The Silver Screen Oasis

Is " The Essential " that TCM is offering tonight. Chaplin lampooning Hitler. It is good, but for me the film doesn't work,as a whole. Jack Oakie is great and Chaplin's speech, at the end, terrific, good, but not great. Paulette Goddard is wasted in this film.

I totally agree Ken123. I kept waiting to start laughing, but the most I had was a few chuckles when Jack Oakie finally came on board. The barber chairs and the train moving was reliable slapstick, but overall, I didn't find it the great comedy that it was touted.

Again, you are so right about Paulette Goddard being lost.

I was much happier later when Ghost Breakers came on. Nobody plays a better heroic chicken than Bob Hope.

Anne

" Ghost Breakers " is my favorite Hope film. " My Favorite Brunette ", with Dorothy Lamour, and " Caught in the Draft ", also with Dorothy, Lynne Overman, and Eddie Bracken is good too. " My Favorite Blonde " is OK.

I am glad we agree on " The Great Dictator ". It show that great minds think alike.

Totally agree as well. The Great Dictator was a "great" idea for it's time, but not a great film.

Chaplin talked about working on the film in his autobiography and said that he was told by Europeans to hurry it along--they wanted and needed to see this film. As a piece of propaganda, it probably gave a lot of people who needed it a laugh and some hope.

As a film though, there's nothing really great about it. The one memorable scene is when he kicks the "earth ballon" around. That's a classic bit, the rest of the film is forgettable.

I think "Duck Soup" (1933) was a much better accomplishment along these lines although it was a failure when released.

Well, I pretty much worship Chaplin...but IMO this is nowhere near his best film. I *do* think it was very brave for the time...and I do think the social message was great.

Also, the film had it's brilliant moments. Certainly the monologue at the end was fantastic...and I also love the part where "Hitler" does the dance with that balloon of the globe.

But I do agree with others - Paulette Goddard was wasted in this film. And I could have done with a few more laughs.

Although maybe Chaplin didn't want to make it any funnier. I mean, at the time this film was made, Hitler was no laughing matter.

I like the "balloon dance," the scene in which the barber shaves the customer to Brahms' "Hungarian Dance," and when the conspirators all slip their coins into Chaplin's piece of cake. Jack Oakie and Henry Daniell were funny as well.

I prefer "Monsieur Verdoux," for Forties Chaplin.

MikeBSG wrote:I like the "balloon dance," the scene in which the barber shaves the customer to Brahms' "Hungarian Dance," and when the conspirators all slip their coins into Chaplin's piece of cake. Jack Oakie and Henry Daniell were funny as well.

I prefer "Monsieur Verdoux," for Forties Chaplin.

Verdoux is my favorite Chaplin film.

Well I think any scene where either Chaplin or Oakie were just sending up their targets,it was funny. I think the comedians were funny "in their bits".
A great film? No.
Yes, "Verdoux" was a much better film.

Although the Great Dictator is not Chaplin's best film by a long way, it is still a good film and very brave. I can imagine it would be difficult to hit the right note at the time and as stated it was more a work of propaganda rather than a riotously funny comedy, as such it's one of the best propaganda films I've ever seen. Some genius moments are in there the globe as been mentioned but I like the bit at the beginning during the first World War. That's the little tramp of old.

I like Paulette Goddard in The Great Dictator but I would love to see her in something else having only seen her in Chaplin films, she's obviously a good actress, the best Chaplin worked with as the Little Fellow.

Whenever I see Chaplin's Mutual film I always think to myself that Adolf Hitler pinched Charlie Chaplin's little tramp look. All he needed is the curly hair, perhaps he couldn't be bothered to set it in curlers like Billy West did

I imagine Hitler was apopletic with rage when he saw the film.

Monsieur Verdoux is a much better film, I concur. It's love it's black humour, it's priceless

Hi Charlie! One of the best of Paulette Goddard's films is "The Women". She has the absolute best line in the movie. It has to do with grass growing.....I won't spoil it, but be sure to watch it when it comes on TCM again. here's a link to a great video of clips of some of her movies...

I'm not sure how to post a "you tube" video directly here, sorry.

Nancy (the technologically challenged one)

Thanks knitwit 45 I can get that movie to watch

You're not the only technically challenged one. I pretty dire myself.

Since this thread has been unearthed, and I was one of the first to reply. I want to add a comment or two (ha-ha, you know me).

First off, I am NOT a Chaplin fan but at the time his 'little tramp' came along, a pathetic figure was needed to make people feel a little bit better about their own plights, so although I don't find him funny, at least he had an understandable reason for existence. If people found a poor fellow down on his luck and unable to pull himself up no matter how hard he tried as funny, I guess that is their own personality cross to bear.

As for the movie The Great Dictator, I do give him credit for attempting to shove something in Hitler's face. Maybe if more people had done something similar, the jerk wouldn't have gotten as far as he did. In any case the idea of the movie was a good one. However, it simply didn't come off as funny except a couple of parts. My complaint though is not of the movie itself, but that it is often introduced as 'the wildly funny, or great, or finest achievement of Chaplins' career', or anything else equally untrue and placating. That baloney is still being carried on today with new movies - everything is greatest, best, finest, funniest of the year, etc. Now with the new year, it will all be 'so far this year'. It was a good Chaplin film, but certainly not a 'magnificent achievement' so to say.

Anne

Nancy:

In the screen where you post your comments at the end of the row of boxes is a "YouTube" box. Just put that before and after the Link and you'll get a screen that will show your video.

It will look like all those clips on Dewey's Record Party.

what would we do without you, Chris? thanks, and thanks again!!! I'm going to go back and try editing my previous post. (but don't hold your breath too long...you might pass out!)


Still holding your breath???? didn't work for me, I will try again later, somehow my boss doesn't understand "SSO breaks"...

mrsl I agree The Great Dictator is not the best Chaplin film and it is not the crowning achievement of a glittering career. It was a film idea that then became a necessity as the Second World War began. In his biography talks about how he had to rush the film as it was needed in Great Britain and also as a call to the American people to enter the war.

I don't think people laughed at the character of the little fellow because he was down on his luck and more unfortunate than them but more because the situations he got himself in were genuinely funny .He thumbed his nose at authority but still picked himself up, dusted himself off and went on his way. In the Mutual and First National films he often won the girl. I've never seen him as a character to be pitied, but as often with film people see different things