10 Most Controversial Films Of The Classical Hollywood Era

3. The Great Dictator (1940)

Charlie Chaplin was most famous for his work as the lovable and silent Tramp, so much so that the character threatened to overshadow his future work. To counter that notion, and to appease his growing political beliefs after the outbreak of World War II, Chaplin decided to channel his well-known resemblance to Hitler into making his first talking film, the Great Dictator. The film tells the story of a Jewish man trying to avoid persecution from the regime of a brutal dictator, who also happens to look exactly like him. Due to the sensitive political environment at the time and film's obvious criticisms of Nazism, Hitler, and fascism, there was a lot of controversy generated. It also didn't help matters when at the time of the film's release, the US was still formally at peace with Germany. Chaplin shrugged all this off and the film became a huge hit upon release, so much so that Chaplin even sent a copy to Hitler himself. It says a lot when back in the day a star like Chaplin had the guts to release a film condemning Hitler during the height of his powers. These days, everyone backs down from releasing a satirical comedy film from the guys from Freaks and Geeks about a fat North-Korean dictator who is certainly more bark than bite when compared to Hitler.