... in which a man with no arms woos
a woman with a pathological fear of man's hands?
The Unknown (1927)
a woman with a pathological fear of man's hands?
The Unknown (1927)
You'd think that that pair of misfits were meant to be together with just that description guiding you, but no no, they are not meant to be together, no not in the slightest.
Lon Chaney (Sr.) plays Alonzo the Armless, a circus performer who has an act wherein he throws knives - with his feet, natch - at the circus owner's daughter Nanon, played by (an unrecognizably young; just 22 years old) Joan Crawford. And he loves her. And because she appears to think he's in a gay relationship with his midget assistant (yes, the film really implies that's what she thinks) and because he has no hands, she feels free to treat Alonzo as a friend and a confidant, and shares her terror of men's hands in a delightfully campy speech...
... The film never really gives an explicit reason for what marred her perception of men and their hands so irrevocably, but her father is a bit of a crazily overprotective bastard (who tries to murder Alonzo when he realizes Alonzo's in love with his daughter) so take from that what you may.
There is of course a third wheel to this romantic conundrum (besides the midget assistant of course) - Malabar the Mighty, the circus's Strong Man is pretty anxious to get his firm grip around Nanon too. And from there begat... complications. Wild horses tethered to men's wrists are involved. Shit goes down.
I have Aaron's terrific "Waxing On Horror Movies" series (do be careful if you click on that link and actually want to see this movie, cuz Aaron does give away everything) of the past couple weeks to thank for the heads-up on this film - what caught my eye was that it was another circus movie directed by Tod Browning, he of Freaks infamy. The Unknown is no Freaks, which I'd name as an all-time fave, but it's still a weird little gem worth seeking out.
I need to seek out more of Browning's films. All I've seen other than this are Freaks and Dracula of course. His 1925 silent The Unholy Three -another circus flick - is one I'm especially anxious to catch.
.
Lon Chaney (Sr.) plays Alonzo the Armless, a circus performer who has an act wherein he throws knives - with his feet, natch - at the circus owner's daughter Nanon, played by (an unrecognizably young; just 22 years old) Joan Crawford. And he loves her. And because she appears to think he's in a gay relationship with his midget assistant (yes, the film really implies that's what she thinks) and because he has no hands, she feels free to treat Alonzo as a friend and a confidant, and shares her terror of men's hands in a delightfully campy speech...
"Hands! Men's hands! How I hate them!
Men! The beasts! God would show wisdom
if he took the hands from all of them!"
There is of course a third wheel to this romantic conundrum (besides the midget assistant of course) - Malabar the Mighty, the circus's Strong Man is pretty anxious to get his firm grip around Nanon too. And from there begat... complications. Wild horses tethered to men's wrists are involved. Shit goes down.
I have Aaron's terrific "Waxing On Horror Movies" series (do be careful if you click on that link and actually want to see this movie, cuz Aaron does give away everything) of the past couple weeks to thank for the heads-up on this film - what caught my eye was that it was another circus movie directed by Tod Browning, he of Freaks infamy. The Unknown is no Freaks, which I'd name as an all-time fave, but it's still a weird little gem worth seeking out.
I need to seek out more of Browning's films. All I've seen other than this are Freaks and Dracula of course. His 1925 silent The Unholy Three -another circus flick - is one I'm especially anxious to catch.
.
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