THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES:
Actor Lon Chaney Sr (April 1, 1883 - August 26, 1930), is not adequately recognized for his cinematic achievements, and especially not for his innovation as a trailblazer of special-effects cosmetic techniques during the era of silent films.
"Following his death, Chaney's famous makeup case was donated by his wife Hazel to the Los Angeles County Museum, where it is sometimes displayed for the public. Makeup artist and Chaney biographer Michael Blake considers Chaney's case the central artifact in the history of film makeup." (Cited from Wikipedia)
The parts that Chaney played were always roles requiring the celluloid illustration of almost despicable afflictions with a grotesque nature. This was especially evident in the characters he depicted in his many collaborations with director Tod Browning. A prime example was the murderous amputee "Alonzo the Armless", a knife-thrower that Chaney played in Browning's THE UNKNOWN, a silent film also notable for a carnival gypsy girl role played by a very young and beautiful Joan Crawford.
Some other examples of Chaney in these types of roles: The Phantom in PHANTOM OF THE OPERA(1925), Quasimodo in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME(1923), and Hurricane in THE PENALTY(1920).
The one thing that each of these protagonists had in common was an ability to garner the viewer's empathy. Chaney chose to portray individuals who were not entirely responsible for their deformities, and thus each of these roles required him to develop a vulnerable side to his character. This was an area in which he particularly excelled.
"I wanted to remind people that the lowest types of humanity may have within them the capacity for supreme self-sacrifice," Chaney wrote in Movie magazine. "The dwarfed, misshapen beggar of the streets may have the noblest ideals. Most of my roles since The Hunchback, such as The Phantom of the Opera, He Who Gets Slapped, The Unholy Three, etc., have carried the theme of self-sacrifice or renunciation. These are the stories which I wish to do."
"He was someone who acted out our psyches. He somehow got into the shadows inside our bodies; he was able to nail down some of our secret fears and put them on-screen. The history of Lon Chaney is the history of unrequited loves. He brings that part of you out into the open, because you fear that you are not loved, you fear that you never will be loved, you fear there is some part of you that's grotesque, that the world will turn away from." ~Ray Bradbury
Hurricane is a character whom the viewer cannot help but feel complex emotions towards.....
THE PENALTY first unfolds with a small boy lying in a hospital bed, who has suffered injuries of a life-threatening nature. A young doctor made an error in assessing his condition, and has mistakenly amputated both of the child's legs above the knee.
Lon Chaney Sr masterfully acts the part of an adult Hurricane, who, embittered by the amputation, has turned to a life of crime, becoming one of the most feared gangsters in the city.
Chaney had a most unique childhood that undoubtedly contributed to his pantomime abilities during his adulthood: Both Chaney's mother and father were deaf and mute. Many scholars have pointed out that this situation directly influenced the depth of emotion that Chaney could portray with his eyes and body language.
In addition, Lon often purposefully inflicted physical suffering upon himself to accurately represent the character he was playing. For "The Penalty" in 1920, he donned a most unique costume in order to visually convince the audience that he was a double amputee. The device operated as such: His legs were bound tightly behind him in a harness, with knees inserted into leather stumps devised as artificial legs with his feet bound at the thighs. However this was a very painful ordeal that had the unfortunate consequence of cutting circulation to Chaney's legs, resulting in broken blood vessels. (Cited from the official web site of Lon Chaney Sr, http://www.lonchaney.com/)
THE PENALTY has an ending that every silent film fanatic must see, for it so embodies the dramatic moralistic style of the Depression Era.
"Fate chained me to evil, for that I must pay the Penalty."
LON CHANEY SR FILMOGRAPHY:
* The Honor of the Family (1912) (uncredited)
* The Ways of Fate (1913)
* Suspense (1913) (unconfirmed)
* Shon the Piper (1913)
* The Blood Red Tape of Charity (1913)
* The Restless Spirit (1913) (uncredited)
* Poor Jake's Demise (1913)
* The Sea Urchin (1913)
* The Trap (1913)
* Almost an Actress (1913)
* An Elephant on His Hands (1913)
* Back to Life (1913)
* Red Margaret, Moonshiner (1913)
* Bloodhounds of the North (1913)
* The Lie (1914)
* The Honor of the Mounted (1914)
* Remember Mary Magdalen (1914)
* Discord and Harmony (1914)
* The Menace to Carlotta (1914)
* The Embezzler (1914)
* The Lamb, the Woman, the Wolf (1914)
* The End of the Feud (1914)
* The Tragedy of Whispering Creek (1914)
* The Unlawful Trade (1914)
* Heartstrings (1914)
* The Forbidden Room (1914)
* The Old Cobbler (1914)
* The Hopes of Blind Alley (1914)
* A Ranch Romance (1914)
* Her Grave Mistake (1914)
* By the Sun's Rays (1914)
* The Oubliette (1914)
* A Miner's Romance (1914)
* Her Bounty (1914)
* The Higher Law (1914)
* Richelieu (1914)
* The Pipes o' Pan (1914)
* Virtue Is Its Own Reward (1914)
* Her Life's Story (1914)
* Lights and Shadows (1914)
* The Lion, the Lamb, the Man (1914)
* A Night of Thrills (1914)
* Her Escape (1914)
* The Sin of Olga Brandt (1915)
* The Star of the Sea (1915)
* A Small Town Girl (1915)
* The Measure of a Man (1915)
* The Threads of Fate (1915)
* When the Gods Played a Badger Game (1915)
* Such Is Life (1915)
* Where the Forest Ends (1915)
* Outside the Gates (1915)
* All for Peggy (1915)
* The Desert Breed (1915)
* Maid of the Mist (1915)
* The Grind (1915)
* The Girl of the Night (1915)
* The Stool Pigeon (1915 - also directed)
* For Cash (1915 - directed only)
* An Idyll of the Hills (1915)
* The Stronger Mind (1915)
* The Oyster Dredger (1915 - also directed)
* Steady Company (1915)
* The Violin Maker (1915 - also directed)
* The Trust (1915 - also directed)
* Bound on the Wheel (1915)
* Mountain Justice (1915)
* Quits (1915)
* The Chimney's Secret (1915 - also directed)
* The Pine's Revenge (1915)
* The Fascination of the Fleur de Lis (1915)
* Alas and Alack (1915)
* A Mother's Atonement (1915)
* Lon of Lone Mountain (1915)
* The Millionaire Paupers (1915)
* Under a Shadow (1915)
* Father and the Boys (1915)
* Stronger Than Death (1915)
* Dolly's Scoop (1916)
* The Grip of Jealousy (1916)
* Tangled Hearts (1916)
* The Gilded Spider (1916)
* Bobbie of the Ballet (1916)
* The Grasp of Greed (1916)
* The Mark of Cain (1916)
* If My Country Should Call (1916)
* Felix on the Job (1916)
* The Place Beyond the Winds (1916)
* Accusing Evidence (1916)
* The Price of Silence (1916)
* The Piper's Price (1917)
* Hell Morgan's Girl (1917)
* The Mask of Love (1917)
* The Girl in the Checkered Coat (1917)
* The Flashlight (1917)
* A Doll's House (1917)
* Fires of Rebellion (1917)
* The Rescue (1917)
* Pay Me! (1917)
* Triumph (1917)
* The Empty Gun (1917)
* Anything Once (1917)
* The Scarlet Car (1917)
* The Grand Passion (1918)
* Broadway Love (1918)
* The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (1918)
* Fast Company (1918)
* A Broadway Scandal (1918)
* Riddle Gawne (1918)
* That Devil, Bateese (1918)
* The Talk of the Town (1918)
* Danger, Go Slow (1918)
* The Wicked Darling (1919)
* The False Faces (1919)
* A Man's Country (1919)
* Paid in Advance (1919)
* The Miracle Man (1919)
* When Bearcat Went Dry (1919)
* Victory (1919)
* Daredevil Jack (1920)
* Treasure Island (1920)
* The Gift Supreme (1920)
* Nomads of the North (1920)
* The Penalty (1920)
* Outside the Law (1920)
* For Those We Love (1921)
* Bits of Life (1921)
* The Ace of Hearts (1921)
* The Trap (1922)
* Voices of the City (1922)
* Flesh and Blood (1922)
* The Light in the Dark (1922)
* Oliver Twist (1922)
* Shadows (1922)
* Quincy Adams Sawyer (1922)
* A Blind Bargain (1922)
* All the Brothers Were Valiant (1923)
* While Paris Sleeps (1923)
* The Shock (1923)
* The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923)
* The Next Corner (1924)
* He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
* The Monster (1925)
* The Unholy Three (1925)(silent version)
* The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
* The Tower of Lies (1925)
* The Blackbird (1926)
* The Road to Mandalay (1926)
* Tell It to the Marines (1926)
* Mr. Wu (1927)
* The Unknown (1927)
* Mockery (1927)
* London After Midnight (1927)
* The Big City (1928)
* Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)
* While the City Sleeps (1928)
* West of Zanzibar (1928)
* Where East is East (1929)
* Thunder (1929)
* The Unholy Three (1930)(talkie)
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