Lon Chaney

Coming up on TV – a great silent actor’s only talkie

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I’ve written before about my admiration for actor Lon Chaney, and recommended his The Unknown, even with its wackadoodle plot, and even though I rarely recommend silent film dramas. Chaney, nicknamed “Man of a Thousand Faces”, was an expert with makeup and is well-known for grotesque roles like Quasimodo and the Phantom of the Opera.  But, for all his reliance on changing appearances, Chaney was NOT a gimmick actor.  He was very naturalistic, a relaxed actor whose screen-acting was very modern.   His course features and his charm combine for a unique magnetism.  I think that he would have been very successful in today’s cinema, and he often looks like he is acting in a more modern movie than are the other actors.

Almost all of Chaney’s career was in the silent film era. because he died right after he made his first talkie, The Unholy Three in 1930. So, The Unholy Three is the only movie where we can hear Chaney’s voice, and Turner Classic Movies is airing it on May 3.

To summarize the plot, a ventriloquist, a little person and a circus strongman walk into a bar….Actually the three leave their jobs in a sideshow to set up as a criminal gang, along with the ventriloquist’s pickpocket girlfriend and his pet gorilla. Yeah, it’s farfetched, but its entertaining. Chaney plays the ventriloquist.

The Unholy Three is a remake of a 1925 silent with the same title, also starring Chaney. The original was the first of eight Chaney movies, including The Unknown, directed by Tod Browning (of Dracula fame and Freaks infamy). The 1930 film was directed by Jack Conway.

So, take my advice, DVR The Unholy Three on May 3, and give yourself a rare dose of the speaking Lon Chaney.

Lon Chaney and Lila Lee in THE UNHOLY THREE.

Movies to Watch Right Now (at home)

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THE WHISTLERS

We’re still watching our movies at home, so here are plenty of choices. Of the recently released, I am still recommending The Whistlers.

I also wrote about The Dark Horse, an extremely cynical and hilarious comment on American politics from 88 yer ago (and still timely), If you missed it yesterday on TCM, at least watch the clip in my post.

ON VIDEO

In the absorbing crime thriller The Whistlers, a shady cop and a mysterious woman are walking a tightrope of treachery. The Whistlers, was a hit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, but COVID-19 impaired its 2020 theatrical release in the US. You can stream it from Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

And here’s one that I KNOW you haven’t seen – the droll comedy Radio Dreams. This indie set in the Bay Area explores the ambivalence of the immigrant experience through the portrait of a flamboyant misfit, a man who rides the roller coaster of megalomania and despair. Radio Dreams is available to stream from Amazon, iTunes and kanopy.

RADIO DREAMS

Other recent streaming recommendations:

ON TV

Lon Chaney in THE UNKNOWN

On April 29, Turner Classic Movies airs The Unknown, a Lon Chaney silent, and I think that Chaney’s charisma is worth sampling. And as a fun experience, not a “this is good for you” experience.

REMEMBRANCE

The actor Brian Dennehy stood a bear-like 6’3”and could have filled his career by playing menacing heavies (and he had his share of those). But Dennehy had uncommon range, as evidenced by his most well-remembered roles – Rambo’s nemesis in First Blood and the alien in Cocoon. My favorite Dennehy movie roles were the crooked sheriff in Silverado and Harrison Ford’s morally complicated boss in Presumed Innocent. Dennehy was even a bigger star on stage – he won Tony Awards for his Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and his James in Long Day’s Journey into Night (the role Ralph Richardson played in the movie).

Brian Dennehy

Lon Chaney: worth another look

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Lon Chaney in THE UNKNOWN

OK – work with me here. On Wednesday, Turner Classic Movies is presenting a bunch of Lon Chaney films, and I think that Chaney’s charisma is worth sampling. And as a fun experience, not a “this is good for you” experience.

I will fess up that I am not a huge silent movie fan. I usually watch only one silent movie each year (out of the 250-300 movies that I see annually). I like the Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton comedies, but I find sitting through most of the silent dramas to be “eat your broccoli” experiences. But Lon Chaney really enlivens his films. It’s like he is acting in a more modern movie than are the other actors.

Chaney was an expert with makeup and is well-known for grotesque roles like Quasimodo, and the Phantom of the Opera.  Accordingly, I had always thought of Chaney as his nickname, “Man of a Thousand Faces”.

But, for all his reliance on changing appearances, Chaney was NOT a gimmick actor.  He was very naturalistic, a relaxed actor whose screen-acting was very modern.   His course features and his charm combine for a unique magnetism.  I think that he would have been very successful in today’s cinema.

Unfortunately, Chaney died suddenly at age 47, so he was able to make only one talkie – the 1930 remake of his 1925 silent The Unholy Three.  You can find snippets of the remake on YouTube and hear his voice.

On October 3, Turner Classic Movies will present The Unknown and five other Lon Chaney films.  I also recommend the 1925 silent The Unholy Three, like The Unknown directed by Tod Browning.  (After Chaney’s death, horror master Browning went on to make Dracula and Freaks.)  TCM will also air Chaney in  The Phantom of the Opera, which I’ve seen, and three flicks I haven’t seen: The Monster, The Penalty and He Who Gets Slapped.

The Unknown has a completely outlandish plot.  Chaney plays Alonzo, a circus freak with no arms, who throws knives and shoots rifles with his feet.  But actually, Alonzo is a criminal on the lam who is merely PRETENDING to be armless.  He’s love with his much younger assistant, played by 21-year-old Joan Crawford (already in her 18th film), who spends much of the movie in a bikini top.  The thing is, she has a phobia and only feels comfortable with Alonzo because she think he has no arms.  Alonzo starts contemplating amputation to get her to marry him.  Yep, this is about a farfetched as a plot can get, but Chaney’s expressive face transcends the weirdness.

(Don’t confuse him with his son Lon Chaney, Jr., who also counted many horror pictures among his 197 screen roles.  I remember Lon Jr. most for playing Lennie in Of Mice and Men and the old retired sheriff in High Noon.)

Lon Chaney in THE UNKNOWN

 

Spider Baby: as Chaney’s horror career ended, Sid Haig’s was born

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Lon Chaney, Jr. in SPIDER BABY
Lon Chaney, Jr. in SPIDER BABY

There’s a cult classic coming up this Friday night (or very early Saturday morning) on Turner Classic Movies.  In the 1968 Spider Baby, a family of inbred ghouls is tended by a kind and rational caretaker (Lon Chaney, Jr.) until some greedy relatives and their shyster invade their spooky Victorian mansion and become cannibalized.  Spider Baby was reportedly made for only $65,000 – and it shows.  There’s the clunky and explicitly expositional beginning and ending narration and a TV sitcom look and feel.  But no 1960s TV show featured a daughter kissing her skeleton father goodnight, along with cretinous uncle and aunts in the basement and negligee-clad cannibals.

Spider Baby was filmed in 1964, but was caught up in bankruptcy proceedings and not released until 1968. This explains the offensive black character, which might have passed as regrettably mainstream in the early 60s, but must have seemed odd to the more racially conscious audiences in 1968.

Chaney has fun with playing a normal human among the monsters, and there’s a sly reference to The Wolfman at the dinner table.

As Chaney’s horror career ended, Sid Haig’s was just beginning.  Haig, in just his second feature, played a sex-craved Igor type.  He now has over 130 screen credits, including character roles in Emperor of the North and Jackie Brown and lots of TV work.  But Haig is most well-known for his horror, and it’s hard to top his portrayal of Captain Spaulding in Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses.  Yikes.

Spider Baby is also known as The Maddest Story Ever Told, The Liver Eaters, Cannibal Orgy and various combinations of those titles.  Spider Baby has played on Turner Classic Movies before and is available streaming from Amazon, Vudu and Xbox Video.

Sid Haig in SPIDER BABY
Sid Haig in SPIDER BABY