The Great Dictator
“The Great Dictator marked a departure for Chaplin in a number of ways. Most notably, it is his first dialogue film and, rather than try to add a voice to the by now universally recognized figure of the little tramp, Chaplin wisely chose to modify him into what is essentially a new character. More correctly, there are two Chaplin characters here: the modest, unassuming proprietor of a small barber shop in the Jewish ghetto of Tomania, and that country's maniacal dictator, Adenoid Hynkel. Through a complicated set of circumstances, Hynkel and the barber become mistaken for one another by Hynkel's troops. Forced into an impersonation of Hynkel at a mass rally celebrating Tomania's successful invasion of Austerlich, the barber steps even further out of character and becomes Charles Chaplin. His impassioned speech on the evils of militarism, delivered directly to the audience, created an instant sensation and Chaplin was asked twice to repeat it on network radio broadcasts. Although originally banned in a number of countries (and not just the obvious ones), The Great Dictator proved to be one of the most popular of the Chaplin features. It is unlikely that anyone having once seen it could subsequently view newsreel footage of Adolph Hitler in any but a much altered context.” --RBC Films.