94. THE GREAT DICTATOR

BAD DICTATOR, GREAT FILM

By Darin Skaggs

     In the silent era one man was king.  That man was the comedy star Charles Chaplin.  He had the world in the palm of his hand mixing slapstick hilarity with huge emotional moments.  Then in the late twenties talkies came and Chaplin and many others didn’t know where to take their career.  Some tried to adapt to talkies and had film careers, others did not adapt very well and their film career was over.  Chaplin was a more stubborn man, for the first decade of talking films he decided to make two silent films.  In 1940 Chaplin finally let go and made his first talkie and it is one of his greatest achievements.

     The story goes as so, there is a barber who is fighting in a war.  He ends up in a plane with an enemy fighter and saves his life, though hitting his head and losing his memory.  At the same time a dictator, who looks a lot like the barber because they are both played by Chaplin,  demands to segregate many towns, including the barbers living area.  After many different situations and circumstances the barber is mistaken for the dictator and takes his place.  He gives one of the most inspiring speeches of all time.

      Like I said Chaplin must have been stubborn to not make a talkie and only make silent films while everyone else was adapting and in the opening of his first talking film he still has a scene that is silent and mostly psychical jokes.  Chaplin finally gives in and people talk and for Chaplin’s first talkie it is on par with any other.  Chaplin adapts well. 

     A big part of this film is the dictator.  He looks a lot like Adolf Hitler.  At the time the film was made Hitler was just rising in power, but Chaplin takes on how dark his power was.  Obviously the good guys in the film were Jewish and the bad guy’s leader looks like Hitler.  Chaplin makes the dictator character silly though making him say stupid sounding phrases while talking his “foreign” language and he stubbles around a few times in his huge office. While still being a hilarious comedy Chaplin still makes a dark film with the Jewish people being pushed around, a few buildings are destroyed and some people make sacrifices to save others. 

Chaplin mixes these two elements very well making one of the funniest films and also one of the most telling, especially because of how close to the time this stuff was happening.  Like always, Chaplin gives a great performance and the old silent movie star gives one of the greatest speeches.  That moment the master was on top again.