The Great Dictator (1940)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin (written by)

Release Date:

7 March 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Comedy Masterpiece!

Plot:

In Chaplin's satire on Nazi Germany, dictator Adenoid Hynkel has a double... a poor Jewish barber... who one day is mistaken for Hynkel.

Plot Keywords:

Barber | Dictator | Soldier | Amnesia | Satire

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Charles Chaplin	...	Hynkel - Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber
Jack Oakie	...	Napaloni - Dictator of Bacteria
Reginald Gardiner	...	Schultz
Henry Daniell	...	Garbitsch
Billy Gilbert	...	Herring
Grace Hayle	...	Madame Napaloni
Carter DeHaven	...	Bacterian Ambassador (as Carter De Haven)
Paulette Goddard	...	Hannah
Maurice Moscovitch	...	Mr. Jaeckel (as Maurice Moscovich)
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Jaeckel
Bernard Gorcey	...	Mr. Mann
Paul Weigel	...	Mr. Agar
Chester Conklin	...	Barber's Customer
Esther Michelson	...	Jewish Woman
Hank Mann	...	Storm Trooper Stealing Fruit
Florence Wright	...	Blonde Secretary
Eddie Gribbon	...	Tomanian Storm Trooper
Rudolph Anders	...	Tomanian Commandant at Osterlich (as Robert O. Davis)
Eddie Dunn	...	Whitewashed Storm Trooper
Nita Pike	...	Secretary
George Lynn	...	Commander of Storm Troopers (as Peter Lynn)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wheeler Dryden	...	Heinrich Schtick - Translator (voice)
Fred Aldrich	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Tomainian Prison Guard in 1918 (uncredited)
William Arnold	...	Tomanian Officer (uncredited)
Sig Arno	...	Compact Parachute Inventor (uncredited)
Joe Bordeaux	...	Ghetto Extra (uncredited)
Don Brodie	...	Reporter from International Press (uncredited)
Hans Conried	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Sculptor (uncredited)
John Davidson	...	Hospital Superintendent (uncredited)
Max Davidson	...	Jewish Man (uncredited)
Lew Davis	...	Hospital Orderly (uncredited)
Francis Ernest Drake	...	Storm Ttrooper (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty	...	Friendly Storm Trooper (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Storm Trooper (uncredited)
Sam Harris	...	Officer (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Big Bertha Gunnery Officer (uncredited)
William Irving	...	Man Seated on Bed (uncredited)
Charles Irwin	...	Banquet Butler (uncredited)
Ethelreda Leopold	...	Blonde Secretary (uncredited)
Torben Meyer	...	Bald Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
Jules Michelson	...	Man in Ghetto (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Hynkel's Staff Officer (uncredited)
Nellie V. Nichols	...	Jewish Woman (uncredited)
Manuel París	...	Dance Extra at Ball (uncredited)
Jack Perrin	...	Jewish Man (uncredited)
Lucien Prival	...	Storm Trooper Officer (uncredited)
Cyril Ring	...	Officer Extra (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford	...	Soldier in 1918 Tomainia (uncredited)
Hans Schumm	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Semels	...	Jewish Fruit Stand Proprietor (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan	...	Prison Guard (uncredited)
Carl Voss	...	Officer (uncredited)
Leo White	...	Hynkel's Barber (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Soldier in Field (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Chaplin

Writing credits
Charles Chaplin		(written by)

Produced by
Charles Chaplin	....	producer (uncredited)
Carter DeHaven	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Charles Chaplin		(uncredited)
Meredith Willson		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Karl Struss		(director of photography)
Roland Totheroh		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Willard Nico
Harold Rice		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
J. Russell Spencer

Set Decoration by
Edward G. Boyle		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Ed Voight	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Alfred Reeves	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Wheeler Dryden	....	assistant director
Dan James	....	assistant director
Bob Meltzer	....	assistant director
Alex Finlayson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
William Bogdanoff	....	construction foreman (uncredited)
Dick Fritsch	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Frank Veseley	....	painter (uncredited)
Clem Widrig	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Glenn Rominger	....	sound
Percy Townsend	....	sound

Special Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special effects (uncredited)
Ralph Hammeras	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Buster Wiles	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Testera	....	chief electrician (uncredited)
William Wallace	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Wyn Ritchie	....	costumer (uncredited)
Ted Tetrick	....	costume supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department
Meredith Willson	....	musical director
Al Kaye	....	music librarian (uncredited)
Max Terr	....	assistant musical director (uncredited)
Meredith Willson	....	conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Henry Bergman	....	general assistant (uncredited)
Rollin Brown	....	laboratory contact (uncredited)
Kay Clement	....	secretary (uncredited)
Evelyn Earle	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Monroe Greenthal	....	press representative (uncredited)
Moody	....	dailies projectionist (uncredited)
Kathleen Pryor	....	secretary (uncredited)
Gene Testera	....	filing clerk (uncredited)
Carl Voss	....	military advisor (uncredited)
Oscar Wright	....	purchasing (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Charles Chaplin Productions (as Charles Chaplin Film Corporation)

Distributors

• United Artists (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Spectrum (1983) (West Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Playhouse Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox Home Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• CBS/Fox (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MK2 Diffusion (2001) (worldwide) (all media)
• BFI (Collections) (2003) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Creative Design (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (????) (Czech Republic) (theatrical) (re-release)
• BIM Distribuzione (????) (Italy) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Die Lupe (????) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Emerald (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• MK2 Diffusion (France)
• Piffl Medien (1999) (Germany) (DVD)
• United Artists (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Vivarto (2008) (Poland) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Western Costume Company  wardrobe (uncredited)

Also Known As:

The Dictator (USA) (working title)
El gran dictador (Argentina) (Chile) (Colombia) (Mexico) (Spain) (Uruguay) [es]
Le dictateur (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Büyük diktatör (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
De diktator (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Den store diktator (Denmark) [da]
Der große Diktator (Germany) [de]
Diktátor (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
Diktaattori (Finland) [fi]
Diktatoren (Denmark) [da]
Diktatorn (Sweden) [sv]
Dyktator (Poland) [pl]
Ha-Dictator Ha-Gadol (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Il dittatore (Italy) [it]
Il grande dittatore (Italy) [it]
O Grande Ditador (Portugal) [pt]
O diktator (Greece) [el]
O megalos diktator (Greece) (reissue title) [el]

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Esperanto

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Brazil:Livre | Germany:6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 (2003) | Finland:K-12 | Finland:S (re-release) | France:U | Germany:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) | Ireland:PG (re-rating) | Norway:7 | Spain:(Banned) (1940-1976) | Spain:T (re-rating) (1976) | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG (re-rating) (2003) | USA:Approved (PCA #6611) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

Charles Chaplin Productions

Trivia:

Charles Chaplin named Paulette Goddard's character after his mother, Hannah.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the Jewish Barber has just returned to the Ghetto and is cleaning his windows, his white overcoat changes from being buttoned and unbuttoned throughout the fight scene.

Quotes:

Garbitsch: "Corona veniat electus." Victory shall come to the worthy. Today, democracy, liberty, and equality are words to fool the people. No nation can progress with such ideas. They stand in the way of action. Therefore, we frankly abolish them. In the future...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Good Life (2007)

Soundtrack:

Hungarian Dance No. 5

The best moments are in pantomime...

Since enough plot elements have been discussed in previous reviews, suffice it to say that although I enjoyed this legendary Chaplin film, it is by no means a masterpiece. It's slow in getting started and then becomes a series of heavy-handed vignettes about life in the ghetto contrasted with the life of The Great Dictator, giving Chaplin a chance to emote in high style as both the tramp-like Jewish barber and as Adenoid Hynkel. His funniest bits are of course whenever he does a brilliant piece of "silent" acting with gestures timed to the background music--notably in the barbershop scene where a nervous customer gets a close shave. Unfortunately, none of the dialogue is as brilliant as his use of pantomime.

Indeed, there is a heavy handedness about much of the story's pace and direction. It almost seems as though Chaplin told his actors to play against his comedy by keeping a sober straight face uppermost in mind--watch how Henry Daniell and Reginald Gardiner play their parts with that stiff upper lip approach. An exception is Jack Oakie as Napaloni, doing a brilliant take-off on Mussolini. As a poor Jewish waif, Paulette Goddard shows all the vivaciousness that made her a star in subsequent films throughout the '40s. She adds warmth to all of her scenes with Chaplin.

Some of the gags are carried on at too great a length, outlasting their comic value. And criticism can be made of some of the sequences played against fake scenery when obviously a good deal of money was spent on the main sets. The station scene featuring Napaloni's arrival is staged on an obviously fake studio set where the painted scenery stands out like a sore thumb. Jack Oakie got his only Supporting Role Oscar nomination for this one and Chaplin won a Best Actor nomination.

Whatever the shortcomings, it does manage to keep afloat with some very amusing sequences. Chaplin deserves credit for even attempting such a satire--especially considering this was near the outbreak of the U.S. entry into war. His scene with the globe shows off his rare comic timing.

A final note: the six minute speech at the end seems improbable coming from the timid Jewish barber and strikes a false note because it's so out of character. Obviously, Chaplin intended it to give the film a personal message of hope.