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,"
American comedy films the short subject. Hal Roach Studio specialized in this form. While Columbia was prolific, producing 190 Three Stooges releases, alone. These non-feature productions only went into decline in the 1950s when they were migrated to the television. As the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazism rose in Germany, Adolf Hitler in popular culture became more common in the American film industry. "Bosko's Picture Show" became the first American cartoon to parody Hitler, however brief. "Der Fuehrer's Face" and "Herr Meets Hare" became cartoons to expand the parody of the Fuhrer. As Jews, the Three Stooges felt personally concerned for antisemitism