Tag: Tod Browning
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West of Zanzibar (1928)
Phroso (Lon Chaney) is paralyzed during a scuffle with Crane (Lionel Barrymore,) the man with whom his wife, Anna (Jacqueline Gadsdon) is having an affair and leaving the country. A year later, he finds her dead inside a church with a baby beside her. 18 years later, he’s living West of Zanzibar and creating an…
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The Thirteenth Chair (1929)
If Tod Browning’s Dracula (1931) is criticized for being too much like a play, then The Thirteenth Chair (1929) doesn’t have a chance! On the other hand, this film is better suited for the stage; restricted locations don’t slow its pace. The plot unfolds primarily in two rooms, so we’re not longing for action anywhere…
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The Unknown (1927)
Joan Crawford once said that she learned more about acting from watching Lon Chaney work than from anyone else in her career. “It was then I became aware for the first time of the difference between standing in front of a camera and acting.” She appeared with Chaney in The Unknown (1927) during the first…
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The Blackbird (1926)
If you’ve ever wanted to see Lon Chaney, “the Man of a Thousand Faces,” transform into one of his misshapen characters, there are a couple scenes in The Blackbird (1926) that at least give you a glimpse. He quickly pulls his ankle into the air, twisting his leg at the knee, then jerks his shoulder…
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The Unholy Three (1925)
Having been awed and amazed by previous Lon Chaney films that I’ve seen, I was a little disappointed in the one I’d heard most about: The Unholy Three (1925.) Learning now that it was the first collaboration between Chaney and director Tod Browning at MGM, it stands to reason that each film would only become…
Classic Horrors Club 