Maurice Bessy revealed in an interview that Chaplin had told him that he had used the moustache in this and the following lot in his acclaimed satire The Great Dictator, 1940 - which he wrote, directed and starred in the dual lead role. It is not known whether Chaplin wore these moustaches when playing The Tramp character (the little Jewish barber) or the evil Dicatator - Adenoid Hynkel, or as both. But it is significant that both these moustaches have been used in such an important film.

Chaplin deliberately played on the similarity in appearance between one of the world's greatest clowns and one of the most heinous dictators in history with this film. However, the parallels between the two's appearance had been noted by cartoonists, journalists and writers some years before the film's release. As David Robinson relates: There were even those who believed that Hitler had at first adopted the moustache in a deliberate attempt to suggest a resemblance to the man who had attracted so much love and loyalty in the world.... Although Chaplin admitted some time later that had he known about the horrors of the German concentration camps, he could not have made The Great Dictator, his underlying intention in making the film had been one of grim irony.

Thus it would seem that Chaplin's use of the prop moustache in relation to this particular film held even more resonance than usual. It is interesting to note that although a varied selection of pieces from Chaplin's famous Tramp costume have appeared at auction since the 1980s, to our knowledge, the moustaches in this and the following lot, are the first to appear on the market.


See: Souvenirs Chaplinesques - Un film de Simon Dargolls recontés par Maurice Bessy.