The Great Dictator (1940)

The Great Dictator rating: IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic

IMDb8.4/10· 258K votes

Rotten Tomatoes92%

TMDb8.279/10· 4K votes

With 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, backed by 8.4/10 on IMDb, critical reception of this film has been very positive.

About The Great Dictator

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

Cast of The Great Dictator

• 

  Charlie Chaplin

  as Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber

• 

  Paulette Goddard

  as Hannah

• 

  Jack Oakie

  as Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria

• 

  Reginald Gardiner

  as Commander Schultz

• 

  Henry Daniell

  as Garbitsch

• 

  Billy Gilbert

  as Field Marshal Herring

• 

  Grace Hayle

  as Madame Napaloni

• 

  Carter DeHaven

  as Spook

• 

  Maurice Moscovitch

  as Mr. Jaeckel

• 

  Emma Dunn

  as Mrs. Jaeckel

• 

  Bernard Gorcey

  as Mr. Mann

• 

  Paul Weigel

  as Mr. Agar

The Great Dictator facts

Budget

$2M

Box office

$11M

Our take on The Great Dictator

Chaplin's 1940 satire dared to mock Hitler while the world hesitated: a humble Jewish barber is mistaken for the dictator Hynkel in a fearless blend of slapstick and moral outrage, capped by an extraordinary plea for humanity. Brave, funny and unexpectedly stirring, it's comedy as resistance. If its political bite and heart gripped you, Dr. Strangelove and other great satires share its talent for laughing in the face of tyranny.