The annual MoMA Film preservation festival concludes this weekend with Chaplin, Keaton, and more.
http://bit.ly/11LRNF4["A Night in the Show." 1915. USA. Directed by Charles Chaplin. Courtesy Lobster Films]
is a film
directed by and starring
Charlie Chaplin. First released in October,
1940, it bitterly satirizes
Nazism and
Adolf Hitler, culminating in an overt political plea to defy
fascism.
The film is exceptional in its period, in the days prior to American entry into
World War II, as the
United States was still formally at peace with
Nazi Germany. Well before the full extent of the horrors of Nazism had been uncovered, Chaplin's film advanced a stirring, controversial condemnation of Hitler, fascism, and the Nazis, the latter of whom he excoriates in the film as "machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts".
[1]The film was Chaplin's first "
talkie", and his most commercially successful film.
Plot
The film begins during
World War I. Chaplin, as an unnamed private in the army of the fictional nation of Tomainia, valiantly attempts to rescue an officer named Schultz (
Reginald Gardiner), only to lose his memory when the plane the two had taken off in crashes into a tree. Schultz escapes from the wreckage, and Chaplin spends the next 20 years in the hospital, thoroughly oblivious to the changes that are taking place in Tomainia: Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin in a double role), now the ruthless
dictator of Tomainia, has undertaken to persecute Jews throughout the land, aided by ministers Garbitsch (cf.
Joseph Goebbels) (played by
Henry Daniell) and Herring (cf.
Hermann Goering) (played by
Billy Gilbert).
The
amnesiac soldier returns to his barbershop in the
Jewish ghetto, still unaware of the political situation, and is shocked when
storm troopers smash the windows of his shop. Later, he finds a friend, and ultimately a love interest, in Hannah (
Paulette Goddard), a beautiful resident of the ghetto.
![Charlie Chaplin in character]()
Charlie Chaplin in character
Meanwhile, Schultz, who has come up in the ranks in the intervening 20 years, recognizes the barber and, though surprised to find him a Jew, orders the storm troopers to leave him and Hannah alone. Hynkel (cf.
Adolf Hitler), in addition, has relaxed his stance on Tomainian Jewry in an attempt to woo a Jewish financier into giving him a
loan. Egged on by Garbitsch, Hynkel has become obsessed with the idea of
world domination. (In one famous scene, he dances with a large, inflatable
globe to the tune of a theme from
Wagner's
Lohengrin.) On Garbitsch's advice, Hynkel has planned to invade the neighboring country of Osterlich (cf
Österreich, the
German name for
Austria) and needs the loan to finance the invasion. Eventually, the financier refuses, and Hynkel reinstates his persecution of the Jews, this time to an even greater extent.
Schultz voices his objection to the invasion, and Hynkel orders him placed in a
concentration camp. Schultz flees to the ghetto and begins plans to overthrow the Hynkel regime. Eventually, both he and his barber friend are captured and condemned to the concentration camp.
Hynkel is initially opposed by Benzino Napaloni (cf.
Benito Mussolini and indirectly
Napoleon Bonaparte) (played by
Jack Oakie), dictator of Bacteria, in his plans to invade Osterlich. After some friction (and an extremely hilarious food fight) between the two leaders, a deal is made (which Hynkel immediately breaks) and the invasion proceeds successfully. Hannah, who has since emigrated to Osterlich, once again finds herself living under Hynkel's regime.
Schultz and the barber escape from the camp wearing Tomainian uniforms (featuring the
double cross in parody of the Nazi
swastika). Border guards mistake the barber for Hynkel (with whom he shares a remarkable resemblance, to the point that, if not for his clothes, he would be an absolute duplicate). Conversely, Hynkel, on a hunting trip trying to make up his mind about the invasion, is mistaken for the barber and is arrested by his own soldiers.
The barber, who has assumed Hynkel's identity, is taken to the Tomainian capital to make a victory speech. Garbitsch, in introducing "Hynkel" to the throngs, decries
free speech and other supposedly traitorous and outdated ideas. In contrast, the barber then makes a rousing speech, reverting Hynkel's anti-Semitic policies and welcoming in a new era of democracy. The
text of the speech can be read at
Wikiquote.
Hannah, despondent over the recent events, hears the barber's speech on the radio, and is amazed when "Hynkel" addresses her directly: "Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up! Look up, Hannah! The clouds are lifting, the sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness and into the light! We are coming into a new world; a kindlier world, where men will rise above their greed, their hate, and their brutality. Look up, Hannah!" The film concludes with Hannah indeed looking up, with a renewed sense of optimism.
Cast and analysis
The film stars Chaplin as Hynkel and the barber,
Paulette Goddard as Hannah,
Jack Oakie as Napaloni,
Reginald Gardiner as Schultz,
Henry Daniell as Garbitsch and
Billy Gilbert as Field Marshal Herring, an incompetent adviser to Hynkel. Chaplin stars in a double role as the Jewish barber (
the Tramp in all but name) and the fascist dictator, clearly modeled on
Adolf Hitler.
The names of the aides of Adenoid Hynkel are similar to those of Hitler. Garbitsch (pronounced "garbage"), the right hand man of Hynkel is very similar to that of
Joseph Goebbels and
Field Marshal Herring was clearly modeled after the
Luftwaffe chief,
Hermann Goering while beyond doubt the "Diggaditchie" of Bacteria, Benzino Napaloni, was modeled after
Il Duce,
Benito Mussolini.
Much of the film is taken up by Hynkel and Napaloni arguing over the fate of Osterlich. Originally, Mussolini was opposed to the German takeover since he saw Austria as a buffer-state between Germany and
Italy. The international community (in particular,
France and
Britain, Mussolini's
Stresa front partners) did not share Italy's concern over German annexation of Austria and even supported
League of Nations sanctions against Italy. Left alone, Mussolini soon (
1936) submitted to Hitler's will, withdrew Italian troops from the
Brenner Pass along the Austrian border, and moved closer to Germany, as Hitler did not apply sanctions against Italy. This conflict is almost forgotten today given Italy's Alliance with Germany and Austria during
World War II.
The film contains several of Chaplin's most famous sequences. The rally speech by Hynkel, delivered in German-sounding gibberish, is a superb caricature of Hitler's oratory style, which Chaplin studied carefully in newsreels.
[1] The German words schnitzel, sauerkraut and liverwurst can be made out, along with English phrases such as "cheese'n'crackers" and frequently "lager beer", in the fake German Hynkel speaks during the rally and at other points in the film when he is angry (though he normally speaks English). Billy Gilbert as Herring is also required to improvise this fake German at times, and at one point (where he is apologizing for having accidentally knocked Hynkel down the stairs) he comes up with the word "banana". Chaplin is clearly taken by surprise and repeats, "Der banana?" before incorporating the word into his own reply.
Chaplin, as the barber, shaves a customer in tune with a radio broadcast of
Johannes Brahms's
Hungarian Dance No. 5, recorded in one continuous take. But the film's most celebrated sequence is the haunting ballet dance between the power-mad dictator and a balloon globe in his palatial office, set to
Richard Wagner's
Lohengrin Overture, which is also used at the end of the film when the Jewish barber is making the victory speech in Hynkel's place. The globe dance had its origins in the late 1920s, when Chaplin was filmed at a Hollywood party doing an early version of the dance, with a globe and a Prussian military helmet (this footage appears in the documentary
Unknown Chaplin).
The film ends with the barber, having been mistaken for the dictator, delivering an address in front of a great audience and over the radio to the nation, following the Tomainian take-over of Osterlich (an obvious reference to the German
Anschluss of
Austria on
March 12,
1938). The address is widely interpreted as an
out-of-character personal plea from Chaplin. Chaplin's controversial speech, seen as an overtly political speech, may have contributed to the litany of reasons he was ultimately denied reentry in the United States during the
McCarthy era (see the article on
Charlie Chaplin for further detail). The speech was also denounced by the American Communist movement as Stalin had signed a
non-aggression pact with Hitler before the release of the film.
Some of the signs in the shop windows of the ghettoized Jewish population in the film are written in
Esperanto, a language which Hitler had condemned as a Jewish plot.
[2]Making of the film
The film was written and directed by Chaplin, and was shot largely at the
Chaplin Studios and other locations around Los Angeles (such as
Laurel Canyon). The germination of the idea undoubtedly came from the physical resemblance between Chaplin's Tramp character and Hitler (particularly the mustache). Chaplin was also motivated by the escalating violence and repression of Jews by the Nazis throughout the late
1930s, the magnitude of which was conveyed to him personally by his European Jewish friends and fellow artists.
Several similarities between Hitler and Chaplin have been noted and may have been a pivotal factor in Chaplin's decision to make
The Great Dictator. Chaplin and Hitler had superficially similar looks, most famously their mustaches, and this similarity is most commented upon. (
Tommy Handley wrote a song named "Who is This Man Who Looks like Charlie Chaplin?"
[3]) Furthermore, the two men were born four days apart in April
1889, and both grew up in relative poverty. In addition to these similarities between the lives of Hitler and Chaplin, there may have been some direct rivalry between the two men at the very pinnacle of human fame and this may have played some role in generating the film.
As Hitler and his Nazi Party rose to prominence, Chaplin's popularity throughout the world became greater than ever; he was mobbed by fans on a 1931 trip to Berlin, which annoyed the Nazis, who published a book in 1934 titled "The Jews Are Looking at You," in which the comedian was described as "a disgusting Jewish acrobat." Ivor Montagu, a close friend of Chaplin, relates that he sent Chaplin a copy of the book and always believed this was the genesis of "Dictator."
[4]Chaplin prepared the story throughout 1938 and 1939, and began filming in September 1939, one week after the beginning of
World War II. By the time he finished filming almost 6 months later, France had fallen to the Nazis. The controversial final speech that ends the film was a late modification to the script, and has been thought to have been motivated by the dire developments in Europe that occurred over the film's long production
[citation needed]. The 2001
BBC documentary on the making of the film,
The Tramp and the Dictator claimed to have evidence (largely newly discovered footage of the film production shot by Chaplin's elder half-brother
Sydney) that the ending was only changed due to technical difficulties.
[5]The making of the film coincided with rising tensions throughout the world. Speculation grew that this and other anti-fascist films such as
Mortal Storm and
Four Sons would remain unreleased given the United States' neutral relationship with Germany. The project continued largely because Chaplin was financially and artistically independent of other studios; also, failure to release the film would have bankrupted Chaplin, who had invested $1.5m of his own money in the project. The film eventually opened in New York City in September
1940, to a wider American audience in October and the United Kingdom in December. The film was released in France in April 1945, shortly after the
liberation of Paris.
When interviewed about this film being on such a touchy subject, Charlie Chaplin had only this to say: "Half-way through making
The Great Dictator I began receiving alarming messages from United Artists ... but I was determined to go ahead for Hitler must be laughed at." The documentary
The Tramp and The Dictator provides audio of a 1983 interview with Chaplin associate Dan James, in which he reports that President
Franklin D. Roosevelt sent his adviser
Harry Hopkins to personally meet with Chaplin and encourage him to move ahead with the satirical film.
Chaplin originally intended to call the film
The Dictator, but received notice from Paramount Pictures that they would charge him $25,000 for use of the title—they owned the rights to an unrelated novel by
Richard Harding Davis[citation needed]. Chaplin balked at the conditions and inserted "Great" into the title. (In
France the film is known as
Le Dictateur.)
According to
The Tramp and the Dictator, the film was not only sent to Hitler, but an eyewitness confirmed he did see it.
[5] According to the
Internet Movie Database, Chaplin, after being told Hitler saw the movie, replied: "I'd give anything to know what he thought of it."
[6]Reception
The film was well received at the time of its release, and was popular with the American public. Critical opinion was mixed, with many reviewers critical of Chaplin's final speech, and some felt the slapstick portrayal of storm troopers was inappropriate (this opinion magnified as the horrors of the Nazis were uncovered, and is readily apparent to modern audiences). But Jewish audiences were deeply moved by the portrayal of Jewish characters and their plight, which was still a taboo subject in Hollywood films of the time. It was shown in London during the
Battle of Britain, and was reportedly a great morale booster. It eventually became Chaplins' highest grossing film.
In his
1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he would not have been able to make such jokes about the Nazi regime had he comprehended the extent of the Nazi horrors, particularly the death camps and the
Holocaust. While
Ernst Lubitsch's 1942
To Be or Not To Be dealt with similar themes (even including another mistaken-identity Hitler figure), after the scope of Nazi atrocities became apparent it took over twenty years before any other films dared to satirize the era.
Mel Brooks'
The Producers (
1968) and the television series
Hogan's Heroes each represented later comedic takes on the era.
The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including
Academy Award for Best Picture,
Academy Award for Best Actor (Chaplin),
Best Supporting Actor (Oakie),
Academy Award for Best Original Score (Meredith Willson), and an
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Chaplin).
In 1997,
The Great Dictator was selected for preservation in the
United StatesNational Film Registry by the
Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
The film was Chaplin's first true
talking picture and helped shake off accusations of
Luddism following his previous release (
Modern Times) released in
1936 when the silent era had all but ended in the late
1920s.
Score
The score was written and directed by
Meredith Willson, later to become well-known as creator of the 1957 musical comedy
The Music Man.
[7] Willson wrote:
- I've seen [Chaplin] take a sound track and cut it all up and paste it back together and come up with some of the dangdest effects you ever heard—effects a composer would never think of. Don't kid yourself about that one. He would have been great at anything—music, law, ballet dancing, or painting—house, sign, or portrait. I got the screen credit for The Great Dictator music score, but the best parts of it were all Chaplin's ideas, like using the Lohengrin"Prelude" in the famous balloon-dance scene.[8]
According to Willson, the scene in which Chaplin shaves a customer to Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5 had been filmed before he arrived, using a phonograph record for timing. Willson was to re-record it with the full studio orchestra, fitting the music to the action. They had planned to do it painstakingly, recording eight measures or less at a time, after running through the whole scene to get the overall idea. Chaplin decided to record the runthrough in case anything was usable, and "by dumb luck we had managed to catch every movement, and that was the first and only 'take' made of the scene, the one used in the finished picture."
[8]Lawsuit
The film was the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit (Bercovici v. Chaplin) in 1947 against Chaplin. The case was settled with Chaplin paying Bercovici $95,000.
[9] In his autobiography, Chaplin insisted that he had been the sole writer of the movie's script. He came to a settlement, though, because of his "unpopularity in the States at that moment and being under such court pressure, [he] was terrified, not knowing what to expect next." (Chaplin,
My Autobiography, 1964)
See also
- You Nazty Spy! and I'll Never Heil Again, a pair of Three Stooges shorts with a similar subject matter, released around the same time as The Great Dictator. It was heavily publicized at the time that the very slow-working Chaplin was preparing a Hitler satire, and the publicity may have inspired these films.
- Der Fuehrer's Face. A Donald Duck cartoon that spoofs the severity of the Nazi dictatorship and the effect it had on the people directly affected by it
- To Be or Not to Be, a dark comedy on living in Nazi Occupied Warsaw (also remade in 1983 by Mel Brooks).
Notes
- ^ R. Cole, "Anglo-American Anti-fascist Film Propaganda in a Time of Neutrality: The Great Dictator, 1940" in Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, 21 2 (2001): 137 - 152. Chaplin sat "for hours watching newsreels of the German dictator, exclaiming: ‘Oh, you bastard, you!"
- ^Hoffmann, Frank W.; William G. Bailey (1992). Mind & Society Fads. Haworth Press. ISBN 1560241780., p. 116: "Between world wars, Esperanto fared worse and, sadly, became embroiled in political power moves. Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf that the spread of Esperanto throughout Europe was a Jewish plot to break down national differences so that Jews could assume positions of authority.... After the Nazis' successful Blitzkrieg of Poland, the Warsaw Gestapo received orders to 'take care' of the Zamenhof family.... Zamenhof's son was shot... his two daughters were sent to the Treblinka death camp."
- ^"Who Is This Man" lyrics
- ^Review of the movie "The Tramp and the Dictator" by David Stratton, February 21, 2002, Variety
- ^ abThe Tramp and the Dictator, official BBC web site
- ^Trivia for The Great Dictator on IMDb
- ^The Great Dictator. imdb. Retrieved on 2007-04-06.
- ^ abMeredith WIllson (1948). And There I Stood WIth My Piccolo. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc..
- ^Law Library - American Law and Legal Information. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
Additional references
- Chaplin and American Culture: The Evolution of a Star Image. Charles J. Maland. Princeton, 1989.
- National Film Theatre/British Film Institute Notes on The Great Dictator.
- The Tramp and the Dictator, directed by Kevin Brownlow, Michael Kloft 2002, 88 mn.
- MoreThings"Charlie Chaplin's Heroic Failure"
External links
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
![The annual MoMA Film preservation festival concludes this weekend with Chaplin, Keaton, and more. http://bit.ly/11LRNF4 ["A Night in the Show." 1915. USA. Directed by Charles Chaplin. Courtesy Lobster Films]](http://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t31.0-8/p843x403/10428120_10153623146562281_6447500055397930460_o.jpg)
建築師漢寶德 書法展現結構美
該刊園地開放，並定期分別於每年六月（四月三十日截稿）及十二月（十月三十日截稿）發行，歡迎校友踴躍投稿。
慶 祝東吳大學建校百年之際，劉源俊校長特邀請詩人、英文系副教授林建隆主編此紀念詩集，匯集到四十位教師、同學及校友詩人，如黃騰輝、蕭蕭、羊子喬、游喚、 阿盛、羅智成、路寒袖等共襄盛舉，更請到音樂系盧炎及張玉樹兩位老師作曲，英文系林建隆老師作詞，共同為東吳校園譜出兩首新歌。希望透過詩歌呈獻作者們對 東吳的感動、懷念及祝福，為見效百年留下一個永恆的紀錄。『船過水有痕─東吳大學建校百年紀念詩集』共分為四部分，分別為東吳的今日與昨日、東吳的風土與 人物、東吳的年歲與思緒及東吳校園新歌。本書出版印刷費用由高雄市校友會贊助，且與張曼娟老師主編之紀念文集搭配成一套書，深具東吳特色，即將在八十九年 二月由書林出版，敬請期待。
