Prime Time: The Unknown (1927)

A film that almost feels like a practice run for one of his most notorious titles, Freaks (which would come along five years later), Tod Browning's The Unknown is almost the equal of that better-known horror, thanks in no small part to the excellent performances from Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford. A dark tale of unrequited love, murder, and body modification (yes, body modification), this may be a tad predictable in the third act, but that makes it no less enjoyable.

Lon Chaney plays Alonzo, an armless individual who uses his feet to entertain people with his circus act. He's very skilled with them, being able to throw knives and fire weapons, as well as many other tricks. Alonzo has strong feelings for Nanon (Crawford), the daughter of the circus owner. You'd think that this pairing would be perfect, as Nanon has a fear of men grabbing and pawing at her, so she feels comfortable with the armless Alonzo. Malabar (Norman Kerry) is the circus strongman, and he also has feelings for Nanon, but the fact that he has two strong arms keeps Nanon from reciprocating any feelings toward him. Things change when Nanon's father, Zanzi, is murdered, allowing Alonzo to be a more comforting presence, perhaps even paving the way to their marriage. But one major change will have to happen, because it turns out that Alonzo DOES have arms, and he used those arms to kill Zanzi. A dark secret that is only known to Alonzo and his friend Cojo (John George), a plan is hatched to have his arms removed and live happily ever after with Nanon.

Absolutely incredible stuff from start to finish, and the runtime is under 50 minutes (sadly, the only surviving prints today are missing about a quarter of the footage, although it remains a cohesive and flowing work), The Unknown is a film that any fan of Tod Browning should definitely see ASAP. Despite being released 95 years ago, it is still a disturbing and chilling experience, the dark material complemented by the performances and style. Browning knows the world he is leading us into, and he is working with a superb cast.

Chaney is someone I haven't seen many performances from, despite his reputation, but this must rank up there with one of his best (the only other turn I have seen from him is his brilliant "Phantom" in The Phantom Of The Opera). I'll definitely be looking through more of his filmography soon, and his turn here is a masterclass is how to show every possible thought and emotion via facial expressions. Crawford is the typically sweet and beautiful woman needed for her role, performing well and convincing viewers that she can feel safest when being comforted by Alonzo. Kerry and Nick De Ruiz are both just fine, the latter playing Zanzi, and George is unforgettable in his role, his impact onscreen in inverse correlation to his diminutive 4'2" height.

It might be too melodramatic for some, and there are people who simply won't want to watch a silent movie from almost a century ago, but I rate this as a damn near perfect film. Despite the limitations of the time, it's a powerful blend of love, treachery, and outright horror. Please make some time for it in your viewing schedule, you only need a spare 50 minutes.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share 

Filmstruck Friday: Freaks (1932)

I don't have as much reading time nowadays as I used to. That's by choice. I watch a hell of a lot more movies, and I tend to also review a lot of them. So between that and work and, you know, other stuff that takes up my time I just tend to leave reading until I find myself with a free 15 minutes. But I used to be a voracious reader, from a very young age. And it helped that, as a child, my mother had books piled up all around our home. One of those books was about the lives of famous "freaks". I didn't actually read that book, but I did look at the section of photographs. I saw General Tom Thumb (named because of his diminutive stature), a man with no lower half of his body, and Prince Randian. This last figure was the one that stuck with me the most. He had no arms or legs (I believe the book referred to him as "The Human Caterpillar") but was shown in photographs making his own cigarettes. Having been fascinated by these people, I am very surprised that I didn't get around to this classic Tod Browning movie until I was in my late twenties. I think I may have still been silly enough to think that a film from the 1930s couldn't possibly retain the power it had all those years ago. I was wrong.

Prince Randian is not a main character in Freaks, but he does make a brief appearance. As does someone credited as Half Boy (played by Johnny Eck). And probably a number of other people who were featured in that book. This film is all about people who make their living as circus sideshow attractions, as the title none-too-subtly tells you. It gives you a glimpse into the lives of many extraordinary characters, focusing on the main storyline of a midget named Hans (Harry Earles) and his love for a trapeze artist named Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova). Cleopatra doesn't love Hans, yet she figures that she can pretend to for a while until she gets her hands on his large inheritance. And she can make that happen sooner by poisoning him. Because, despite her outward physical appearance, Cleopatra is the ugliest character in this film. Greedy, callous, manipulative, and murderous. She's also pretty blatant about her motivation and intentions, which allows viewers to sit back and wait for her eventual comeuppance.

Written by Willis Goldbeck and Leon Gordon, Freaks remains a wild and incredible film, even by the standards of today. The characters being shown onscreen are fascinating (as well as those mentioned you get to see the Siamese twins named Daisy and Violet Hilton, the human skeleton named Peter Robinson, and Elvira and Jenny Lee Snow playing "Pinheads"), the main storyline is complemented by some enjoyable subplots, and you have the famous utterance of "one of us, one of us". Cleopatra may be written as a bit of a pantomime villain, at times, but that's the way it has to be to take everything where it needs to go for that intense finale.

Director Tod Browning must have known that he was going to shock audiences at the time, and kudos to him for staying true to his vision, even if it did ultimately bring his directorial career to a premature end (he is only credited on a couple of films after this one, which is a great shame indeed).  Bringing together such an authentic cast may have led to quite a range of quality in the acting, although it has to be said that most of the main players are very good in their roles, but it also makes it a lot harder to accept the movie as JUST a movie. This remains an experience that is at times bewildering, at times infuriating, and at times absolute nightmare fuel.

I am sure that others have discussed this more thoroughly, it's another one of those occasions when I suspect that adding my own review of an established classic on to an overflowing pile is probably redundant, but I will just take this opportunity to encourage every horror movie fan to seek this out. Considering how influential it is, and how impactful it remains, you would be doing yourself a great disservice if you dismissed it as being too old or too tame for your more modern sensibilities.

10/10

This shiny disc is available to buy.
Or, in American territories, here.