The Lon Chaney collection

"He who gets slapped" was the first film ever produced by the M-G-M studios. In this very experimentally artful film, director Seastrom presented esoteric subject matter in highly symbolic scenes. The story involves a circus performer known simply as "He," who is soundly disgraced by his wife and her lover, The Baron. He is the paradox of the circus clown who is always performing in the show to make others laugh, while away from the crowd he is unhappy, still suffering from the slaps of life's reality. In "The unholy three, " two sideshow performers commit robberies by masquerading as an elderly lady and a small child. The film was so popular with audiences that Chaney appeared in a talking version of the movie in 1930. "The unknown" features Chaney playing an armless knife thrower in a circus, using his bogus deformity as a ruse to hide from the police. He is deeply in love with the circus owner's daughter, who coincidentally has a phobia of having men's arms around her. Chaney's performance with his feet (even lighting his own cigarettes with them) and his attempt to become "authentic" in order to permanently seal his relationship with the girl both contribute to making this the strangest love story ever recorded on film.

Open All Close All

type

http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#type

about

http://schema.org/about

actor

http://schema.org/actor

contributor

http://schema.org/contributor

description

http://schema.org/description

"Ace of Hearts (75 min.): A romantic rivalry among members of a secret society become even more tense when one of the men is assigned to carry out an assassination."
"The unknown (63 min.): Alonzo is an armless knife thrower and marksman for a circus, but he's hiding a secret that will lead to murder and betrayal."
"Man-fish: An eerie tale inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The tell-tale heart. Treasure seekers, native curses and the hideous haunting sound of a dead man's breathing conspire to drive a killer insane. -- container."
"Lon Chaney : a thousand faces (85 min.): Definitive screen biography of Chaney's life and career, including rare footage, archival photos and insightful commentary from costars and historians."
"Includes three of Chaney's major works, a documentary about Chaney and a photo reconstruction of the lost film London after midnight."
"Lock up: An excellent crime-mystery series starring MacDonald Carey, features Lon as a small-town sheriff determined to capture a killer who has murdered a straying wife. One of Chaney's simple-minded yokel roles at which he often excelled. -- container."
""He who gets slapped" was the first film ever produced by the M-G-M studios. In this very experimentally artful film, director Seastrom presented esoteric subject matter in highly symbolic scenes. The story involves a circus performer known simply as "He," who is soundly disgraced by his wife and her lover, The Baron. He is the paradox of the circus clown who is always performing in the show to make others laugh, while away from the crowd he is unhappy, still suffering from the slaps of life's reality. In "The unholy three, " two sideshow performers commit robberies by masquerading as an elderly lady and a small child. The film was so popular with audiences that Chaney appeared in a talking version of the movie in 1930. "The unknown" features Chaney playing an armless knife thrower in a circus, using his bogus deformity as a ruse to hide from the police. He is deeply in love with the circus owner's daughter, who coincidentally has a phobia of having men's arms around her. Chaney's performance with his feet (even lighting his own cigarettes with them) and his attempt to become "authentic" in order to permanently seal his relationship with the girl both contribute to making this the strangest love story ever recorded on film."@en
"Laugh, clown, laugh (73 min.): A professional clown and a self-indulgent count learn to help each other with their problems, but then become romantic rivals."
"Indestructible man: A violent criminal is executed and brought back to life using electricity. He comes back to life with incredible strength but is mute. He now seeks revenge upon those responsible for his execution."
"Home use only."
"Golden junkman: Greek immigrant who enrolls in college to earn the respect of his grown sons. A touching performance on the long running series Telephone time. -- container."
"London after midnight (47 min.): Photo reconstruction of the lost 1927 film starring Chaney, directed by Tod Browning."