Mustache Marathon Movie 5: The Great Dictator

I went back to the year 1940 for my fifth film in The Mustache Marathon.  It was The Great Dictator, a film starring Charlie Chaplin.  This was my introduction to Charlie Chaplin in film and I think it showed me a lot about the man and his style.  It’s about a Jewish man in The Ghetto, a part of some country that is pretty much 1940 Germany, and the country is led by a dictator named Hynkel or something like that.  Both the Jewish man and Hynkel are played by Chaplin.

And here’s where I begin with this one.  I like physical comedy.  I really do.  But there was something slightly off putting about the first half of this movie and it featured a lot of physical comedy.  I think I’d place it solely on a lack of music.  There were times when the physical comedy was being performed that there was a noticeable lack of music that just made it seem strange.  The lack of music also accentuated how over-the-top the movements were by Chaplin.  He comes from a silent film background where I’m sure that style was necessary.  I haven’t seen any silent films myself, but I tend to think that they have music playing over them.  It just felt really odd.

When I got to near the midpoint of the film, there was a wonderful scene with a globe balloon that got me more into the physical comedy of the movie and I don’t believe I had any problems after that point.  Aside from the accented movements that dug into me a little bit.  However the comedic set pieces seemed more interesting and my investment in the movie rose after that point so there you go.

What kind of person would I be if I didn’t mention the satire?  It was able to satirise the Nazi party in a way that I couldn’t see anyone doing in the present day.  It showed that there were some balls behind the writing.  It’s not too common in mainstream filmmaking anymore.

Now onto what everyone has been waiting for.  The mustache.  Yes, Charlie Chaplin has a mustache similar to that of Adolf Hitler which adds another layer to this film’s satire.  There is no getting around how much that ‘stache makes everybody think Hitler.  It was the right mustache for the movie, most definitely.  But I had one issue with it.  For a long time, it looked fake.  If anyone can clear up whether it was real or fake, please do.  I hope it’s real.

So this movie was worth the watch and I liked the second half.  That was an interesting experience.  Five movies are now done in The Mustache Marathon, with four remaining.  I have eleven more days.  And the four movies look kind of fun.  I wonder what will come out of them.