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The Penalty
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The Penalty (1920/I) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   417 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 21% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Wallace Worsley
Writers:
Gouverneur Morris (novel)
Charles Kenyon (scenario)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Penalty on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
August 1920 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Music | Thriller more
Tagline:
What was the secret of the tremendous power exerted by Blizzard over everybody he met? Why did Rose, the secret service operative detailed to spy on Blizzard and ferret out his secret, end by falling in love with him? Why did every crook in San Francisco tremble at his frown? Why did he hold thousands in peril of their lives? Come and see! more
Plot:
Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were perhaps needlessly amputated after an accident... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
One of Chaney's best films more

Cast

  (Credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
90 min (2004 alternate version)
Country:
USA
Sound Mix:
Silent
Certification:
USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Lon Chaney could wear the harness for only ten minutes before the pain became intolerable. more
Quotes:
Blizzard: Don't grieve, dear - death interests me. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Bullets Over Hollywood (2005) (TV) more

FAQ

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful:-
One of Chaney's best films, 28 October 2002
8/10
Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

Morbid gothic revenge tale set in modern (1918) San Francisco. Chaney gives one of his best performances ever as Blizzard, a legless criminal mastermind out to get his back from the whole city of SF. He can only pillage the treasury, as he envisions, with legs, so he plots to have a doctor amputate another man's legs and graft them onto his own.

Chaney is appropriately diabolical as he moves about on stumps and crutches faster than his bipedal friends. Phoney "redemption" through surgery climax does much to spoil the sadistic fun of the preceding seven reels.

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i really liked this movie but.. FrankElliottMoore
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