Great dictator

The beginning of the film is the trench scene of the First World War . The hero of Chaplin, an ordinary soldier (in civilian life - a Jew - a barber ), is fighting in the army of Tomania (a fictional state, an obvious parody of Germany ). He manages to save the pilot Schultz (the soldier helps the exhausted Schultz fly the plane ), but as a result of a hard landing, the soldier loses his memory and ends up in the hospital.

Years passed. In the loser of World War I, Tomania came to power with the dictator Adenoid Hinkel (a parody of Hitler ), ironically, looking like a barber, like a twin . Ministers Garbich (a hint at Goebbels , in English - “garbage”) and Herring (“herring”, a parody of Goering ) help him to rule him. Jewish quarter turned into a ghetto . Instead of policemen, stormtroopers walk in the streets.

However, the barber - a former soldier - does not know about this: all this time he was in a psychiatric clinic . After leaving the hospital, he returns to his hairdresser and begins to tidy her up, preparing to return to work. At this time, the attack aircraft begins to write “Jew” on the window of the hairdresser. The hairdresser, still unaware of the lawlessness and cruelty reigning in the country, is trying to stop the stormtrooper. A fight begins, in which the pretty neighbor Hannah also joins on the barber’s side.

After that, the stormtroopers try to catch and teach a lesson to the barber, and finally they almost succeed. The barber, whom the stormtroopers were about to hang on the lamppost, is saved by the accidental appearance of Schultz (the same pilot), who over the years has become a person close to the dictator. He recognizes his savior and demands to stop his persecution.

Meanwhile, Hinkel, under the influence of his minister Garbich, begins to dream of world domination. However, on the way to a dream, the first step in the implementation of which should be the capture of the country of Osterlich (a clear allusion to Austria , whose German name is German. Österreich ), there are difficulties in the financial plan . No state is willing to give loans to Tanania; the only one who can give money is the Jewish banker Epstein. To appease him, Hinkel orders that all persecution of the Jews be stopped.

Life in the Jewish quarter has once again become fertile. Attack aircraft behave politely and even help the Jews in a precautionary manner. The barber expands its activities and opens a hairdresser, other Jews also peacefully engage in trade and crafts and flourish. The barber and Hannah have romantic feelings for each other. However, the banker refuses the dictator. The dictator's revenge is the resumption of the persecution of Jews on an even wider scale. Stormtroopers pogrom the Jewish ghetto and burn a hairdresser. The barber and Hannah manage to escape on the roof.

Schultz, who realized the disastrous and inhumanity of Hinkel’s policy, protests him in person and ends up in a concentration camp . However, he manages to escape from there and takes refuge in the ghetto where, together with the barber and his neighbors, he plans a conspiracy against Hinkel. The purpose of the plot is to blow up Hinkel's palace. However, Schultz himself cannot play the role of a bomber (everyone knows him). To determine the hero who will have to sacrifice himself for the freedom of his homeland, a peculiar lottery is arranged: all participants in the conspiracy (except Schultz) receive a portion of pudding . The one in whose portion the coin is baked will become a hero. However, Hannah, learning about the idea of ​​Schultz, bakes a coin in each portion. The conspirators involuntarily shift the coins quietly to each other, and the rustic Barber simply stuffs his mouth with a few coins. As a result, Hannah reveals her trick with coins and the conspirators decide to abandon their aggressive plan, unusual for Jews, and simply move to a better country - to Osterlich.

Meanwhile, relations between Hinkel and his neighbor Benzino Napaloni, the diggatic of the state of Bacteria (a hint of Mussolini , the Duce of Italy ) are aggravating: he also intends to capture Osterlich and even has already managed to move his troops to the border. For negotiations on this issue, Napaloni is invited to the capital of Tomania. There follows a stormy comic scene between Hinkel and Napaloni; in the end, Hinkel deceives Napaloni and he agrees to withdraw his troops.

Meanwhile, stormtroopers rushing into the ghetto looking for Schultz. The barber is trying to help him escape; after chasing the rooftops, both were captured and sent to a concentration camp, but some neighbors, including Hannah, manage to leave for Osterlich. Schultz and the barber escape, having changed into a military uniform. They head to the border with the goal of fleeing to Osterlich. At this time, everything was ready for the invasion of the Tomsk troops in Osterlich. However, Hinkel, who accidentally fell into the water while hunting ducks, was caught from there by stormtroopers who were looking for an escaped barber, he was mistaken for this and sent to a concentration camp. But the military take the barber for Hinkel, and he enters Osterlich as a triumphant.

At a rally organized over the accession of Osterlich to Tomania, the dictator should make a speech. The barber on the bucking legs approaches the microphone, but gathers strength and starts talking. However, he does not say at all what they expect to hear from the dictator — he says that he does not want to conquer anyone. He talks about the brotherhood of all people, that everyone should help each other. He says that people because of their ambitions ceased to be people. He says that people need less technology and more humanity. He calls on all people to unite in the fight against tyranny . At the end of his speech, the barber turns to Hannah. She listened to the speech on the radio and, of course, was surprised to hear the dictator speak directly to her. The last shots of the film - Hannah, filled with a sense of optimism , looks up.

Famous Scenes

The film contains some of Chaplin's most famous scenes. Hinkel’s speech at the beginning of the film is a very plausible parody of Hitler’s oratorical style. An interesting scene is in which the barber shaves the client to the sounds of Johannes Brahms ' Hungarian Dance No. 5. But the film’s most famous scene is one in which the dictator, enchanted by the dream of world domination, dances “paired” with a globe (or rather, with a balloon in the form of a globe) to the sounds of Wagner’s “ Lohengrin ” overture.

The film ends with the scene of a barber mistaken for a dictator reading a speech at a rally about the capture of Tomania Osterlich (an explicit reference to the Anschluss of Austria by Germany on March 12, 1938). This speech is often interpreted by critics as an expression of Chaplin's own views. Often this controversial speech, full of political motives, is considered as one of the reasons for Chaplin's expulsion from the United States during the McCarthyism era (see the article on Chaplin for details).

Interestingly, the platform for the performance in this scene is a monument on which the word "Liberty" is written. This can be seen at the moment when the hero of Chaplin rises along it.

A more hidden political message was that some of the signs on the houses in the Jewish ghetto were written in Esperanto (the international language of Esperanto was created by Lazar Zamenhof , a Polish Jew).

Another famous scene was the meeting of Hinkel and Benzino Napaloni. Hinkel, to emphasize his superiority, is trying to sit higher than Benzino Napaloni. Then they compete in a hairdressing salon - whoever sits higher in a lifting chair. The idea of ​​the scene came about during a meeting between Chaplin and the king of Belgium , who also intentionally sat on a chair with higher legs than Chaplin had.

• Charlie Chaplin - Adenoid Hinkel / Barber
• Paulette Goddard - Hannah
• Jack Oakie - Benzino Napaloni
• Reginald Gardiner - Commander Schultz
• Henry Danielle - Garbich
• Billy Gilbert - Marshal Herring
• Grace Hale - Madame Napaloni
• Hank Mann - Stormtrooper

The script was written by Chaplin, who was also the director of the film. The idea of ​​the film arose because of the similarity of the "tramp" (Chaplin's hero in many films) and Hitler, primarily because of the mustache. There were other points of similarity between Chaplin and Hitler: both were born in April 1889 (Chaplin was only four days older than Hitler) and grew up in poverty. Chaplin was also worried about the growing persecution of Jews in Europe in the thirties, which he learned directly from his European friends and Jewish colleagues. Chaplin worked on the script during 1938 and 1939.

Filming began in September 1939 , a week after the outbreak of World War II . The film was mostly shot at Chaplin Studios "Chaplin Studios" and in the vicinity of Los Angeles (for example, on Laurel Canyon). Six months later, by the time the film was finished, France was already captured by the Nazis . Speech at the end of the film was introduced into the script during the filming, it was written by Chaplin under the influence of events in Europe .

This film was the first truly sound film by Chaplin (in general, the era of silent cinema ended already in the 1920s), he also helped Chaplin get rid of the accusations of luddism that were brought against him after the release of the silent film “New Times” in 1936 .

When journalists later asked Chaplin about creating a film with such a delicate storyline, Chaplin replied: “During the creation of the film, I began to receive anxious letters from United Artists ... however, I was determined to complete this film because Hitler had to be ridiculed.” The names of Hinkel's associates are similar to the names of Hitler's associates. Garbich (which sounds similar to the English. Garbage - garbage), Hinkel's right hand, similar to Joseph Goebbels , Marshal Herring was clearly copied from the Luftwaffe chief Hermann Goering . There is also no doubt that Benzino Napaloni was a parody of Benito Mussolini .

In an autobiography published in 1964, Chaplin writes: “Of course, if I knew then about the real horrors of German concentration camps, I could not have made the“ Dictator ”, I could not laugh at the Nazis, at their monstrous mania of destruction.”

The creation of the film coincided with the growth of international tension. It was rumored that this film, like some other anti-fascist films (for example, “ ” and “ ”), will not be released , so as not to harm the neutral relations between the US and Germany. However, this did not happen due to the fact that Chaplin was financially and creatively independent from other studios. In addition, the refusal to bring the film to the rental would lead to Chaplin's bankruptcy, since he invested $ 1.5 million in it.

In the end, the film premiered in New York in September 1940 , in the rest of the USA in October, and in the UK in December of that year. In France, the premiere of the film took place in April 1945 , after the liberation of Paris .

The film was well received after the premiere and was popular among the American public. The reactions of the critics were mixed, many criticized the speech at the end of the film. Many also considered the image of stormtroopers from the film incorrect. However, the Jewish public was touched by the image of Jewish characters, their fidelity to duty, which was a taboo in what was then Hollywood .

The film was banned in Peru , Spain and Japan , which in an official denial stated: "All anti-Nazi films are prohibited in Japan." Hitler's satirical image became a kind of sensation, but Chaplin's final speech caused the greatest fear: “ Life can be free and beautiful, but we have gone astray. Greed poisoned the souls of people, divided the world with hatred, plunged us into suffering and bloodshed. We all increased speed, but locked ourselves in a dungeon. Machines that give abundance left us in need. Our knowledge made us cynical, our judiciousness made us cold and cruel. We think too much and feel too little. We need not so much technology as humanity. Not so much mind as kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will become cruel and lose its meaning . ”

- Don B. Sowva ^[1]

According to the memoirs of Marshal K. A. Meretskov , during the Great Patriotic War, the film was offered for distribution in the USSR , but after closed viewing for members of the government, Stalin gave a low rating to the artistic qualities of the film.

The documentary film “The Tramp and the Dictator” (2001) reports that the film was sent to Hitler, and Hitler himself saw this film (this fact is confirmed by witnesses ^[2] ). According to IMDb , Chaplin, hearing that Hitler watched the film, said: “I would give everything to find out what he thinks about this film” ^[3] .

The film was screened in London during the Battle of Britain and was reported to help boost morale.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film, Chaplin received the nomination "Best Actor", and Ouki - "Best Supporting Actor."

• 1941 - Oscar
  • Best Actor - Charles Chaplin
  • Best Supporting Actor - Jack Oakie
  • Best Music - Meredith Willson
  • Best movie
  • Best Original Screenplay - Charles Chaplin

The film was listed on the US National Film Registry .

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  Barber at the front with a grenade

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  Barber and Schultz on the plane

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  The Barber and Hannah

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  Barber eats pudding and tries to swallow a coin

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  Speech by Adenoid Hinkel

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  Adenoid Hinkel Posing

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  Adenoid Hinkel with a globe

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  Hinkel Adenoid Dance with a Globe

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  Adenoid Hinkel and Benzino Napoloni

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  Solemn meeting of the barber-dictator and Schultz

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  Barber-dictator and Schultz at a rally

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  Barber dictator delivers a speech

• The 2012 film “ Iron Sky ” depicts the fictitious Nazi state of the Fourth Reich , in which the “Great Dictator” was shown with so many notes that it turned into a short pro-Nazi film ^[4] . In particular, the scene with the globe was interpreted as follows:

Charlie Chaplin's “Great Dictator” is one of the greatest short films in history, demonstrating the dream that one day the whole world will be in the tender and experienced hands of the Fuhrer.

- Diana Richter, character in Iron Sky

• "The Great Dictator" was Chaplin's last film, which used the image of the Tramp.
• Director of Roberto Benigni in the film “ Life is Beautiful ” also tried to reveal the theme of extermination of Jews by the Nazis in the form of a revealing comedy.

In the USA in 1978, Magnetic Video Corporation first began releasing this film on Beta and VHS videotapes . In the mid-1980s, it was re-released on VHS by Playhouse Video, in the late 1980s - Key Video. In the 1990s, the film was released on Laserdisc. In the early 2000s, the film was restored and released on DVD .

In Russia, in 2002, a restored version of the film was released with professional simultaneous translation on VHS by the distributor Videoglobus and the DVD manufacturer Dewal Video . Also on DVD was released by Interact studio with Russian subtitles.

• The Great Dictator on the Internet Movie Database
• The Great Dictator on allmovie  
• The Great Dictator on Red TV (video)