"He'll deal with a medieval maniac more than he thinks"!

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2011)

Something about this picture made it somewhat uncomfortable to watch for me. I'm not sure if Adolph Hitler and Nazi atrocities are the kind of topics that lend well to humorous parody. In what I've read about Chaplin's coming to understand how evil the Nazis really were, it seems he might have second guessed himself as well.
With that brief preface, I'll concede that Chaplin achieved a moderate success with this picture, seeing how he took a courageous stand prior to America's entry into World War II. The scene that's most memorable as I now reflect on the story was Adenoid Hynkel's juggling act with the planet hanging in the balance. An appropriate metaphor that went a long way to illustrate Hitler's desire to conquer the entire world. Along with the German language gibberish, Chaplin used clever puns to name his characters, Herr Garbitsch (garbage), General Schmeloffel (smell awful), and Napoloni (takeoff on Napoleon, though the character being parodied was Mussolini). There's also the inventive bit with the upside down plane and the reverse gravity effect that went with it, nice creative touch.
Since I'm not a student of Chaplin's work, one of the things that surprised me here was the eclectic collection of actors who appeared in the picture. Contemporary Jack Oakie was entertaining as Napoloni, with enough energy to overpower Chaplin in most of the scenes in which they appeared together. Paulette Goddard transformed radiantly from the poor peasant girl following the barber's makeover. And could it be, aside from his appearances with the Bowery Boys, I don't think I've ever seen Bernard Gorcey in a single other picture, and playing a straight character at that. That was an unexpected treat.
Of course, Chaplin's impassioned speech at the end of the story is what makes the two hour viewing time worth waiting for. It suddenly pivots the entire tone of the story on a dime, and was almost jolting to this viewer. Forceful and well reasoned, I found it surprising that elements of his speech aren't well known enough to be quoted present day. "We want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery". With his closing remarks, Chaplin not only cemented his reputation as a great writer and director, but as a visionary who could move beyond the foibles of greedy men and nations to champion a cause for a world of freedom and democracy.