The Great Dictator the West was lost. Chaplin, on the other hand, laughed uproariously at the film. He used it to inspire many elements of "The Great Dictator", and by repeatedly viewing this film, Chaplin could closely mimic Hitler's mannerisms. Trimborn suggests that Chaplin decided to proceed with making "The Great Dictator" after viewing Riefenstahl's film. Hynkel's rally speech near the beginning of the film, delivered in German-sounding gibberish, is a caricature of Hitler's oratory style, which Chaplin also studied carefully in newsreels. The film was directed by Chaplin (with his half-brother Wheeler Dryden as assistant director), and written and produced by Chaplin.
The Great Dictator The film was shot largely at the Charlie Chaplin Studios and other locations around Los Angeles. The elaborate World War I scenes were filmed in Laurel Canyon. Chaplin and Meredith Willson composed the music. Filming began in September 1939 (coincidentally soon after Germany invaded Poland, triggering World War II) and finished six months later. Chaplin wanted to address 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. The Third Reich's repressive nature and militarist tendencies were well-known at