The Great Dictator The Great Dictator The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, scored by and starring British comedian Charlie Chaplin, following the tradition of many of his other films. Having been the only Hollywood filmmaker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was Chaplin's first true sound film. Chaplin's film advanced a stirring, controversial condemnation of Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis. At the time of its first release, the United States was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany. Chaplin plays both leading roles:
The Mistress of the World short openers to a feature film, each part of "The Mistress of the World" was shot over six reels, making them feature length. Another difference to the American serials was the lack of a cliffhanger ending. Each episode of "Mistress" was a self-contained story, but the end goal was still out of reach, drawing audiences back to find out how the story resolved rather than how the heroine escaped a dangerous situation. Normal prerelease hype for serials was often manufactured through movie tie-ins, serialization in other media and spot prizes given to audience members. May attempted a different approach for