Freaks (1932)

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.

Director:

Tod Browning

Writer:

Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins (story)

Stars:

Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova

1 win & 1 nomination.

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

Storyline

A circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra, takes an interest in Hans, a midget who works in the circus sideshow. Her interest however is in the money Hans will be inheriting and she is actually carrying on an affair with another circus performer, Hercules. Hans's fiancée does her best to convince him that he is being used but to no avail. At their wedding party, a drunken Cleopatra tells the sideshow freaks just what she thinks of them. Together, the freaks decide to make her one of their own.

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Plot Keywords:

freak | circus | dwarf | trapeze artist | trapeze | 

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Taglines:

The Strangest... The Most Startling Human Story Ever Screened... Are You Afraid To Believe What Your Eyes See?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

20 February 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Forbidden Love

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$310,607 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

64 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When MGM production chief Irving Thalberg gave Willis Goldbeck the assignment to write a draft of a screenplay based on Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins's story "Spurs", the only direction he gave Goldbeck was that the script had to be "horrible". The writer completed his draft quickly and turned the script over to Thalberg. A few days later, Goldbeck was summoned to Thalberg's office, where he found the producer slumped forward on his desk with his face buried in his arms, as if overwhelmed. After a moment, Thalberg sat up straight and looked at Goldbeck. "Well," said Thalberg, "it's horrible."

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Goofs

Hercules rushes out of the wagon in pursuit of Josephine/Joseph, hot on his/her heels, but when Cleopatra looks out the window a moment later, Josephene/Joseph is leaning casually against a wagon applying makeup. He/she would not have had time to relax and get out a compact in that short amount of time.

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Quotes

Roscoe: [whenever he asks only one of the two Siamese twins to stay, and the twins have to leave together] You always use that as a excu-excuse, an alib-b-b-bi.

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Connections

Referenced in Hagan Reviews: Child Bride (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Whistler and His Dog"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Pryor

User Reviews

Great horror classic from early 30's.

"Freaks" is one of the most controversial horror films from the 30's,mainly because director Tod Browning hired as the actors real sideshow freaks.It does have a rather unsettling effect,but I think that really does work for the film.Browning builds up a great amount of suspense with the good use of locations,story and lots of atmosphere.The ending,where we see freaks crawling in the mud,is pretty creepy.Anyway check this one out-it's worth watching.