charlie chaplin's speech at the end

What a cynical take on the film. OK - you didn't find it funny, that's fine. The speech is not supposed to be "in character." This is about an ordinary man expressing what the ordinary man wants. Peace, tolerance, understanding....remember, he was the target of many attacks throughout the film and at this point he is shaking in his boots to have to get up to appeal to the goodness in man - which is what makes it even more so awesome. At this point this is Chaplin himself speaking from the heart and his vision for what the world could be.

Yes, it was completely out of character, but as Olivia said, it's not supposed to be in character. If you read the Trivia section about this film, you'll see that Chaplin changed the ending of the film and added the speech after the invasion of France. It was Chaplin speaking to the world in that scene, not the barber.

Whether the last speech is out of character or not doesn't matter. That's not what the movie is all about - Chaplin tried to bring into people's attention what was going on in Nazi Germany through this comedy (which is so much more than a simple movie). Nobody should ever forget the fact that Chaplin had a great appreciation for Communist/Socialist ideals - that's what the speech is all about. That strong emphasis on equality and humanity is what Chaplin wanted to say through this movie in the first place; that's why he did the movie.

And...if you didn't like the jokes in this movie... Don't know. I'd say that this movie is a bit more difficult to *get* than any other Chaplin movies because of its strong political subtext, but it would be wrong, since almost all of Chaplin's movies are about politics. Maybe it's a question of historical knowledge or maybe interest in Nazi Germany and totalitarianism? Don't know. But I do know this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, and it's probably the best way to screw with totalitarianism. Chaplin knew what he was doing.

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You found Austin Powers funny????????????????????????????????????

I myself was highly disappointed by the ending speech. My vexation had little to do with the "realism" of Chaplin's character delivering a powerful speech, but in the break from character that it represented. Chaplin in this film (and actually in all of his films, as this was certainly the most political film of his career but not the only political film) always has his character -- usually The Tramp -- as a figure uninterested in social change or any of the Messages (yes, capitalized) that Chaplin the director is trying to make... instead, the hapless character floats through life oblivious that he is in the midst of great upheaval. The comedy is largely derived from the character's acting against social norms not out of rebellion, but out of charming naivete. For the barber to break character and deliver such an impassioned speech came across to me as grandstanding on Chaplin's part -- I think the message may have been more artfully delivered through his usual methods... without hitting us over the head with it.

That said, there were probably more important things going on in 1940 than worrying about subtlety... the speech, on its own terms, was lovely, and was an important speech (I'd imagine) for Americans to hear. It just didn't fit into the film.

The speech was great, I like the idea of a leftist utopia where everyone holds hands and picks flowers. Excuse me while I go to a gay rights rally ladies.

Get a life. The end was trying to make a statement about war. It didnt fit completely, but the message was very clear. If you didn't think the gags were funny you must not have a very good sense of humor.