Capo
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Post by Capo on Jul 23, 2007 0:12:58 GMT
The Unknown Tod Browning 1927 USA A circus act pretends to have no arms so he can gain the affections of a fellow performer. Brilliant film, dark and perverse, with an incredible performance from Lon Chaney, whose multitude of emotions is vast and convincing. There's always something deeply unsettling in this, the rather malicious intentions behind characters' reasoning, but also something rather touching, in the way the villain of the piece undergoes a real transformation and it all turns out wrong. The grotesque malformation of his double thumb on one hand is never made into a gimmick to be shown in every shot - it's always there, and you're always looking at it when it's onscreen, but there's no more than a few close-ups of it in the entire thing. The climax, with a horse going wild and finally stamping on somebody, is very effective - though it ends surprisingly abruptly, a finish which seems a bit of a cop-out, but satisfyingly succinct all the same.
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