The Man Who Laughs (1928)
Les Miserables, The Hunchback of Notre Dame…and The Man who
Laughs? The aforementioned titles were
penned by the same author. Though the
latter is not as well known, it has gained a cult following for being
considered an early horror picture of Universal. Though this is somewhat an unfair assessment as
The Man Who Laughs fits into several categories namely; Adventure, Romance, Dark
Comedy, Horror and Drama. However neatly
these picture categories apply, it is filmed very much like a gothic horror
film and demonstrates German expression so prevalent at the time.
For many years,
Universal has been associated with horror. This began with two Lon Chaney
vehicles in the silent period, The Hunchback of Notre Dame(1923)
and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). It continued with the
groundbreaking features Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931)
(more on these films later) then through
the 1940s "horror rallies," into the big bug science fiction features
of the 1950s.
This
consolidation of horror at Universal was helped along by many artists,
including German expatriate director Paul Leni (1885-1929). One of the many
Europeans who came to America during the 1920s, Leni first gained fame as a set
designer and art director, and subsequently, a director. The owner of
Universal, Carl Laemmle, became aware of his talents when he saw Das
Wachsfigurenkabinett, a.k.a. Waxworks (1923), in which
Leni atmospherically conjured up the nefarious exploits of Ivan the Terrible
and Jack the Ripper.
Unlike many in
the émigré community, Leni acclimated to Hollywood with apparent ease. The fact
that the staff at Universal was filled with fellow Germans certainly helped.
His first effort, The Cat and the Canary (1927), broke ground
as the primal haunted house narrative. The establishing sequence remains
undeniably spooky, as a tracking shot down an empty hallway resonates with impending
calamity.
Sadly, Leni's
residence in Hollywood was brought to a premature end in 1929, when he died
from blood poisoning brought on by an untreated ulcerated tooth. Had he lived,
one imagines he would have directed Universal's horror features during the
early '30s. Instead, the pinnacle of his American career was the ornate and
expert adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1869 novel, The Man Who Laughs.
Kino Video has made this tour de force available on a DVD that includes a
reconstructed and restored print made from film elements found in European
archives. It illustrates, particularly for those unfamiliar with Leni's work or
silent films generally, the level of technical sophistication filmmakers
achieved before the advent of sound.
For the film, Lon
Chaney was originally slated to play the part of Gwynplaine prior to the smash
hit (and his best known role) The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Despite Chaney's contract with
Universal, production did not begin since Universal had failed to acquire film rights to
the Hugo novel from the French studio Société
Générale des Films. Chaney's contract was amended, releasing him
from The Man Who Laughs but permitting him to name the replacement
film, ultimately resulting in the 1925 The Phantom of the Opera.
For the film,
Laemmle paired Leni with another preeminent German émigré, Conrad Veidt, who
had appeared in a number of classic films, including The Cabinet of
Doctor Caligari (1919). His costar was the demure heroine from The
Phantom of the Opera, Mary Philbin. The actors worked with the studio's
most talented and influential technicians, including production designer
Charles Hall, who began his association with Leni on The Cat and the
Canary. The Man Who Laughs also marked the first makeup
assignment for Jack Pierce, the maestro who subsequently sculpted the features
of Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney, Jr.
Film historian
Carlos Clarens calls The Man Who Laughs "the most
relentlessly Germanic film to come out of Hollywood," though that
attribution calls to mind a more slowly paced, histrionic, and self-conscious
film than the one Leni directed. He did draw upon the kind of subtle lighting
effects and declamatory acting style one finds in German films, yet Leni
integrates those techniques with the demands of the Hollywood system without
compromising their effectiveness.
Any instance of
chiaroscuro lighting, oppressively ornate decoration, or artificial composition
works toward the film's themes. The initial sequences that delineate the death
of Gwynplaine's father, his abandonment to the elements, and discovery of Dea,
masterfully convey his oppression and catastrophe.
Leni proved
himself to be equally skilled with actors. Veidt commands the screen; equipped
with a set of oversized dentures that did not permit him to speak, he employs
his eyes and stance to convey emotions, as well as the import of the subtitled
dialogue. Baclanova, a veteran of the Russian stage, oozes unrestrained passion
as the Duchess, and reminds us that much latitude for sensuality existed in
Hollywood prior to the 1934 Production Code.
Leni's premature
death coincided with the wholesale abandonment of silent filmmaking in
Hollywood. You get the feeling when watching certain late silent films, which
some very skilled technicians were wringing out all that was possible with a
form of expression soon to be outmoded. The Man Who Laughs demonstrates
that, however much we gained with sound, we lost opportunities that arise when
storytelling prioritizes vision.
Film: ***
Effects (for their time): *****
Soundtrack (modern or original): ****
Story: *****
Overall though the film is great, (at an 4.25 overall star
score) I felt it a bit lacking. The
make-up of Jack Pierce is phenomenal, and it is easy to see even in this early
work of his, the genius of the man who would go on to inspire Hollywood make-up
greats such as Rick Baker and Greg Nicotoro.
The Sealed Room (1909)
Where does one begin with a film that was directed by the
notoriously racist director D.W. Griffith?
Well, this film could also be considered comedy as well as horror. Nothing spine tingling here. Generally the older films play on emotions to
incite fear in the viewer, and ask the question “what if?” The “what if?” here is what if you were
doomed to spend the rest of your days locked in a room with a lover? Sure, the air would give out, and you would die
of carbon dioxide poisoning, but the panic that would set in is somewhat
unsettling. It is a nerve wracking thought
when you think about it. However viewing
this film, I really didn’t think of it.
Mainly because of the analysis below.
With a static camera for the scenes showing the various
members of the castle’s staff residents, it’s fun to see twenty people
frantically trying to squeeze themselves into the shot. Those afraid of overly
melodramatic acting should take medication well in advance of watching, there
is more hanky-waving and flouncing here to fell a hippo.
Beyond the makeup and outfits, there really aren’t any laughs here, the
ending being rather alarmingly down-beat, though you can’t argue that the
masons did a terrific job sealing the room in such a short time. Arthur V. Johnson
(The King) steals the show, by being both hilarious and sinister in turn.
It is interesting to note that one of Griffith’s signatures
is that the actors in a scene are directed to look “offstage” to the left or
right, often denoting where the next scene will be playing from. Generally awkward to watch on stage perform
in this manner, it is a unique approach as entertainment made its way from
theatre to film.
The music needs mentioning.
Egad! How to put into words how
absolutely terrible most of the accompanying soundtracks were that I
found. They were so distracting that I
had a hard time watching the film. None
of them really fit in well with the action on the screen. One I had pulled up actually had a woman
reading the intertitles! What a way to
break the illusion of watching this in a theater in the early turn of the
century!
If you do want to check out the film, be sure to watch THIS one. The others have soundtracks that will greatly
reduce your enjoyment of the film.
Also along for the ride as background characters are Mary
Pickford who enjoyed a terrifically long career as an actress and was one of
the biggest stars of the silent era. She later went on to form production
company United Artists, along with Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and Douglas
Fairbanks.
Film: ***
Effects: *
(none of note, the main effect of the hastily built wall looked cheap even by
historic standards.)
Soundtrack:
** (The only descent one I found was a piano accompaniment, which is good and
adds to the feeling of actually watching it back then, however it is limited in
the dramatic score.)
Story: **** (What’s
not to love about Poe?)
Overall
score: 2.5 (Not great) if you are bored and want to be entertained by some
light hearted comedy/ horror, watch some Scooby Doo mysteries instead.
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