6. The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a classic mistaken identity movie that uses this narrative to render a hilarious, pointed political satire. Charlie Chaplin gives one of his most iconic performances pulling double-duty as two characters; firstly, there's Adenoid Hynkel, the harrowing dictator who, though clearly modeled on Adolf Hitler, here presides over the fictional Tomainia; and then there's the Jewish barber who, believe it or not, bears an uncanny resemblance to Hynkel. The film's mistaken identity bent shows up fairly late into The Great Dictator, but it has such a profound effect on the movie and its mockery of Hitler that it's easily the most memorable aspect. When the Barber escapes from a concentration camp, he ends up being mistaken for Hynkel, while Hynkel, when out fishing, is arrested by his own men and mistaken for the Jew. The Barber, believed to be Hynkel, is now able to take the stand, decrying the tyrant's prior antisimetic, totalitarian policies, instead calling for dictatorships to be torn down, a damming and thoroughly entertaining indictment of Hitler.