The Great Dictator poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

The Great Dictator

1940 · Movie · 125 min
A

MEANRANK

87/100

Averaged across 10 ratings · 660.4K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 30 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

Google: Google retired the star ratings it used to show in search results, so this one no longer updates. More on where the numbers come from →

74–96 out of 100

Mostly agreed

Lowest is Criticker on 74, highest is Google on 96.

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A Jewish barber who lost his memory in a plane crash in World War I returns to his shop in the ghetto years later, unaware of the rise of a ruthless dictatorship that mirrors his own appearance. The ruthless dictator, Adenoid Hynkel, is plotting to conquer the world and eradicate the Jews, leading to a case of mistaken identity.

Details

Released
15 October 1940
Country
United States
Language
English, Esperanto, Latin
Runtime
125 min
Rated
NR
Budget
$2.0M
Box office
$11.0M
Awards
2 wins, 5 nominations

This title elsewhere

Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin

Adenoid Hynkel, Dictator of Tomania / A Jewish Barber

Jack Oakie

Jack Oakie

Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria

Reginald Gardiner

Reginald Gardiner

Commander Schultz

Henry Daniell

Henry Daniell

Garbitsch

Billy Gilbert

Billy Gilbert

Field Marshal Herring

Grace Hayle

Grace Hayle

Madame Napaloni

Awards & nominations

See all 7 →

2 wins from 7 nominations across 3 ceremonies

13th Academy Awards 1941 Best Actor Charlie Chaplin Nominee
13th Academy Awards 1941 Best Original Score Meredith Willson Nominee
13th Academy Awards 1941 Best Picture Nominee
13th Academy Awards 1941 Best Supporting Actor Jack Oakie Nominee
13th Academy Awards 1940 Best Writing, Original Screenplay Charlie Chaplin Nominee
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films 1940 National Board of Review: Top Ten Films Winner
New York Film Critics Circle Award 1940 Best Actor Charlie Chaplin Winner

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.