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.
Dictator is generally used to describe a leader who holds and/or abuses an extraordinary amount of personal power. Dictatorships are often characterised by some of the following traits: suspension of elections and civil liberties; proclamation of a state of emergency; rule by decree; repression of political opponents without abiding by the rule of law procedures; these include one-party state, dominant-party state, and cult of personality. The term "dictator" is comparable to but not synonymous with the ancient concept of a tyrant; initially "tyrant", like "dictator", did not carry negative connotations. A wide variety of leaders coming to power in a number