Charlie Chaplin (1951)

Page scan 000346 from Charlie Chaplin

Record Details:

Title:
Charlie Chaplin
Date:
1951
Publisher:
New York : Henry Schuman, Inc.
Volume:
Charlie Chaplin
Leaf #:
000346
Language:
English
Collection:
Books
Format:
Books
Contributor:
Media History Digital Library
Sponsor:
{"Media History Digital Library","Richard Koszarski","Jeff Joseph"}
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
Date Added:
June 20, 2024
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XXVIII "The Great Dictator" It was only natural that Chaplin should capitalize on his screen resemblance to Hitler (or was it vice versa?). After a period of secret preparation, Chaplin started on the script January 1, 1939, and completed it in three months. Work on miniatures and sound tests began in June. The outbreak of war in 1939 brought a halt to the production. There were rumors that the picture would be abandoned, that Hitler jokes had ceased to be funny, and so on. Deciding that ridicule is a powerful weapon and that laughter is a tonic, a release from pain, Chaplin resumed production. With the final shooting script ready and casting completed by September 5, the actual shooting began on September 9 and continued for 127 days until March 9, 1940. Retakes, editing, and scoring delayed its release till October 15, 1940. Its cost ran over two million dollars and half a million feet of film were shot. Critics and first-nighters at "The Great Dictator" opening found too much grim reality in the picture and thought that Chaplin had overstepped his field. The situation needed a Voltaire rather than a charming little clown. The final long speech (six minutes) surprised and embarrassed some as out of place, tacked on rather than integral to the film. Other elements in the ending were thought to be propagandist^ and banal.