The Great Dictator

Transitions are difficult. This film displays that fact, as director and star Charlie Chaplin presents an uneven effort in his first full talking picture. The movie catches Chaplin caught between the type of visual set pieces that were standard fare in silent films and the more structured narrative demands of the modern, sound enhanced motion picture of the then contemporary 1940s. Some of the visual sequences fall flat, while others still work well enough to elicit genuine laughs. Meanwhile, a compelling narrative tale—that features excellent supporting work from Paulette Goddard—is woven into and around those sequences, offering a story of biting satire and deep pathos, the latter in the story of the crimes of the period leading up to World War II and the former as a full-throated attack on the perpetrator of the those crimes. The story is quite genuine and moving, even given the unevenness of the presentation. And then, when the climax is reached, Chaplin delivers a denouement that is surprising and electrifying. The film was nominated for Best Picture, and I can’t consider that anything other than a nod to lifetime achievement, yet the movie’s message comes across so forcefully in the end that this is a work that deserves recognition as must-see material—especially as a great deal of that message is so sadly relevant to now in 2026.