IMDb > The Great Dictator (1940)
The Great Dictator
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The Great Dictator (1940) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
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Director:
Charles Chaplin
Writer:
Charles Chaplin (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Great Dictator on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
7 March 1941 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | War more
Tagline:
The Comedy Masterpiece! more
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. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Tiff 2009 Day 7: Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Micmacs
 (From ioncinema. 20 September 2009)

Imran Khan says Look Up!
 (From Bollyspice. 5 August 2009, 6:03 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
A film of its time, without a modern equal more (124 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Dictator (USA) (working title)
more
Runtime:
125 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | Esperanto
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Brazil:Livre | Germany:6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Spain:18 (re-rating) (1976) | 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) | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG (re-rating) (2003) | USA:Approved (PCA #6611) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1972) | West Germany:12 (original rating)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At the 1940 Academy Awards, the film got five nominations. It failed to win any Academy Awards, and Charles Chaplin was hurt by this. He already had spent twenty-seven years in Hollywood. James Stewart, the winner of the Best Actor Award (for which Chaplin was nominated), was not even planning on going to the ceremony until someone told him to go there hours before it began. Interestingly enough, this was the first year in which the winners remained secret until the moment they won their Awards. more
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. more
Quotes:
Commander Shutz: Heil Hynk... Oh what am I saying? more
Movie Connections:
References Triumph des Willens (1935) more
Soundtrack:
Hungarian Dance No. 5 more

FAQ

Did Chaplin make this movie as a spoof on the Holocaust?
Was Hynkel really speaking German during his speeches?
Is this movie based on a book?
more
54 out of 74 people found the following comment useful.
A film of its time, without a modern equal, 22 December 2003
9/10
Author: David from Kingswood, Australia

This film entered production before WW2 began, but was not released until it was well under way. With significant fascist-sympathy in the US, and Chaplin himself being suspected as a communist sympathiser, The Great Dictator was a very courageous endeavour. Such risks in film-making - thinly veiled political statements - would be almost inconceivable today. Imagine the fallout if someone were to make an equally satirical film today which criticised the USA's foreign policy?

This film is hilarious, poignant and tragic. The tragedy is that Chaplin makes a plea for the madness to end, but it is already to late - for him and for us. A must see if you have any interest whatsoever in history, film-making, politics or sattire as an art-form.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Great Dictator (1940)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Chaplin's worst? alexbrownson
charlie chaplin's speech at the end neongod64
What do you think happened to the Barber and Schultz? zjm
Napaloni's wife? WillBarks
A bit of irony... jogerston
chaplins first speaking role? jschwa97
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