America wasn't ready for Charlie Chaplin as The Great Dictator

Charlie Chaplin was arguably the biggest star of the silent film era. His character “The Little Tramp” is remains an icon of cinema today. Chaplin was also however one of the most politically outspoken Hollywood figures at the time, using his films to criticise everything from wealth and class inequality to prejudice, capitalism, and war. His left-leaning political views were enough to make him the focus of the FBI’s witch-hunt aimed at weeding out communist sympathises during the various so-called ‘red scares’. A shadow was cast over Chaplin's career by his womanising and pursuit of very young aspiring Hollywood actresses. In 1940 Chaplin released “The Great Dictator”, which contained an anti-war speech now regarded as the best monologue in cinema history. This film however led to his cancellation by Hollywood (who knew that cancel culture wasn't such a recent phenomenon!). It was however just a few short years later that he was banned from re-entering the United States. But what could Charlie Chaplin have done to go from Hollywood darling to living out the rest of his life in exile? Was he just another victim of McCarthyism, or was his downfall justified? 🔔 Subscribe to my channel for more history and other interesting content: 👍🏻https://www.youtube.com/c/PhilipThomp... Further reading 📚: (affiliate links) 🛒 📕 Chaplin: His Life and Art by David Robinson - https://amzn.to/3RzdscO 0:00 - Introduction 0:49 - A First Taste of Stardom 2:22 - A Motion Picture Superstar 4:10 - A Hopeless Romantic 5:37 - The FBI Investigates 6:22 - United Artists & Next Marriages 8:49 - The Great Dictator 10:19 - The Great Speech 11:49 - Critical Response 13:49 - Controversy Escalates 15:12 - FBI Closes In 17:13 - Fading Limelight 18:49 - A Man In Exile 20:25 - An Eternal Legacy #charliechaplin #thegreatdictator #bestspeech Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/dan-phillipson/m... License code: KBINBBFG4A7BEDTG