The Unknown (1927)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Excellent but underrated film

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

This evening I've been watching The Unknown (1927) starting Lon Chaney. It could be renamed The Unsung, because it's too good to be denied the praises normally heaped upon Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Chaney is so amazing here, embodying the character of Alonzo so completely. A lesser actor might not have been able to play the emotions so brilliantly without giving away the plot twists. Tod Browning must be commended as well for constructing this film with what seems just the right length, with no footage wasted, no filler at all; every scene is necessary and advances the story. If I have any complaint at all, it's that Joan Crawford is a bit over the top when she plays fear... but given how well she plays affection and joy, I can overlook it. 10/10

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.

A criminal on the run (Lon Chaney) hides in a circus and seeks to possess the daughter (Joan Crawford) of the ringmaster at any cost.Love, crime, a hidden identity, and horses on treadmills all come together for this silent classic, now mostly forgotten. And it all blends together beautifully well, with Chaney taking the lead and everyone following in his path.Some of the best parts are the use of feet for smoking and knife-throwing. How much is Chaney and how much is his double is hard to say exactly. While it all looks like him, clever camera tricks may have fooled me. Either way, people who use their feet as hands are pretty cool.Reviews at the time were quite positive, as they should have been. Photoplay appreciated the "macabre atmosphere" and Harrison's Reports noted it was "artistically acted and skillfully directed". Variety was less praising, calling the movie "not as great a picture as it might have been", but what more did they want?This is definitely one of Chaney's strongest performances in his later years. That may be strange to say, but it is true. Although Chaney peaked in 1924-1925, his career was already over by 1930. This one is must-see.

Have the fans of Tod Browning and Lon Chaney ever stopped to consider the utter absurdity of the premise of THE UNKNOWN? A fugitive from the law must hide deformed thumbs that would give him away. The best idea he can think of is to pretend to be armless and get a job in the circus throwing knives with his feet. Before he can carry out this ideal plan, he only needs to manage enough pedal dexterity to be able to miss by inches his female partner played by Joan Crawford. And he does! After he overcomes this one small obstacle, he masters all the other tasks he had once performed with his hands: smoking, eating, and drinking. It boggles the mind!As for Chaney's acting, he could be great; he could also be God-awful. In THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA he at least had that wonderful make-up to hide behind. In this film his emotionalism is annoying and schmaltzy.