The Great Dictator

The Great Dictator is a 1940 American political satire and the first true sound picture directed by and starring Charlie Chaplin, who plays dual roles: a ruthless fascist dictator, Adenoid Hynkel, and a persecuted Jewish barber. After twenty years and a bout of amnesia, the barber is mistaken for the dictator and uses the moment to deliver a plea for democracy and humanity. Released while the United States was still neutral toward Nazi Germany, it became the most commercially successful film Chaplin ever made, was nominated for five Academy Awards, and was later preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.