“THE GREAT DICTATOR”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 10 June 1941, Page 7

“THE GREAT DICTATOR”

| CHAPLIN’S FAMOUS COMEDY. The great and inimitable Charles Chaplin, who for a generation had maintained pre-eminence as the leading comedian of the screen, returns to the screen in “The Great Dictator,” the master work upon which he bent his tireless energies for two years and the picture which is causing international repercussions. “The Great Dictator,”, which will be shown at the State Theatre, commencing on Friday, June 13, is a film that stands alone as the shining achievement of a brilliant man. Chaplin has put all his artistry and craftsmanship into this picture. Although the production is nearly all Chaplin, which is what it should be, the performances of Jack Oakie and Paulette Goddard are excellent. Oakie is more Mussolini-esque than that modern "Caesar” himself. Miss Goddard as Hannah, the humble sweetheart of the little barber of the Ghetto, is beautiful and entrancing. Other excellent characterisations are given by Billy Gilbert as a Goeringlike "Herring,” Henry Daniell as a Goebbels-like “Garbitsch”; Reginald Gardiner and Maurice Moscovitch.

The opening session will take place at 2.15 p.m. on Friday afternoon, followed by a presentation at 8 p.m. On Saturday there will be three sessions—at 10.30 a.m., 2.15 p.m. :md 8 p.m.