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The most well-known movie actor in the world started working on a movie about the monster of the 20th century in 1938. Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin both sported toothbrush moustaches, which may have contributed to Hitler’s resemblance to the Little Tramp. Chaplin created a satire in which the dictator and a Jewish barber from the ghetto would be confused for one another by capitalizing on that similarity. The final product, “The Great Dictator,” which was published in 1940, was Chaplin’s first talking movie and his highest-grossing work, though it would cause him a lot of trouble and unintentionally trigger his protracted exile from the United States.
Hitler was not universally acknowledged as the personification of evil in 1938. Strong isolationist forces in America advocated a course of nonintervention in Europe’s problems, and anti-Semitic organizations cheered on reports that Hitler planned to exterminate the Jews. Some of Hitler’s early foes, such as anti-Franco American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War, came to be known as “premature antifascists” because of the way they opposed fascism while still being viewed as Hitler’s allies, which led some to believe they were communists. With a lengthy speech that criticized dictatorships and praised democracy and individual liberties, “The Great Dictator” came to a close. To some on the right, this came off as pinko, while to the left it sounded like fundamental American principles.
It is doubtful that Chaplin would have made the movie at all if he hadn’t been “premature,” though. Hitler was no longer amusing at all once the atrocities of the Holocaust came to light. Groucho played the dictator Rufus T. Firefly in the 1933 comedy “Duck Soup,” which the Marx Brothers produced ahead of its time and with foreboding overtones about what was already happening in Europe. The German refugee director Ernst Lubitsch created “To Be or Not to Be” in 1942, starring Jack Benny as an actor who becomes involved in the Nazi occupation of Poland.
In his autobiography, Chaplin claims that the only way his film, which was openly and scornfully directed at Hitler, could have been funny was if he had not yet realized the complete scope of Nazi evil. As it stands, the picture was outlawed in Spain, Italy, and neutral Ireland due to its mockery of Hitler. But it had an effect in America and other countries that might be difficult to fathom today. The Little Tramp was the most well-known fictional character ever created, and although Chaplin wasn’t strictly portraying him in “The Great Dictator,” he still resembled him because the film was a political satire rather than a comic tale.
One of those plots that only just makes the action plausible. During World War I, the hero, a barber-turned-soldier, saves the life of a German pilot called Schultz and flies him to safety without ever realizing that he was the enemy. The barber suffers amnesia after their accident landing, and he has no memory of who he is for 20 years. Then he gets better and goes back to his barbershop in Tomania (say it out loud), only to find that the tyrant Hynkel has taken over under the Double Cross, not the Swastika. His ghetto is being traversed by storm troops who are breaking windows and rounding up Jews. (the term “concentration camp” is used early, matter-of-factly). But Schultz, who is now an assistant minister, steps in and saves the barbershop because he knows him.
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The maid Hannah (Paulette Goddard, Chaplin’s then-divorced wife) is in love with the barber, who goes by the same identity as the Tramp. In addition, he makes friends with his erstwhile neighbors. However, after being imprisoned in a concentration camp alongside the disloyal Schultz, Hynkel has a boating accident, is mistaken for the barber, and is then imprisoned in the camp just as the barber and Schultz manage to flee while wearing Hynkel’s uniform. Everyone now believes the barber to be the ruler.
The film features a wealth of jokes and comedic pantomime in the classic Chaplin style, including Hynkel’s well-known ballet with an inflated balloon in which he treats the world like a toy. After being told that the person who discovers a coin must sacrifice his life to assassinate Hynkel, five men bite into puddings. Although there is cheating and no one wants to find the coin, it is ultimately found. And there is a lengthy, amusing scene when Benzini Napaloni, the ruler of the nearby Bacteria (Jack Oakie), makes a state visit. The clearly Mussolini-inspired Napaloni avoids being forced to recline in a low chair so that the short Hynkel can tower over him. Additionally, they alternately elevate their chairs higher than the other when they are seated next to each other in barber chairs. Additionally, there is a lot of misunderstanding regarding the salute, and Chaplin cuts between images of the two leaders and newsreels of sizable crowds cheering them.
This would have come across as extremely charged in 1940, when Chaplin was using his comedic persona to mock Hitler in an effort that was largely effective. The movie’s humor received a lot of positive feedback from viewers, and it received five Oscar nominations for picture, actor, supporting character (Oakie), script, and music. (Meredith Willson). However, viewers at the time and ever since have believed that the movie ends when the barber, who is playing Hynkel, gives a more than three-minute monologue that represents Chaplin’s own views.
The Great Dictator Quiz
Amazingly, nobody makes an effort to halt the phony “Hynkel.” The barber is presumably being broadcast on radio all over the globe as Chaplin speaks directly into the camera in his own voice with just three cutaways and no comedic flourishes. Although what he says is accurate, it deflates the comedy and turns the film’s conclusion into a lecture. As the music builds, a shot of Goddard is shown against the sky, beaming as he looks forward to a world without Hynkel. Both back then and now, it was ineffective. When Chaplin abandons his comedic persona, abruptly shifts the film’s tone, and leaves us pondering how long he will continue, it is fatal. (a question that should never arise during a comedy). The film is structured as a farce that is followed by an editorial.
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Nevertheless, Chaplin (1889–1977) was adamant about keeping the statement; in fact, it’s possible that it inspired him to make the movie. To mock Hitler, he risked the Little Tramp and $1.5 million of his own money. (and was instrumental in directing more millions to Jewish refugee centers). He made his point, it was widely accepted, and in the passages before his closing remarks, he demonstrates his inherent comic prowess. It’s a funny and brave movie, as we would anticipate from Chaplin. He never again performed the mustachioed little guy role.
Then came a recollection. A retrospective of Chaplin’s entire body of work, featuring images from his personal collection, was presented at the Venice Film Festival in 1972. His masterwork, “City Lights” (1932), was screened outside in Piazza San Marco on the final night. Standing room only watched the movie on a huge screen with the lights off and bands silenced for the first time in more than a century.
There was much sneezing and blowing of noses when it was over and the blind flower girl could see once more and realized the Little Tramp was her rescuer. A balcony with a view of the plaza was then illuminated by a lone spotlight that appeared out of the shadows. A small guy emerged and waved. And we continued to applaud.
About the quiz
The Gene Siskel Film Center will screen “The Great Dictator” on Friday through October 4 in a freshly restored 35mm print. Showtimes are as follows: 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Monday-Thursday; 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday; and 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. Reviews for the films “City Lights” and “Duck Soup” can be found there as well.
Also, you must try to play this The Great Dictator quiz.
“Look, there’s Charlie Chaplin!” is another example.
For more personality quizzes check this: Raiders Of The Lost Ark Quiz.
