The Great Dictator (1940) | |
| Director(s) | Charlie Chaplin |
| Producer(s) | Charlie Chaplin (uncredited), Carter DeHaven (associate uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Comedy, Drama, War |
| Top Topics | Mistaken Identity, Politics, Satire, Slapstick |
Featured Cast:
The Great Dictator Overview:
The Great Dictator (1940) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by Charlie Chaplin and produced by Charlie Chaplin and Carter DeHaven.
SYNOPSIS
Chaplin has a dual role in this film, his first with full dialogue: a sweet-natured Jewish barber and a murderous Hitler-type dictator. The film had huge satirical impact and made Chaplin a detested enemy of the Reich. Particularly delectable comic scenes are Hynkel's balletic "pas de deux"
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.The Great Dictator was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1997.
Academy Awards 1940 --- Ceremony Number 13 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actor | Charles Chaplin | Nominated |
| Best Supporting Actor | Jack Oakie | Nominated |
| Best Music - Scoring | Meredith Willson | Nominated |
| Best Picture | Charles Chaplin Productions | Nominated |
| Best Writing | Charles Chaplin | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" at 80: Dreamers and Doers
By FlickChick on Oct 19, 2020 From A Person in the DarkThis is my entry in the Classic Movie Blog Association's Politics in Film Blogathon. For more examples of how this red hot topic is handled on the silver screen, click here.Spoiler alert: this is going to get political. Typically, I try (sometimes not always successfully) to keep politics off this s... Read full article
The Great Dictator: Beware of Bufoons
By FlickChick on Sep 29, 2016 From A Person in the DarkThis is my entry in the Dual Roles Blogathon hosted by the great bloggers at Christina Wehner: Classic Movies, Musicals, Old Books and the Great American Songbook and Silver Screenings. Check both sites for more fabulous cinematic doubles. THE GREAT DICTATOR (1940) In one of history's greate... Read full article
The Great Dictator (1940)
By Beatrice on Apr 6, 2014 From Flickers in TimeThe Great Dictator Directed by Charles Chaplin Written by Charles Chaplin USA/1940 Charles Chaplin Productions Repeat viewing/Streaming on Hulu Plus #144 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die This has moments of absolute genius although I have mixed feelings about the concluding speech. A poo... Read full article
The Great Dictator (1940)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 15, 2013 From 4 Star FilmsStarring Charlie Chaplin with Paulette Goddard, this satire blatantly critiques Hitler and the Nazis. The film opens during WWI where a little solider (Chaplin) saves an important military man. However, as a result he lands in a hospital with amnesia. All the while the power hungry dictator of Toman... Read full article
The Great Dictator (1940)
By 4 Star Film Fan on Oct 15, 2013 From 4 Star FilmsStarring Charlie Chaplin with Paulette Goddard, this satire blatantly critiques Hitler and the Nazis. The film opens during WWI where a little solider (Chaplin) saves an important military man. However, as a result he lands in a hospital with amnesia. All the while the power hungry dictator of Toman... Read full article
See all The Great Dictator articles
Quotes from
Facts about
The 'Big Bertha' artillery piece mentioned in the beginning of the film was not actually used to shell Paris, as stated in the film. In fact, the Big Bertha was simply a heavy artillery piece used by the Germans in the beginning of the war to smash Belgian forts during the invasion of Belgium. The large howitzer used to shell Paris by the Germans during WWI was simply called "The Paris Gun".
Some reports refute Charles Chaplin's claims of ignorance as to the true extent of Nazi atrocities, stating that Chaplin was very much aware of the various goings-on, but decided to make the film anyway as an attack on Nazi ideology.
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