The Unknown (1927)

How sad is this?

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The Unknown: an apt title as far as I am concerned since the film was completely unknown to me until now (as are most of director Tod Browning's silent movies-I must rectify that ASAP). Made five years before the infamous and quite brilliant Freaks, The Unknown is also set amidst the colourful (albeit in B&W) world of carnival folk and stars Lon Chaney as a wanted criminal hiding in a travelling circus, disguised as armless knife-thrower Alonzo.Joan Crawford plays Nanon, the enchanting daughter of circus owner Zanzi (Nick De Ruiz) and part of Alonzo's act, the target not just for the criminal's blades, but also his affection. Alonzo stupidly believes that he's the only one who stands a chance with the cutie because of her fear of men's hands. It is this unusual phobia that has kept the pretty circus girl from committing to strongman Malabar (Norman Kerry), who takes every opportunity to declare his love for Nanon, much to Alonzo's annoyance.Alonzo has forgotten one very important thing, however: in reality, he still has both his arms, his limbs hidden under a corset (strapped up with help from his faithful dwarf assistant Cojo). If, by some miracle, Nanon fell for his charms, she would soon discover his deception. When his secret is discovered by Zanzi, Alonzo strangles the man, with Nanon catching a glimpse of his hands, one of which bears two thumbs.In a bid to solve his problems, Alonzo takes drastic action. blackmailing a surgeon to remove his arms; but by the time he has recovered from the operation, he finds that Nanon has overcome her fear and is head over heels in love with Malabar. Losing what little sanity he had, Alonzo plots revenge.Like a silent blend of Freaks and Santa Sangre, The Unknown is completely demented fun from start to finish, with a superb performance from Chaney, who amazingly uses his feet to perform such tasks as smoking a cigarette and drinking a glass of wine. Crawford is absolutely lovely as Nanon and very believable as the kind of woman one would happily lose their arms and mind over. Kerry hasn't quite got the physique to convince as a strongman, but he is likeable enough and makes for a decent enough hero.On the strength of this bizarre but utterly compelling movie, I'll be keeping an eye out for more of Browning's early work.

Though Browning is known best for directing Dracula (1931) and Chaney is most known as The Phantom of the Opera (1925), this little known thriller is their masterpiece.The Unknown (1927) concerns a seemingly armless knife thrower named Alonzo (Lon Chaney) who's really a murderer on the run. He pretends to be armless so his deformed thumb won't give him away. Alonzo becomes obsessed with the ringmaster's beautiful daughter Nanon (Joan Crawford) and seeks to possess her not only sexually, but emotionally as well. Luckily for Alonzo, she is frightened of men's hands (it's implied that she has suffered abuse in the past), which makes her comfortable around him. Alonzo wants to marry Nanon and believes she finds out about his true condition on their wedding night, she will forgive his deception. That all gets thrown out the window when he murders her father and Nanon sees that the killer has a double thumb. Plus, she's falling for the sideshow's handsome strongman(Norman Kerry). From there on, Alonzo unravels more and more, leading to the film's suspense-filled conclusion.A story as bizarre as this one could only be made plausible in the otherworldly universe of silent film. Having worked in a sideshow during his younger years, Browning often returned to such settings in his films (The Show (1927), The Unholy Three (1925), Freaks (1932)). As usual, he renders a world that is sinister and off-kilter. Lon Chaney also gives his best performance as Alonzo. It's mind-blowing how he takes such a creepy and violent character and manages to make him sympathetic. Though he's such a terrible person, Chaney somehow has you rooting for him to win the girl over. The scene toward the end where he has a mental breakdown has to be one of the most chilling things I've ever witnessed.If The Unknown has a flaw, then it would be the ending. It's a tad rushed and the resolution could have been handled better. I'd like to know more about Nanon's reaction to Alonzo's actions, for instance. Oh well. That's more of a nitpick than a real issue that topples the whole picture. The Unknown is essential for those who've only seen the static 1931 Dracula and think Browning was a hack, and those who believe Chaney relied solely on make-up to dazzle audiences.

Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford star in "The Unknown," a 1927 film written and directed by Tod Browning.Chaney, who often suffered great physical pain getting into his roles, plays Alonzo, an armless man who uses his feet to throw daggers at Nanon (Crawford) as part of his circus act. In truth, though, only his pal Cojo (John George) knows that Alonzo has both arms, corseted behind him while he's working. He's a burglar hiding from the police. Since one of his thumbs is deformed, it seems to him a good disguise.But Alonzo finds it difficult to hide his love for Nanon. Nanon seems frightened of any man's touch, although she is attracted to Malabar (Norman Kerry). One night, her father Zanzi (Nick de Ruiz) sees that Alonzo has arms, and Alonzo has to kill him. Nanon sees the murder, but not the face of the killer; she does, however, see his deformity.Alonzo decides it's best to have the arm with the deformed finger amputated. When he recovers and returns to work, he discovers that Nanon and Malabar are now an item. It's not something he's willing to take lightly.Weird, bizarre, strange, all these words and more describe this twisted story, typical Tod Browning fare. Joan Crawford looks a little different in this film than she does in other early movies. She may have had her nose altered at some point. Nevertheless, with those tremendous flashing eyes, beautiful figure and vibrant presence, it's not hard for her to earn the love of two men. Unfortunately one of them is nuts.Chaney was a master at facial expressions and physical changes, and he gives a compelling portrait as Alonzo, desperately in love with Nanon, who swears he will have her no matter what. I wasn't familiar with Norman Kerry before this film; he seems to have been a potential Fairbanks replacement, very dashing.All in all, a fascinating silent. I saw it on TCM and like so many other silents, it's not in great shape, but that shouldn't distract from the viewing.

This film was the second silent film I watched for this course. It was much different from the first, The General, however. The Unknown is a unique and suspenseful movie starring Lon Chaney as a demented criminal pretending to be handicapped without arms. In the opening scene, there is a gypsy circus setting that he is a part of, the camera pans around to the audience's reactions to all the freakish events. Alanzo (Lon Chaney), the "armless" man throws daggers and shoots pistols with his feet at a seemingly innocent girl. This girl is the circus owner's daughter Nanon, she is seductive and teasing and all of this can be read through her eye language. One has to rely on hints like this to follow the moods of story lines in silent films. Alanzo also uses powerful eye language to convey his emotions without speech. At times he is adoring, others crazed. Nanon likes Alanzo and the fact that he is a gentlemen, having to learn to be a man without his hands, especially in the presence of women. The acting in this movie is very well done, all body language is easy to pick up on and makes the movie's pace steady throughout. In scene 2/10 Nanon is enraged after the strongman (Malabar) touches her and his much too forward with his hands, she uses very apparent body language (arm and hands flailing about/teeth clenching) to signify her disgusted emotions toward him. This film is done in black and white and I prefer it that way. It makes the movie seem mysterious, the way it should. The music during this film consists of what sounds like an accordion and tambourine during lively moments and piano for slower scenes (when Nanon is thinking to herself about her life, and misfortunes/fears) There are drums used when Alanso is desperate for Nanon's love and marriage (could signify the strength of his heartbeat at that moment of intensity) This script is written with a twist at the end, a certain irony. I really enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. I rate it an 8/10!