Don't Believe the Hype

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A Disappointing Continuation

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

While very short at just 50 minutes, this film packs an emotional punch and is macabre in a way that is unique to the genre of horror movies. I won't spoil the big moments, but the tone is set from the beginning as we find ourselves at the circus performance with an armless man (Lon Chaney) hurling knives and firing a rifle at his partner (a young Joan Crawford). As we later see Chaney (and a real-life armless double) manipulate objects and do things like smoke with this feet, we're reminded of the film director Tod Browning would make five years later, 'Freaks'. Chaney's performance throughout the film is brilliant, and he dramatically captures angst, jealousy, and pain. John George turns in a strong performance as the little person in the circus who is Chaney's friend, and the two of them create a striking pair. While the overall tone of the movie is deliciously creepy, the romance Joan Crawford warms up to with a circus strong-man (Norman Kerry) is sweet, and Browning uses a piece of gauze over the camera lens to create an idyllic, dreamy feel to some of their scenes. The uncredited score that was used on the TCM showing was also fantastic. Great film, especially for 1927.

"The Unknown" focuses on a traveling circus in which an "armless" knife-thrower, Alonzo (Lon Chaney), who is actually a runaway criminal in hiding, relentlessly pursues the circus owner's young daughter, Nanon (Joan Crawford). One of the other circus members, Malabar, interferes, leading Alonzo to vie for Nanon's affection at dire costs.By contemporary standards this a fairly straightforward and unsurprising plot scenario–a love triangle, if you will–but in spite of conventionality, there is a lot of action, suspense, and utter weirdness packed into this hour-long feature. Tod Browning, a director legendary for his affinities toward the bizarre, would direct the sound film "Freaks" several years later, another dark proto-horror film set amongst circus people.The film is beautifully shot, and Lon Chaney's unmatched facial communication is absolutely captivating on screen; he conveys the character with an innocence and simultaneous sinister quality, endearing Nanon's affections and yet possessing macabre intentions that bubble beneath his veneer. Joan Crawford is equally dazzling–this is among her earliest roles, and one can really see her cutting her teeth on the character. She's incredibly emotive and is able to play off of Chaney extremely gracefully. The film has a wacky circus spectacle of a conclusion in which order is restored and the chaos of the "unknown" comes to a resolution. It's a predictable plot trajectory, but it is crafted with great care.Overall, "The Unknown" is a playful and sinister take on a fairly conventional plot arc. Outstanding performances from Chaney and Crawford elevate the proceedings considerably, and the film is also a point of intrigue in terms of influence, as it does undoubtedly qualify as a precursor to the contemporary horror film. 9/10.

Well I quite enjoyed this one but it is certainly not the best of Lon Chaney therefore the duration is a bit too short and a few questions remained unanswered which would have made the movie better if they had been answered. The doctor who eventually amputates the arms of Alonzo, what happened in the past between them that Alonzo threatened to blackmail him? What did Alonzo do wrong in the past that he had to pretend he was armless? Anyway if he could play a guy without legs convincingly in The Penalty, Lon Chaney was the ideal candidate to play a man without arms. the scenes where he throws knifes or smokes a cigarettes by means of his feet and toes are great. Its weakest point was the story even though the love triangle between "armless knife thrower" Alonzo, "gypsy girl" Nanon and "strong man" Malabar creates a lot of tension and some great scenes. Some praise Joan Crawford as Nanon but I don't see how her acting was better than other actresses of the silent era. It's Chaney who carries the movie obviously. Strongest scene was when after the amputation of his arms he was ready to confess his love to Nanon but meanwhile she had fallen for Malabar, that expression on his face said more than words could say. John George deserves a mention as Alonzo's sidekick, Cujo the dwarf.

Ludicrous premise has surprisingly effective results: an armless circus performer is involved in a love triangle, with a girl who hates to be touched by anyone, and another who cannot keep his hands off her. "Alonzo the Armless" throws knives with his feet, and fires weapons with his feet. But the sick and twisted part of this macabre story is that Alonzo the Armless does in fact have arms, which he eventually has amputated, solely to win the love of the girl who dislikes being touched. When that proves futile, his attention then goes to eliminating his competition. Sick, macabre, obsessive love story manages to come across well, we feel sorry for Chaney's antihero and his unrequited love, until he begins plotting to kill the girl's suitor by nearly having him torn apart by two horses, in a chilling ending. Alonzo's plot to kill girl's suitor nearly kills his love instead. In a last move, Alonzo saves his love from a death he very nearly caused, only to be killed himself. Film is a bit difficult to find, and most certainly one of the oddest movies you can imagine, but still worthwhile, in a chilling sort of way.