Charlie Chaplin physical resemblance that supplied the plot for Chaplin's next film, "The Great Dictator", which directly satirised Hitler and attacked fascism. Chaplin spent two years developing the script, and began filming in September 1939 – six days after Britain declared war on Germany. He had submitted to using spoken dialogue, partly out of acceptance that he had no other choice, but also because he recognised it as a better method for delivering a political message. Making a comedy about Hitler was seen as highly controversial, but Chaplin's financial independence allowed him to take the risk. "I was determined to go ahead,"
Unknown Chaplin actress during filming. A compilation of alternate takes illustrates how Chaplin slowly developed the story line of "The Immigrant". The film was narrated by James Mason, and original music was scored and conducted by Carl Davis. PBS distributed the series in the United States in 1986 as part of the series "American Masters". In the 2005 DVD release of the series, Brownlow relates some of "Unknown Chaplin"'s backstory. In 2010, Brownlow published a book on the making of the documentary titled "The Search for Charlie Chaplin". Unknown Chaplin Unknown Chaplin is an acclaimed three-part 1983 British documentary series about the