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.
Roman dictator their office, although subject to the dictator's authority, and continued in office until the expiration of their year, by which time the dictator had typically resigned. It is uncertain whether a dictator's "imperium" could extend beyond that of the consul by whom he was nominated; Mommsen believed that his "imperium" would cease together with that of the nominating magistrate, but others have suggested that it could continue beyond the end of the civil year; and in fact there are several examples in which a dictator appears to have entered a new year without any consuls at all, although some scholars