--- title: "The Great Dictator" year: 1940 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator" fi1m_id: "the-great-dictator" imdb_id: "tt0032553" tmdb_id: 914 wikidata_id: "Q109116" fi1m_score: 80 critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 11 published: "2026-09-15" updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:12.161406+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Great Dictator (1940) Directed by Charlie Chaplin · 2h 05m · MPA NR · Comedy, War ## Identity The Great Dictator - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** the-great-dictator - **IMDb ID:** tt0032553 - **TMDB ID:** 914 - **Wikidata ID:** Q109116 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032553/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/914, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109116 **Fi1m score: 80** · Critics 77 from 11 reviews *In a sentence:* Chaplin’s dictator has plenty to say, provided nobody asks him to use words > Charlie Chaplin’s attack on fascism is funny, angry and sometimes too broad. His two performances make the loose construction worth forgiving, though 125 minutes gives some of the lesser jokes more room than they need. ## Synopsis Charlie Chaplin plays Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of Tomania, and a Jewish barber in a comedy about life under fascism. Beginning with a First World War prologue, the film follows the barber, whose amnesia leaves him unaware of the political changes around him. Hynkel is the other focus, with his public speeches and ambitions for power. Paulette Goddard plays Hannah, while Jack Oakie appears as Benzino Napaloni, dictator of Bacteria. The story moves between the barber and the dictator, setting everyday life alongside the posturing of those who govern it. ## Review Charlie Chaplin wants us to laugh at a dictator and remain conscious of the people who have to live under him. *The Great Dictator* largely manages it, and we recommend it warmly, with a warning about its uneven pace and occasional heavy hand. Its comedy depends on Chaplin’s two roles, Adenoid Hynkel and the Jewish barber, which give sharply different uses to the same performer’s physical precision. The barber gives us someone to care about beyond the target of the ridicule. The First World War prologue gives the film a long approach to its main subject, and the barber’s amnesia supplies a useful reason for him to encounter fascism without understanding what has happened. It asks us to make that discovery with him. Chaplin’s screenplay is good at making political change something that happens to a person, though the succession of subsidiary episodes can obscure where the story is going. At 125 minutes, the film gives its weaker passages more patience than they deserve. Hynkel’s gibberish speech is where the ridicule is most exact. Chaplin makes the delivery itself the joke: the voice demands obedience even when the words offer nothing to obey. We laughed, then felt uneasy about how little sense the speech needed to make. The performance catches something frightening about a leader whose audience is being asked to respond to force rather than meaning. Karl Struss and Roland Totheroh’s cinematography serves that bodily comedy well. The theatrical staging gives us time to watch Chaplin’s movements, and the images are most effective when they let his behaviour supply the interest. There are stretches where the presentation feels stiff, but the formality suits Hynkel’s public performance and makes his ridiculousness easier to inspect. Much of the pleasure comes from watching how precisely Chaplin controls his bearing, especially when Hynkel is trying to command respect. Willard Nico’s editing is surer with individual routines than with the whole story. The comic episodes have their own rhythm, but the film too often seems content to start another rather than move things along. The music by Chaplin and Meredith Willson matches the film’s open sentiment, sometimes providing more encouragement than the performances need. The emotional emphasis can become tiring when we already know whom we are meant to fear and whom we are meant to care about. The difficulty is familiar in political satire: making a tyrant ridiculous can make him look less dangerous. Chaplin sometimes settles for a clown where a more cutting joke is needed. Yet treating dictatorship as something endured by a Jewish barber keeps the film from becoming merely a collection of impersonations. That second performance makes the cruelty harder to dismiss, even when the mockery is broad. See it for Chaplin’s physical comedy, and allow for a film that occasionally takes too long to make a point we have understood. *Fi1m score 80, published 15 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics come away admiring The Great Dictator, and the praise lands in the same places. Chaplin’s dual performance as the Jewish barber and the dictator Hynkel is singled out repeatedly, and so is the pantomime: the globe dance is named more often than anything else as the film’s high point, with the gibberish speech and the shaving scene close behind. Several reviews note that the satire has lost none of its point, and that the barber’s amnesia lets the audience watch fascism arrive by degrees. The reservations cluster on the closing speech. Roger Ebert, Variety and The New Yorker each find the lurch from comedy to direct address a wrench that deflates what comes before, though Paste takes the opposite view and calls it the film’s most powerful passage. Otherwise the spread is narrow. The one negative notice, from Time Out, finds the Hitler impression broad vaudeville with none of the bite Groucho Marx brings to Duck Soup. ## Straight answers **Is The Great Dictator worth watching?** *The Great Dictator* is worth watching for anyone who wants to see Charlie Chaplin ridicule fascism while keeping sight of the people living under it, and we scored it 80. His two performances, as the dictator Hynkel and the Jewish barber, carry the film. Allow for 125 minutes that give the lesser routines more room than they need. **How long is The Great Dictator, and what is it rated?** *The Great Dictator* runs 2h 05m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and war film. **Where can I watch The Great Dictator in the US?** *The Great Dictator* is streaming on HBO Max, Hulu and The Roku Channel in the US. It leaves HBO Max on 30 September. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is The Great Dictator, and is it suitable for children?** *The Great Dictator* is a PG comedy with very little on screen to frighten or upset children; its subject, life under fascism, is more troubling than anything it shows. The First World War prologue and Hynkel's ranting speeches are played for laughs, though the speech has an unease adults will feel more than children. Older children able to follow the satire will get the most from it. **How does The Great Dictator compare to Duck Soup?** *The Great Dictator* is the angrier and more humane film, giving us a Jewish barber to care about beneath the mockery, while [*Duck Soup*](https://film.one/film/duck-soup) is the faster and more ruthless comedy, with Groucho Marx's political vanity played purely for nonsense. Chaplin's film is looser and takes longer to make its points; McCarey's is tighter and funnier minute for minute. Choose Chaplin for feeling, the Marx Brothers for pace. **What should I watch after The Great Dictator?** After *The Great Dictator*, try [*Duck Soup*](https://film.one/film/duck-soup) (1933, Fi1m 88): More ruthless political nonsense, with leaders whose vanity makes catastrophe seem almost inevitable. Then [*To Be or Not to Be*](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be) (1942, Fi1m 87): Actors confront Nazi power in a comedy where performance becomes a survival skill; and [*The Death of Stalin*](https://film.one/film/the-death-of-stalin) (2017, Fi1m 83): A nastier account of dictatorship, where every joke carries the possibility of punishment. ### Reviews we read (11) - **The AV Club**, Noel Murray (A-): The critic finds the film’s comic inventiveness dazzling, especially moments like the gibberish speech and globe dance, while noting that the hero’s amnesia allows viewers to see fascism’s incremental rise. Some parody feels ham-fisted and the earnest ending speech inadequate given later historical knowledge. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-great-dictator-1798168348) - **The New York Times**, Bosley Crowther (90/100, inferred): The film is a superb accomplishment and perhaps the most significant ever produced, a lacerating fable of life under totalitarianism and a withering revelation of a dictator's weaknesses through inspired mimicry. It showcases Chaplin's courage, faith, and love for mankind despite some shortcomings. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1940/10/16/archives/the-screen-in-review-the-great-dictator-by-and-with-charlie-chaplin.html) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (90/100, inferred): The film remains a masterpiece whose satire feels urgently relevant amid rising nationalism. Chaplin's globe dance with Hynkel stands out as the enduring, wordless highlight that captures ego and power's absurdity. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/03/theres-never-been-a-better-time-to-watch-charlie-chaplins-the-great-dictator.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Christian Blauvelt (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a scathing satiric masterpiece that deftly balances humor and horror, using theatrical staging and self-reflexive commentary on image and fascism to critique totalitarianism while urging action against it. The WWI prologue and globe sequence are singled out for their cinematic and symbolic power. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-great-dictator/) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (80/100, inferred): The critic highlights the film's daring satire on fascism and Chaplin's skillful dual role as the Jewish barber and dictator Hynkel. It praises inventive comic sequences such as the globe-balancing routine and the barber's shaving scene, while noting the poignant final speech and the film's enduring appeal despite a mixed original critical response. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/great-dictator-review/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film as a brave and funny satire that ridicules Hitler through Chaplin's comic genius and memorable gags, especially in the stretches before the ending. The long closing speech, however, is singled out as deflating the comedy by shifting abruptly to a direct editorial lecture. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-great-dictator-1940) - **Sight and Sound** (70/100, inferred): The many subsidiary episodes tend to obscure the general outline of the film, but in spite of its shortcomings as a work of art The Great Dictator raises the cinema to a new level as a force in World Affairs. While the film runs, the tide of Chaplin's genius carries all before it in alternate waves of humour and pathos. [Read](http://old.bfi.org.uk/features/ultimatefilm/chart/details.php?ranking=70) - **The New Yorker**, John C. Mosher (70/100, inferred): Chaplin alone could have dreamed of this approach to current events and swung the fantastic conglomeration into something successful. The balloon dance scene is one of the most delightful bits he has ever given, saving the picture with its child-like fantasy, though the final speech creates a wrench from detachment to direct exhortation. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1940/10/26/1940-10-26-078-tny-cards-000003001) - **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): Chaplin expresses utter contempt for dictators like Hitler and Mussolini through comedy, with a strong preachment especially in the six-minute final speech. The dual role and pantomime shine, though the shift to a serious ending is peculiar and somewhat disappointing. [Read](https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/the-great-dictator-1200412984/) - **Time Out**, VG (40/100, inferred): The representation of Hitler is vaudeville goonery all the way, but minus the acid wit and inventive energy that Groucho Marx managed in Duck Soup. Cue for an impassioned speech about freedom and democracy calculated to jerk tears out of the surliest fascist, in a manner startlingly similar to Hitler's very own delivery. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-great-dictator-2) - **Paste**, Kenneth Lowe (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Chaplin's bold first talkie as a sharp sendup of Nazism and Hitler, highlighting the dual role of the Jewish barber and dictator along with the film's mix of physical comedy and pointed satire. They single out the final direct-to-camera speech calling for universal brotherhood and resistance to tyranny as especially powerful and still relevant. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/charlie-chaplin/the-great-dictator-80-president-fascist) ## Details - **Director:** Charlie Chaplin - **Director:** Charlie Chaplin - **Screenplay:** Charlie Chaplin - **Cinematography:** Karl Struss, Roland Totheroh - **Editor:** Willard Nico - **Music:** Charlie Chaplin, Meredith Willson - **Producer:** Charlie Chaplin - **Cast:** Charlie Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber; Paulette Goddard as Hannah; Jack Oakie as Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria; Reginald Gardiner as Commander Schultz; Henry Daniell as Garbitsch; Billy Gilbert as Field Marshal Herring; Grace Hayle as Madame Napaloni; Carter DeHaven as Spook - **Runtime:** 2h 05m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 23 October 1940 - **Genres:** Comedy, War - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 1940) - **Budget:** $2 million - **Box office:** $11 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1C6qZVeFtA ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming, leaving 2026-09-30 - Hulu: add-on, hd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd *Checked 2026-09-15.* Also available in: BR, CA, DK, ES, FI, IN, NO, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 1941: Best Actor (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated) - New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor 1940: New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor (won) ## If you liked this - *Duck Soup* (1933), Fi1m 88: More ruthless political nonsense, with leaders whose vanity makes catastrophe seem almost inevitable. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/duck-soup.md) - *To Be or Not to Be* (1942), Fi1m 87: Actors confront Nazi power in a comedy where performance becomes a survival skill. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/to-be-or-not-to-be.md) - *The Firemen's Ball* (1967): Petty officials mishandle a celebration in a comedy that needs no dictator to expose them. - *The Death of Stalin* (2017), Fi1m 83: A nastier account of dictatorship, where every joke carries the possibility of punishment. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-death-of-stalin.md) - *The Shop on the High Street* (1965), Fi1m 90: A much bleaker look at antisemitism, compromise and the everyday machinery of persecution. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-shop-on-main-street.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator