The Great Dictator (1940)
The Great Dictator (1940)
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Currently The Great Dictator is available for streaming online, rent, buy or watch for free on: Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, TCM, IndieFlix, Max Amazon Channel, Kanopy
Streaming in:🇺🇸 United States
Cast & Crew.
Charlie Chaplin
Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber / Director / Producer / Original Music Composer / Writer
Paulette Goddard
Hannah
Jack Oakie
Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria
Reginald Gardiner
Commander Schultz
Henry Daniell
Garbitsch
Billy Gilbert
Field Marshal Herring
Grace Hayle
Madame Napaloni
Carter DeHaven
Spook / Associate Producer
Maurice Moscovitch
Mr. Jaeckel
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
Florence Wright
Blonde Secretary
Eddie Gribbon
Tomanian Storm Trooper
Rudolph Anders
Tomanian Commandant at Osterlich / Robert O. Davis
Eddie Dunn
Whitewashed Storm Trooper
Nita Pike
Secretary
George Lynn
Commander of Storm Troopers
Wheeler Dryden
Heinrich Schtick / Translator (voice) / Second Unit / Assistant Director
Fred Aldrich
Soldier (uncredited)
Richard Alexander
Tomainian Prison Guard in 1918 (uncredited)
Sig Arno
Compact Parachute Inventor (uncredited)
William Arnold
Tomanian Officer (uncredited)
Joe Bordeaux
Ghetto Extra (uncredited)
Don Brodie
Reporter from International Press (uncredited)
Gino Corrado
Sculptor (uncredited)
John Davidson
Hospital Superintendent (uncredited)
Max Davidson
Jewish Man (uncredited)
Lew Davis
Hospital Orderly (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty
Friendly Storm Trooper (uncredited)
Bud Geary
Storm Trooper (uncredited)
Sam Harris
Officer (uncredited)
Eddie Hart
Policeman (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson
Big Bertha Gunnery Officer (uncredited)
William Irving
Man Seated on Bed (uncredited)
Charles Irwin
Banquet Butler (uncredited)
Ethelreda Leopold
Blonde Secretary (uncredited)
Torben Meyer
Bald Barbershop Customer (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse
Hynkel's Staff Officer (uncredited)
Nellie V. Nichols
Jewish Woman (uncredited)
Manuel París
Dance Extra at Ball (uncredited)
Jack Perrin
Jewish Man (uncredited)
Lucien Prival
Storm Trooper Officer (uncredited)
Cyril Ring
Officer Extra (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore
Soldier (uncredited)
Tiny Sandford
Soldier in 1918 Tomainia (uncredited)
Hans Schumm
Soldier (uncredited)
Harry Semels
Jewish Fruit Stand Proprietor (uncredited)
Charles Sullivan
Prison Guard (uncredited)
Carl Voss
Officer (uncredited)
Leo White
Hynkel's Barber (uncredited)
Harry Wilson
Soldier in Field (uncredited)
Hans Conried
Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Francis Ernest Drake
Storm Trooper (uncredited)
Francesca Santoro
Aggie (uncredited)
Leonard Walker
Conductor (uncredited)
Finn Zirzow
Soldier (uncredited)
Glenn Rominger
Sound Designer
Percy Townsend
Sound Designer
Ed Voight
Makeup Artist
Karl Struss
Director of Photography
Media.
Details.
Release DateOctober 15, 1940
StatusReleased
Running Time2h 5m
Content RatingNR
Budget$2,000,000
Box Office$11,000,000
Filming LocationsCalifornia · Los Angeles · Malibu, United States
Genres
Wiki.
The Great Dictator is a 1940 American anti-war political satire black comedy film written, directed, produced, scored by, and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, Chaplin made this his first true sound film.
Chaplin's film advanced a stirring condemnation of the German and Italian dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, as well as fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis. At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany and neutral during what were the early days of World War II. Chaplin plays both leading roles: a ruthless fascist dictator and a persecuted Jewish barber.
The Great Dictator was popular with audiences, becoming Chaplin's most commercially successful film. Modern critics have praised it as a historically significant film, one of the greatest comedy films ever made and an important work of satire. Chaplin's climactic monologue has frequently been listed by critics, historians and film buffs as perhaps the greatest monologue in film history, and possibly the most poignant recorded speech of the 20th century. In 1997, it was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The Great Dictator was nominated for five Academy Awards – Outstanding Production, Best Actor, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Supporting Actor for Jack Oakie, and Best Music (Original Score).
In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have made the film if he had known about the true extent of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps at that time.