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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins (story)
more
Release Date:
20 February 1932 (USA) more
Tagline:
Can a full grown woman truly love a MIDGET ? more
Plot:
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Gays of our Lives (October 20, 2009)
(From AfterElton.com. 19 October 2009, 6:10 PM, PDT)
Hellbound Hearts (Book Review)
(From Fangoria. 13 October 2009, 1:48 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
Disturbing & Thought Provoking more (201 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Wallace Ford | ... | Phroso | |
| Leila Hyams | ... | Venus | |
| Olga Baclanova | ... | Cleopatra | |
| Roscoe Ates | ... | Roscoe (as Rosco Ates) | |
| Henry Victor | ... | Hercules | |
| Harry Earles | ... | Hans | |
| Daisy Earles | ... | Frieda | |
| Rose Dione | ... | Madame Tetrallini | |
| Daisy Hilton | ... | Siamese Twin | |
| Violet Hilton | ... | Siamese Twin | |
| Schlitze | ... | Himself | |
| Josephine Joseph | ... | Half Woman-Half Man | |
| Johnny Eck | ... | Half Boy | |
| Frances O'Connor | ... | Armless Girl | |
| Peter Robinson | ... | Human Skeleton |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Forbidden Love (USA) (informal title)
Nature's Mistakes (USA) (informal title)
The Monster Show
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
64 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
Portugal:M/12 | Italy:(Banned) (original rating) | Italy:T (VHS/DVD rating) (self applied) | Finland:(Banned) (1932) | Canada:14A (video rating) | Finland:K-16 (1972) (Finnish Film Archive) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG | Germany:16 | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) | UK:15 (video rating) (1995) | UK:R (original rating) | UK:X (re-rating) (1963) | USA:Unrated | Ireland:(Banned) (1999)
Filming Locations:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Was originally banned in Australia. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: During the scene in which Hans' friends menace Cleopatra in the wagon, the flute soundtrack doesn't match the finger movements of the dwarf playing the flute. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in I Am Not a Freak (1987) (TV) more
FAQ
How does the movie end?Is the short story available for reading online?
Is "Freaks" based on a book?
more
more (201 total)
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The subject of human disability is still a taboo subject in Cinema, even over 70 years since this film's release.
It's difficult to imagine what impact this film would have had in the 1930's, but as it still has the ability to shock ( through the images of bodily deformity ) I can understand why many shunned and disowned this work, and why it totally ruined Todd Browning's film career.
The basic premise - that beauty is more than skin deep - can appear to be wielded with a sledgehammer, but perhaps the contemporary audience needed to be hit harder in order to make them understand the point.
The film is short ( due to enforced cuts ), and at times can move rather slowly and can appear rather 'stagey' which is a trait of many films from the 20's / 30's.
But don't let that put you off. The plot is simple, but it's the telling of the story rather than the story itself that is important. And you really do need to remind yourself that these are real people - not actors - and this was the live they led.
I rate it 9 outa 10 because they really don't make them like this any more.