Because the police department is part of city government, this is government censorship. The government banned this film, which parodies Adolf Hitler, in deference to Chicago’s large German population.
Background
The Great Dictator was a political satire about Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. It was the first Hollywood film to take on Hitler and the Nazi regime. In the movie comedian Charlie Chaplin plays a Jewish barber who is mistaken for the dictator of Tomania, Adenoid Hynkel. At the end of the film, Chaplin delivers a stirring speech on humanity, unity, and democracy. To some, it appeared to be a plea for international intervention in Germany. This is an excerpt from that final speech: “Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people! Now, let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers: In the name of democracy, let us all unite!”
Established in 1907, Chicago was the first U.S. city to have a censorship board. Many social reformers in the city supported the idea of a censorship board and some suggested banning children from theatres completely to protect them from obscene and immoral films. The City Council passed an ordinance, giving the chief of police power to approve films before they could be screened in the Chicago. The police chief had to issue an exhibitors permit before a film could be shown.
The Chicago film board banned The Great Dictator out of concern for the city’s well-established German community. The U.S. had not entered World War II yet and were still at peace with Germany. The film was banned in many other U.S. cities, Peru, Spain, Japan, and places in Europe.
The film was also made between 1938 and 1940, when much of the world was still unaware of the atrocities taking place in Europe at the hands of the Nazi regime. Chaplin later wrote in his memoirs that he wouldn’t have been able to make the film had he known about the full horrors of the death camps and the Holocaust.
After the movie came out, Chaplin was called before a U.S. Senate subcommittee, which was investigating war propaganda in films. In later years, Chaplin became one of the more than 300 people blacklisted in Hollywood for refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee (link back to Freedom for All’s section on McCarthyism). In 1952, Chaplin left Hollywood for a trip to London and was banned from re-entering the country by the U.S. Attorney General. Chaplin returned to the U.S. one more time in 1972 to receive an award.
The Great Dictator was re-released in 2011.
The Great Dictator Internet Movie Database The Great Dictator, last speech American Rhetoric Video: The Great Dictator, last speech YouTube Chaplin: A Life, book website Chaplin: A Life, book website. Stephen M. Weissman Film censorship entry, Encyclopedia of Chicago Newberry Library On This Day, 1952: U.S. Immigration slams door on Chaplin BBC News Chaplin transcends comedy with 'The Great Dictator' Sacramento Bee, June 29, 2011 |