The Great Dictator is an anti-Nazi political satire from 1940, written and directed by Charlie Chaplin. He makes fun of dictators, which we have come to realize since then are all alike: narcissistic bullies who can’t take criticism and want to run the entire world according to their whims.

The Great Dictator came out before Pearl Harbor, before the U.S. entered the second world war, and before people really had to face just what kind of man Adolf Hitler was.

Chaplin got it well before most people did and made this funny movie showing just how ridiculous dictators and Nazis are. It was his first talkie. It was banned in lots of places! It’s now considered a masterpiece.

Chaplin plays both the humble Jewish barber who is never called by name and Henkel – Dictator of Tomania. Henkel’s mission was to exterminate the Jews and invade and conquer the world. The barber and the dictator bear a strong resemblance to each other.

By the end of the movie, which is an incredible 2 hours and 5 minutes long, the barber is mistaken for the dictator and gets a chance to give a speech. He takes the opportunity to talk about love and peace, not war.

Everyone had a satirical name. Henkel was the Phooey of Tomania. His generals and advisors had names like Garbitsch, Schultz, and Herring. You have to pronounce them just right to get the point. Henkel’s enemy in the race to invade and conquer was Napaloni – Dictator of Bacteria (Jack Oakie).

Chaplin is the master of physical comedy, but the folks in the various scenes with him were really good, too. There were some very funny bits.

Some of the characters got nice names. Hannah (Paulette Goddard) was the little barber’s love interest. They lived in the ghetto with other Jews depressed about the state of the world.

One of the famous scenes is Henkel dancing with a balloon globe as if the world is his plaything. When the balloon bursts, he cries like a baby. Dictators don’t like having their toys taken away.

This movie is 85 years old, but just as relevant as ever. I saw it on Max and it’s part of the Criterion Collection (where they have a great trailer). YouTube has lots of material, including the entire globe dance sequence and other sources of trailers.

If you’ve never seen it, it’s worth a watch.