What could possibly be said about Charlie Chaplin's comedy that has not already been before? The way he finds and exploits the oddities of everyday life for his and our amusement is unparalleled. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure it's impossible to watch him without smiling.
Like "The Kid" and "City Lights," though, Chaplin has used this great talent for laughter to envelope deeper and more biting truths in this, his first all talking film. This is one of the greatest political satires this side of "Dr. Strangelove," attacking the influence of Hitler and the susceptibility of the German people in interwar years. He plays dual roles as Chancellor Hynkel, a ridiculous send-up of the clownish nature of Hitler, and a Jewish barber, Hynkel's doppelganger, who by accident is mistaken for the leader.
Hynkel is the Dictator of Tomania, a prancing, short, angry little man who wishes to become Emperor of the World. He is influenced by a team of ridiculous politicians: his Minister of Propaganda, Garbitsch (Goebbels) and his Minister of the Interior, Herring (Himmler) who try to please Hynkel and keep control of the nation as they begin their attacks on the Jews. I almost cried from laughter when hearing Chaplin parody Hitler's speeches using brilliant mock-German (constantly spitting, coughing, and throwing in words like sauerkraut and cheese-and-crackers). Obvious homage is paid to Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" in Hynkel's big speech at the beginning where microphones bend at the power of his voice while the double cross (the swastika) looms up behind him.
Mocking Mussolini is Jack Oakie as Napaloni, the Dictator of Bacteria, as more of a loud, New York Italian doing a terrible accent with great pomp and rude manners. The two play off each other amazingly, always trying to one-up each other which finally escalates to a food-fight at the end.
*A note about this: It is reported that at the end of "Dr. Strangelove" there was to be a massive pie-fight instead of the final ending of nuclear holocaust. I have no doubt that Stanley Kubrick saw this movie and had it in the back of his mind when writing his film.
Not all of his portrayal of Hynkel was comic though--an least not entirely. There is one scene which I found to be strangely beautiful and haunting where he, alone in his grand chambers, picks up an inflatable globe and plays with it, bouncing it in the air and dancing on his desk with it. It resonated particularly strongly with me because of his grace and magnificent score behind it. Its metaphorical meaning is clear and unnerving.
Now on to his second role which is that of his Little Tramp as the Jewish barber. Like most of his films, the Tramp is able to find love through his bumbling mishaps. After suffering from amnesia following an airplane crash during the Great War, he returns to his shop to find it covered in dust and now neighbor to a lovely young housekeeper. While the stormtroopers close in around the ghetto the two fall in love and are saved by a member of Hynkel's inner circle, Schultz, whom the Barber had saved during the war.
As things become too violent, however, and as Schultz falls from Hynkel's grace the three must go on the run to save themselves. In an odd turn of events the Barber is mistaken for Hynkel and Hynkel for the Barber; their roles are humorously reversed. This leads to the Barber having to deliver a speech in front of the entire army. Whilst understandable petrified, Chaplin saw this as an opportunity to send to the world of movie-goers one of the most politically aware monologues that I have ever seen. Casting aside all humor, Chaplin reveals his true strength as an actor where he condemns the tyranny of false idols and calls for peace and love. It is electric and incredibly moving.
This is a very, very brave film to have made right at the onset of the Second World War, but he was rewarded with numerous accolades, and it is now considered one of the greatest English films ever made. His awareness of what was happening in Europe at a time when many others where inclined to ignore it out of fear of personal safety resonates very strongly in his work. He seemed unusually knowledgeable of the inner-workings of the party and who Hitler was which, from the readings I have done about the party, seemed scarily accurate.
I read one critic's review of this film who said that dictators simply aren't funny, and because of that he could not praise the film. I have no doubt that he was impressed by the acting, writing, antics, and political awareness of the movie, but he disliked the content. I wonder if he dislikes "Dr. Strangelove" as well? Sometimes topics become too serious to be played seriously. Had nuclear holocaust been played with gravity in Kubrick's film I think it would have been too terrifying for its audiences. I feel the same applies here, and I applaud Chaplin for having the courage to say "This is the situation. Open your eyes and do not be slaves." And the fact that it makes us laugh can't hurt either, I don't think.
3.5/4
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