Wasent There

re-knoxville:

valley-of-the-dolls:

The jewish barber’s speech from The Great Dictator (1940). A poor jewish barber looks just like the bad dictator and is mistaken for him. He uses his chance to deliver a speech to the people disguised as the Dictator. A speech of love and kindness.

Chaplin managed to create one of the most beautiful and epic speeches of all time in the end scene of The Great Dictator. This was also Chaplin’s first true talking picture and his best grossing film ever. This film and speech has also great significance because it was delivered just before the WW2 broke loose.

Might be worth mentioning this also got him kicked out of America for some time and essentially ruined his career afterwards. The FBI labeled him a “premature anti-fascist” and conservative journalists started calling him an anti-American communist. His next movie flopped and was even booed at opening. When he went to London to film, the US revoked his passport. The film he went there to make, Limelight, was barely seen in the US due to boycotting, although it did win an Acedemy Award in the 70’s due to a technicality and by then no one cared if Chaplin was in the US again. Thus is the price of good film.

(via mimimoura)