hitler and the growing Nazi menace. As it is, Chaplin himself later said that if he had known the true horrific extent of Hitler’s murderous regime, then he wouldn’t have made the film. However, had he not, we wouldn’t have the impassioned call for humanity and kindness that we have in The Great Dictator.
Arguably his greatest film (City Lights being the real challenger), and certainly his most financially successful film, The Great Dictator was something Chaplin had been working on for years before its release, as he watched the steady rise to power of Adolf Hitler in the newsreels. Indeed, it was upon his viewing of Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 Triumph of the Will that was reportedly the clinching moment that prompted Chaplin to undertake his satirical swing at Hitler and the growing Nazi menace. As it is, Chaplin himself later said that if he had known the true horrific extent of Hitler’s murderous regime, then he wouldn’t have made the film. However, had he not, we wouldn’t have the impassioned call for humanity and kindness that we have in The Great Dictator.
There’s a Prince and the Pauper twist at play in The Great Dictator, being that it concerns itself with two men - Adenoid Hynkel, the power hungry dictator of Tomainia, and an unnamed Jewish barber and citizen of the country - who share an uncanny resemblance and find themselves switching places by circumstance. Aiding in this switch is a high-ranking officer in Hynkel’s army, who is also an old comrade of the barber and helps him to curtail the rise of the maniacal dictator. The Great Dictator is an unmistakably direct condemnation of Hitler, Nazism, fascism and things tied to it. Released during the WWII in 1940 (though before the US got involved), it was met with high praise and success, as well as controversy and derision (it was actually banned in many parts of Europe at the time).
It’s often regarded as Hitler’s great strength that he was a capable and forceful orator, someone who could whip up an emotional frenzy in his audiences, and Chaplin proved here that he was more than equal to the task of doing the same with this speech. Chaplin had long held off on adopting sound technology in his films, before really only dabbling in its use in Modern Times, with the use of actual spoken dialogue being eschewed in favour of synchronised sound effects and words of a sort coming from machinery. However, with The Great Dictator, Chaplin plunged fully into the sonic world of “talkies”, making it the first time he had really addressed the audience in a manner beyond the way he would normally do so. And it works beautifully.
It’s often regarded as Hitler’s great strength that he was a capable and forceful orator, someone who could whip up an emotional frenzy in his audiences, and Chaplin proved here that he was more than equal to the task of doing the same with this speech. Chaplin had long held off on adopting sound technology in his films, before really only dabbling in its use in Modern Times, with the use of actual spoken dialogue being eschewed in favour of synchronised sound effects and words of a sort coming from machinery. However, with The Great Dictator, Chaplin plunged fully into the sonic world of “talkies”, making it the first time he had really addressed the audience in a manner beyond the way he would normally do so. And it works beautifully.
It’s kind of odd to think that one of the Silent Era’s greatest stars was able to give cinema one of its most poignant and eloquent speeches. There are times where it could come close to being too corny, were it not delivered with every bit of emotional conviction and sincerity Chaplin had in him.
Setting the scene: At a victory rally after the defeat of Osterlich, the barber, taken for all but his old comrade as the conquering dictator, is introduced to the crowds as Adenoid Hynkel. Expected to speak to the masses about the continued march of the anti-Semitic regime, the barber hesitates. A few words from his old comrade sees him reluctantly take the stage where, before the millions before him and those listening on radios, he delivers his speech…
Setting the scene: At a victory rally after the defeat of Osterlich, the barber, taken for all but his old comrade as the conquering dictator, is introduced to the crowds as Adenoid Hynkel. Expected to speak to the masses about the continued march of the anti-Semitic regime, the barber hesitates. A few words from his old comrade sees him reluctantly take the stage where, before the millions before him and those listening on radios, he delivers his speech…
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