Terrific Chaplin Film

Rating: Null/10 (21 September 2018)

The Great Dictator (1940)
**** (out of 4)
A poor Jewish barber (Charles Chaplin) returns back to his hometown and quickly realizes that things aren't quite the same. Soldiers are ruling the streets and have a thing against Jews. At the same time, Tomania dictator Hynkel (Chaplin) decides to try and rule more of the world.
THE GREAT DICTATOR would turn out to be Chaplin's first all talking picture and that by itself makes this rather historically important. With that said, while the film was a hit when it was released, the writer-director would find himself getting some rather heated attention and as time went on the film grew even more controversial. Chaplin would say he wouldn't have made the picture like he did had he known what actual horrors were going on in the world and there's no doubt that this film didn't exactly help his career.
With that said, while it's not quite in the same league as CITY LIGHTS or MODERN TIMES, I do think the picture is a great one and one that deserves a lot more credit than it usually gets. There are a lot of really great moments in this film and of course the one most people remember is the dictator playing with the world as he dance around hitting the ball. That is a classic scene but the opening sequence set during WWI is also a comic masterpiece as we get all sorts of wonderful gags and especially the moments in the plane.
Some people feel that a satire of something like Hitler and what was going on in the world was a major no but I do think the film has its heart in the right place. Again, perhaps Chaplin wouldn't have made the film had he known what was going on but it was too late once the movie was complete. As a comedy it works extremely well but I also thought it worked perfectly well as a drama and especially the relationship between the barber and a young woman (Paulette Goddard) that he falls for. Then there's the ending and the speech, which is another classic scene and shows that the film did have something to say even with the satire.
The entire cast does a wonderful job and that includes the performances by the likes of Henry Daniell, Reginald Gardiner, Billy Gilbert and Goddard. Speaking of Goddard, she is a pure delight here and really does a terrific job with her role. As far as Chaplin goes, he really does a terrific job and delivers two of the greatest performances of his career. He's simply wonderful as the barber but there's no question that the real magic comes from him playing Hynkel, which of course was meant to be Hitler. The uncanny resemblance between the two is one thing but how Chaplin plays the role is just flawless.
THE GREAT DICTATOR is a really strong and effective film and one that deserves more credit.