Chaplin's first complete talkie and it's fascinating to see the way the structures of his silent films are translated into a unique blend of slapstick, wordplay, parody, and pointed political commentary. This is Chaplin's brilliant and heartfelt plea for world peace in an era of rising
fascism and mass annihilation.
Chaplin, well aware of the ironic physical similarity between his sweet Little Tramp and Adolf Hitler, casts himself in a dual role as a nameless Jewish barber and as Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania. The barber, a soldier for the German Army in WWI, awakens from a state of amnesia to learn
that Hynkel, the country's new dictator, is calling for ...
Released:
1940
Rated:
NR
Length:
127 mins