The Unknown (1927)

Director:

Tod Browning

Writers:

Tod Browning (story)
Waldemar Young (scenario)

Release Date:

4 June 1927 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

Alonzo is an apparently armless knife thrower who uses his feet to encircle Estrellita with blades....

Plot Keywords:

Love | Circus | Freak | Horse | Surgery

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Alonzo the Armless
Norman Kerry	...	Malabar the Mighty, Circus Strongman
Joan Crawford	...	Nanon Zanzi
Nick De Ruiz	...	Antonio Zanzi, Nanon's Father
John George	...	Cojo, Alonzo's Assistant
Frank Lanning	...	Costra
Polly Moran	...	Landlady (scenes deleted)
Bobbie Mack	...	Gypsy (scenes deleted)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Venezia Frandi	...	(unconfirmed)

Also Known As:

Alonzo the Armless (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

63 min (23 fps) | UK:49 min (BFI print) | USA:49 min (alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Tod Browning loosely based the story on a real event of his circus days, where a man has masqueraded as an acrobat to evade the police.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the scene where we fist meet Alonzo and he is throwing knives with his feet, the shot shows the girl against the board and there are no knives. It cuts to Alonzo throwing and when it goes back to the girl to see the impact there are knives in a silhouette around her.

Quotes:

Alonzo the Armless: No one will get her... no one but me!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Santa sangre (1989)

Chaney Masterpiece

A circus performer ventures into THE UNKNOWN regions of fate when he allows love to be twisted by hatred.

Master actor Lon Chaney and his friend, acclaimed director Tod Browning, took their love of the macabre and fashioned this weirdly entertaining & suspenseful little silent film, made wonderful by Chaney's powerful over-the-top performance. Playing the armless wonder in a gypsy circus, Chaney's face is a casebook of emotions as he longs for the chieftain's daughter. After making a tremendous, indeed, outrageous, sacrifice for her, he discovers it is all an utter waste. Chaney's agony is horribly apparent as he feels his life crumble around him. The actor uses his superb physical conditioning to great effect, his feet as facile as any hands--the extreme punishment undergone to play the part enormously impressive.

In an important early film role, Joan Crawford is both sultry & disarming as the object of Chaney's desires; her intense neurotic phobia concerning men's hands certainly makes her character more interesting. Norman Kerry is affable & tender as the circus strong man who also loves Crawford. John George as Chaney's dwarf accomplice and Nick De Ruiz as the brutal circus chief are quite effective in their colorful roles.

MGM gave the film fine production values, especially in the circus scenes--a milieu dear to Chaney's heart.