The Penalty (1920)

A deformed criminal mastermind plans to loot the city of San Francisco as well as revenge himself on the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs.

Director:

Wallace Worsley

Writers:

Gouverneur Morris (by), Gouverneur Morris (adapted from his famous novel),

Stars:

Charles Clary, Doris Pawn, Jim Mason

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Clary	...	Dr. Ferris
Doris Pawn	...	Barbary Nell
Jim Mason	...	Frisco Pete (as James Mason)
Lon Chaney	...	Blizzard
Milton Ross	...	Lichtenstein
Ethel Grey Terry	...	Rose
Kenneth Harlan	...	Dr. Wilmot Allen
Claire Adams	...	Barbara Ferris

Storyline

Blizzard, deranged from a childhood operation in which both his legs were perhaps needlessly amputated after an accident, becomes a vicious criminal, and eventually mob leader of the San Francisco underworld. Out for revenge against the surgeon who performed his operation, he undergoes brain surgery which has a chance of altering his anti-social behavior.

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Plot Keywords:

leg | revenge | operation | underworld | gang | 

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Taglines:

A picture that will set the whole town talking.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1920 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bűntetés

Filming Locations:

Goldwyn Studios, Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$89,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eminent Authors Pictures Inc., Goldwyn Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 90 min (2004 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A shot of Lon Chaney walking down stairs was put onto the end to prove the audience that he was not an amputee. It was removed from the 1926 release and the film footage is now lost.

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Quotes

Blizzard: Better come out of that closet or I'll start shooting.
[Rose comes out, crying]
Blizzard: Crying won't help, talking might.
Rose: What's the use? You're just going to kill me.

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Crazy Credits

There is no cast list, but the 8 main actors and their character names are credited in the inter-titles as each appear in the film.

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Connections

Featured in Kingdom of Shadows (1998)

User Reviews

Creative, Atmospheric Story With a Fine Performance By Lon Chaney

Combining a creative, atmospheric story with a fine performance by Lon Chaney makes "The Penalty" an effective and memorable suspense classic. In one of his earliest leading roles, Chaney is a complete success, both in defining an unusual character and in bringing out everything inside the mind of the sinister "Blizzard". You can already see his determination to make his character visually convincing and flawless, even at the cost of great discomfort. Chaney also shows, as he would so many times, his rare skill in using facial expressions and gestures to show just the right amount of emotion and intensity.

The story is quite interesting in itself, and though it slightly stretches plausibility at times, it is by no means predictable. The brief opening scene of the childhood accident efficiently sets up the background for the strange world dominated by Chaney's vengeful character when he becomes an adult. From there, the well-crafted story keeps you interested and keeps you guessing. The settings are well-chosen, creating an interesting and appropriate atmosphere, with Blizzard's strange hideout and the sculptress's cluttered studio both standing in contrast with the respectable-looking Dr. Ferris and the other characters.

A mere account of the events in the story would not convey the success of the movie in creating a distinctive world in which the characters come to life. This is also a case in which a silent film is probably more effective than a sound film would have been. One of the main flaws in many movies of this type is the vapid dialogue that dissipates the tension through unintentional humor. Here, the title cards need only convey some basic ideas - the rest of it is handled without sound by Chaney, by the rest of the cast, and by the production crew who put everything together so well.