I’ve been watching a lot of Chaplin films recorded off of TCM and I became curious about something (sorry if you’re getting annoyed with my questions silent film buffs but I haven’t watched City Lights yet so I’ll probably think of another question while I’m watching that). Was it a big deal when Chaplin finally had lines of onscreen dialog in The Great Dictator? Was it a shocking thing that someone with a twenty year history on the screen without saying a word would finally say something? Or was Chaplin so marginalized (as an actor at least) by that point that no one cared?
He actually did sing a song in Modern Times, but it was complete gibberish.
Chaplin was still a major star when he first spoke; both Modern Times and City Lights were big hits.
I don’t think they made any big deal about Chaplin’s speaking in The Great Dictator, though. Actors were expected to speak by then. This isn’t like “Garbo Speaks!”