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Rating:  -
Lon Chaney 3 Disk Is Great For The Price You Get 3 Films Plus
London After Midnight Photo Film Because This Is A Lost Film
A Fire In The 60s Burned All The Prints And You Get A Bio Video..
The Films Is
Laugh Clown Laugh
The Ace Of Hearts
The Unknown
London After Midnight
Lon Chaney ; The Man Of A Thousand Faces Doc.
Rating: -
This selection from the TCM Archives series is a worthy addition to your DVD library whether you are a Lon Chaney fan in particular or an appreciator of the art of silent cinema in general. Either way, you are in for a treat. Too many folk think of Lon Chaney as only a "horror" star, yet the celebrated "Man of a Thousand Faces" was far more than that -- and even his Quasimodo and Erik the Phantom are not merely cinematic monsters, but complex characters and, ultimately, very human ones. Their respective tales are, in fact, more romance than horror.
This collection helps display Chaney's dramatic virtuosity and versatility in a selection of 3 feature-length movies, each of which, interestingly enough, involves a love triangle, and yet each of which is a decidedly different tale from the others. "The Ace of Hearts" brings us the intrigue of a secret vigilante society meting out its own justice, and of lovers caught up in its machinations as members of that society. "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" offers us an adaptation of the tale of "Pagliacci" and finds Lon as the clown whose heart breaks for a love he cannot permit himself. The film also stars a teen-aged Loretta Young at the outset of her career, taken under Chaney's wing both in character and off-screen, as he helped her on her way. Finally, we have "The Unknown" which may, in its own fashion, be considered something of a "horror picture" because of its ghastlier plot elements. Amid the gaudy, tawdry atmosphere of a travelling carnival, Alonzo the Armless (Chaney), knife-thrower extraordinaire, manages to carry both a torch for the gypsy Nanon (a young Joan Crawford!) and a dark secret that none must know. His sacrifice for love is a chiller!
Ah, but wait (as pitchmen say), there's more! Included is film producer/director/restorationist Rick Schmidlin's photographic reconstruction of the lost mystery thriller "London After Midnight", providing as close a glimpse as we may hope to have of this intriguing collaboration between Chaney and Tod Browning, with whom he made many of his most memorable movies (including "The Unknown") -- and offering Lon in the dual role of a Scotland Yard inspector and the horrific Mooney, "the man in the beaver hat". (The implausible plot is a corker!) You'll also find Kevin Brownlow's splendid documentary "Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces", narrated by Kenneth Branagh, along with audio commentaries by Chaney biographer and scholar Michael F. Blake, photo galleries and much more. Both the image and sound are outstanding throughout. For quantity and quality of content, I cannot think of a better way to indulge yourself in the artistry of "the Man of a Thousand Faces".
Rating: -
This TCM Archive Chaney Collection is an excellent selection of films, commentaries, and extras. There's no hesitation in recommending this. The only problem is it's been nearly six years and I'm still waiting for Vol. 2.
Rating:  -
In 1883 Leonardus Chaney was born in Colorado Springs, however the world would come to know him as Lon Chaney. Lon Chaney was one of the great American performers during the era of silent filmmaking. His success was due in part to the fact that he was extraordinarily skilled in his creation and application of makeup and prosthetics. But Chaney was more than just a great makeup artist. He was a highly expressive actor who utilized his entire body to create memorable characters. Though he is remembered mainly for his roles in early horror films, Chaney actually starred in films from many genres ranging from horror to westerns, from comedies to melodramas. When he died in 1930, at the age of 47, he left a gap in the industry that would never be filled.
The Ace of Hearts - 1921 (Newly scored by Vivek Maddala)
A group of political dissidents target a powerful capitalist and whoever draws the Ace of Hearts will be the assassin. When the cards are dealt, Farallone (Chaney) watches in horror as his rival, Forrest is given the honor of being the assassin. But soon Farallone realizes that he has less to live for while the woman he loves, Lilith, has promised herself to Forrest. Farallone chooses to sacrifice himself so that the two lovers may be together.
The Unknown - 1927
Lon Chaney plays Alonzo, a knife throwing circus performer who supposedly has no arms (he throws the knives with his feet). In actuality he hides his arms because he has two thumbs on his left hand and this would identify him as the killer the police are looking for. Joan Crawford plays Nanon, Alonzo's beautiful assistant and the daughter of the circus owner. She has an unusual fear of being handled by men, which leads Alonzo to believe that she might fall in love with him. But one night he gets into a fight with the circus owner and strangles him. Nanon witnesses the crime but never sees the killer's face, only the two thumbs on his left hand. Alonzo decides to bribe a surgeon into amputating his arms and as he's already learned to use his feet to perform daily activities, he won't need them. The surgeon is forced to cooperate. When Alonzo returns to announce his love to Nanon, he finds that she's become engaged to the circus strongman, Malabar. The realization that he's had his arms cut off for nothing drives him into a murderous frenzy. He plots revenge on the two lovers. This strangely engaging film was directed by Tod Browning (Dracula & Freaks).
Laugh, Clown, Laugh - 1928 (Newly scored by H. Scott Salinas)
Chaney plays Tito, a clown who falls in love with Simonetta, the abandoned girl that he raised (Loretta Young). But she only views him as a father figure, which breaks his heart. When she falls in love with a handsome young aristocrat, Tito is left distraught with only a clown's painted-on smile to hide his anguish.
London After Midnight - 1927
This is a photographic reconstruction of a lost film about a detective who poses as a vampire in order to uncover a murderous plot. This film was later remade as Mark of the Vampire starring Béla Lugosi and directed by Tod Browning.
This spectacular set includes the following bonus features:
Three audio commentaries by Chaney biographer Michael F. Blake, photo galleries for each film, a great documentary about Chaney's life and career, two featurettes about the composers who created the new scores for Ace of Hearts and Laugh, Clown, Laugh.
TCM Archives produced this terrific 2-disc set and as always Turner Classic Movies proves themselves to be a central force in the preservation and presentation of classic films. This set is a must-have for silent film enthusiasts and Chaney fans alike.
Also recommended:
A Thousand Faces: Lon Chaney's Unique Artistry in Motion Pictures
Lon Chaney: The Man Behind the Thousand Faces
The Films of Lon Chaney
The Penalty
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
The Phantom of the Opera
Rating: -
Most people associate Lon Chaney as a star of horror films, but he was much more than that. This collection offers three of Chaney's films with commentary, a stills recreation of the lost film "London after Midnight", and a documentary on Chaney's life and work.
The oldest film in the bunch, "Ace of Hearts", was directed by Wallace Worsley, the same man who directed Chaney in the more famous "The Penalty" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Here Chaney is the member of a group of men who decide that a certain prominent man poses a threat to society and thus has "lived too long". They draw cards to decide who will do the deed. Both Chaney and the man who draws the ace of hearts - indicating he is chosen - are in love with Lillith, another member of the group. This is a straight dramatic role for Chaney, and a pretty good film. Outside of his longer hair, which the commentator said was unusual for the times, there is nothing out of the ordinary about his appearance. There is some overacting by all of the players, which is probably due to direction.
"Laugh Clown Laugh" has Chaney playing an Italian clown who finds a baby girl in the forest. He names her Simonetta, and cares for her as a father. However, when she grows up, Chaney begins to love her as a woman. He is unable to tell her because of his role as father figure in her life. As a result he cannot stop crying. A wealthy young man cares for her too, as a result of his love he cannot stop laughing. This film is somewhat similar to "He Who Gets Slapped" as far as Chaney being the man who sacrifices everything for love when he realizes the girl loves someone else.
The best film is "The Unknown". Here you get a view of Chaney the villain and the man of a thousand bodies. He is Alonzo the Armless, a performer in a circus, in love with the circus owner's daughter, Nanon (Joan Crawford). He actually does have arms. He is just hiding them for the purpose of hiding from the police, since he is a criminal who is known to have two thumbs on one hand. Naturally, nobody is going to suspect an armless man. Nanon feels safe with Alonzo since she hates having men put their arms around her. How far will Alonzo go to gain Nanon? This film is directed by Tod Browning, who worked so well with Chaney.
The stills recreation of the lost film "London After Midnight" was done quite well with very good atmospheric music added. Chaney's vampire does look a little unconventional though, and it's too bad we have not even clips of this one since some people who actually saw the movie said that the most unusual thing about Lon Chaney's vampire was his walk. Apparently it was much like Groucho Marx' famous gait. That's something that stills, no matter how well presented, just can't communicate. One thing I noted after viewing - the plot for 1935's "The Mark of the Vampire" was almost completely lifted from this film. Both were directed by Tod Browning.
The commentary on all of the films are very good, and so is the extensive documentary on Chaney's life. There are more Chaney films in control of WHV that I would also like to see put on DVD - most notably "Tell it to the Marines", which was Chaney's favorite film and one that got him made an honorary marine. As the documentary stated, Chaney's popularity with movie audiences is hard to figure. Undoubtedly he had talent, but he was not a particularly good looking leading man in a conventional sense. His power at the box office probably had something to do with his ability to gain empathy from the audience no matter what role he took on, no matter how disfigured, no matter how villainous.
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