This year marks the 85th anniversary of The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin’s bold satire targeting Adolf Hitler and fascism. In 1940, Chaplin — then a global icon — risked backlash by self-financing the picture, since studios hesitated while the U.S. maintained business ties with Nazi Germany.

 

 

 

 

 

He used his uncanny physical resemblance to Hitler to play both a ruthless dictator:

“Adenoid Hynkel,”🤣

and a humble Jewish barber mistaken for him. The film culminates in a direct, impassioned speech condemning hate, war, and extremism.

Chaplin’s dual role and biting parody were groundbreaking. Fans and critics were stunned: his comedic approach to tyranny was unprecedented.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Though some dismissed the final speech as overly idealistic, many saw it as a courageous act of cinematic protest. In later years, Chaplin faced scrutiny from U.S. officials like J. Edgar Hoover and Senator McCarthy for perceived leftist sympathies. Still, The Great Dictator remains a cultural milestone showing how humour, when wielded fearlessly, can confront darkness.

 

 

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

1. High stakes in controversy – Chaplin acted on political conviction, risking his fame to produce a film satirising Hitler when studios balked.

 

 

2. Dual character cleverness – He plays both dictator and barber, turning resemblance and mistaken identity into an anti-fascist tool.

 

 

3. Enduring message – The closing speech remains a rallying call for empathy and unity in times of division.

 

 

 

Adapted From 

 

https://www.npr.org/2025/10/15/nx-s1-5554555/the-great-dictator-charlie-chaplin-anniversary-hitler

 

 

Great movie, but the writers of the article dont understand that the Hitlerites were Socialists.

 

Fascism is a form of socialism, regardless.

16 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Great movie, but the writers of the article dont understand that the Hitlerites were Socialists.

 

Fascism is a form of socialism, regardless.

 

 

It is true that fascists use socialist language to appeal to the hard of thinking. The term “National Socialism” (used by the Nazis) adds to that confusion, though educated people agree it was a propaganda tool, not a reflection of socialist ideology.

 

So while some lower IQ activists argue fascism is a variant of socialism due to its collectivist and statist elements, most rational people view them as fundamentally different — with fascism rooted in nationalism and authoritarianism, and socialism in egalitarianism and class struggle.

LIMELIGHT....

 

A better film, just from my lowly perspective.

 

 

Yeah, never met anyone who likes dictators.

 

But even if you are a decent president, at least half the population will hate you. 

 

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Great movie, but the writers of the article dont understand that the Hitlerites were Socialists.

 

Fascism is a form of socialism, regardless.

Off you go again with your deliberately ill informed nonsense.

 

 

52 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Great movie, but the writers of the article dont understand that the Hitlerites were Socialists.

Fascism is a form of socialism, regardless.

Apparently, the writers weren’t blessed with your world of recreationally enhanced cognitive clarity.
The reality is, calling Hitler a socialist is like calling Kim Jong-un a democrat because his country has ‘Democratic’ in the name.

10 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

The reality is, calling Hitler a socialist is like calling Kim Jong-un a democrat because his country has ‘Democratic’ in the name.

There is an open topic, try your luck

13 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Off you go again with your deliberately ill informed nonsense.

 

 

There is an open topic, try your luck lol

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

So while some lower IQ activists argue fascism is a variant of socialism due to its collectivist and statist elements, most rational people view them as fundamentally different — with fascism rooted in nationalism and authoritarianism, and socialism in egalitarianism and class struggle.

Both are rooted in the collective, not the individual. Educated folks know that

8 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

Both are rooted in the collective, not the individual. Educated folks know that

 

 

So who told you?

 

 

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

Great movie, but the writers of the article dont understand that the Hitlerites were Socialists.

 

Fascism is a form of socialism, regardless.

I have already given you the possibility to fact-check historically what the NSDAP aka Nazis was, you still go repeating this same nonsence.

 

That's dumber than a box of rocks.

40 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

So who told you?

 

 

Not you or your ilk here thats for sure.

26 minutes ago, Schoggibueb said:

I have already given you the possibility to fact-check historically what the NSDAP aka Nazis was, you still go repeating this same nonsence.

 

That's dumber than a box of rocks.

As is your cowardly refusal to debate in the appropriate forum. Nothing drives you Euros more crazy that the thought that there isnt much of a difference between Socialism and National Socialism.

5 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

As is your cowardly refusal to debate in the appropriate forum. Nothing drives you Euros more crazy that the thought that there isnt much of a difference between Socialism and National Socialism.

There is also not a lot of difference between hitler and trump.

Actually there are a lot of similarities but at least hitler had no bone spurs and he did fight in the first world war.

Trump?,

1 hour ago, Yagoda said:

There is an open topic, try your luck lol

 

Got a link, I'm feeling lucky?

8 minutes ago, jvs said:

There is also not a lot of difference between hitler and trump.

Start a topic and show us the comparisons. 

 

Trump clearly isnt homosexual, nor a drug addict, nor a jew hater, so there are three differences.

5 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

Got a link, I'm feeling lucky?

Search it out, shout out to me. 

5 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

10 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

Got a link, I'm feeling lucky?

Search it out, shout out to me. 

 

Hey, you made the challenge, you find it and give me a shout.

6 minutes ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 

Hey, you made the challenge, you find it and give me a shout.

I dont challenge LOL, Im already right.

4 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

I dont challenge LOL, Im already right.

extreme that is.

Chaplin highly overrated. Especially the later stuff. Definitely jumped the shark.

 

 

 

Waiting for stupid Trump comment. C'mon laddies 

Flame post removed 

 

@Jeff the Chef

 

9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

So who told you?

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Yagoda said:

Not you or your ilk here thats for sure.

 

Will, you must understand that Yagoda spends a lot of time in the library There are, apparently, lots of the in Cambodia!

4 hours ago, save the frogs said:

Yeah, never met anyone who likes dictators.

The dictator's wife and kids?

@BLMFem  Please refrain from lewd posts.  
 

11 hours ago, connda said:

The dictator's wife and kids?

 

 

3 hours ago, jvs said:

There is also not a lot of difference between hitler and trump.

Actually there are a lot of similarities but at least hitler had no bone spurs and he did fight in the first world war.

Trump?,

Yes exactly, say what you will of Hitler — he fought a war.
Trump’s bloodline slithered the other way.
Grandfather Friedrich Drumpf fled Germany to dodge the draft.
Twenty years later, flush with cash from his Yukon brothels, he returned to reclaim respectability.
Germany deported him — a deserter, an illegal emigrant without papers.
He crawled back to America, where moral bankruptcy became the Trump birthright.
The apple didn’t fall far from the tree — it just rolled into politics.

20 hours ago, LosLobo said:

recreationally enhanced cognitive clarity.

Brilliant!

21 hours ago, Yagoda said:

There is an open topic, try your luck lol

There’s hardly a topic open that you don’t vomit your deliberately ill-informed ‘Hitler was a socialist’ garbage on.

 

 

So now the question is going to do Trump? 

 

I'd say De Niro, but does he want to emograte to EU? Where he'd be welcome though.