He Who Gets Slapped (1924) 7.7
A bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him. Director:Victor Sjöström |
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He Who Gets Slapped (1924) 7.7
A bitter clown endeavors to rescue the young woman he loves from the lecherous count who once betrayed him. Director:Victor Sjöström |
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| Cast overview: | |||
| Lon Chaney | ... | ||
| Norma Shearer | ... |
Consuelo
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| John Gilbert | ... |
Bezano
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Ruth King | ... |
Maria Beaumont
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Marc McDermott | ... |
Baron Regnard
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Ford Sterling | ... |
Tricaud
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Tully Marshall | ... |
Count Mancini
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Story of an inventor who, suffering betrayal in life, makes a career of it by becoming a clown whose act consists of getting slapped by all the other clowns. He falls in love with another circus performer, and those who betrayed him enter his life yet again. Written by Robert Tonsing <rtonsing@ti.com>
I saw this film first on Public Television (the score that is still used, I believe, was developed when the film was restored in Chicago) and have always loved it in all it's raging perversity. It is beyond ironic that one of the major studios was launched on a film who's premise was that the public is a malevolent, cruel ass. We are never allowed to forget that as horrible as the villain is; the drooling, jeering, sadistic vermin in the circus crowd are worse.
The spookiness of the direction, I think, is what hooked me. All the leads are excellent and perfectly cast. This is the ultimate in melodrama, and it's drawn is such broad strokes that it's hard to imagine as a talkie.