The Tramp and the Dictator

Author: Kevin Brownlow, Michael Kloft

Length: 55'

As Viktoria Chaplin was rummaging through her father Charlie’s effects some time ago, a unique document was found on the 16mm filmstrips: Sydney Chaplin had photographed the shooting his brother's masterpiece, THE GREAT DICTATOR, with his amateur camera – in full color. The unusual find highlights one of Chaplin’s most ambitious projects: his revenge on the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler. With his satirical genius, he not only exposed the “Führer” to ridicule, but more than that, he revealed the brutal nature of his dictatorship. For their one-hour documentary “The Tramp and the Dictator”, producers Kevin Brownlow and Michael Kloft will be given unlimited access to Chaplin’s cinematic and literary estate, and hitherto unknown documents from German archives., Eyewitnesses will talk of the difficult shooting in Hollywood, and of the Nazi leadership’s reaction to the unexpected success of the film - and of course, outtakes from the amateur color film of the shooting of Chaplin’s masterpiece will be shown for the very first time.

year of production: 2002