Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Joseph Pevney

Writers:

Ralph Wheelwright (story)
R. Wright Campbell (writer) ...

Release Date:

October 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Only Two Women Knew The Secret Behind Lon Chaney, The Fabulous Man Of A Thousand Faces!

Plot:

Loose biography of actor Lon Chaney. Growing up with deaf parents, he learns what it is like to be different...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Bedroom | Dancing | Movie Extra | Clown

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

James Cagney	...	Lon Chaney
Dorothy Malone	...	Cleva Creighton Chaney
Jane Greer	...	Hazel Bennet Chaney
Marjorie Rambeau	...	Gert
Jim Backus	...	Clarence Locan
Robert Evans	...	Irving Thalberg (as Robert J. Evans)
Celia Lovsky	...	Mrs. Chaney
Jeanne Cagney	...	Carrie Chaney
Jack Albertson	...	Dr. J. Wilson Shiels
Roger Smith	...	Creighton Chaney at 21
Robert Lyden	...	Creighton Chaney at 13
Rickie Sorensen	...	Creighton Chaney at 8
Dennis Rush	...	Creighton Chaney at 4
Nolan Leary	...	Pa Chaney
Simon Scott	...	Carl Hastings

Runtime:

122 min

Country:

USA

Language:

American Sign Language | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:G (Ontario) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

On a trip to Hawaii, James Cagney meet Roger Smith stationed there in the Naval Reserve, impressed with his clean-cut good looks and appeal, he encouraged Smith to pursue an acting career. Following the advice and after success in several films, Smith reconnected with Cagney who hired him to play his son, "Lon Jr." in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). Cagney later cast him as his co-star in the musical comedy-drama Never Steal Anything Small (1959).

Goofs:

Continuity: During Phantom Of The Opera re-creation, position of actress who faints and falls to floor after unmasking Lon Chaney's character shifts from shot to shot.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Guard: Good morning, Mr. Thalberg.
Irving Thalberg: Good morning.

Movie Connections:

References West of Zanzibar (1928)

One Face Cagney Shouldn't Have Put On

This is the biography of famous actor Lon Chaney, portrayed by the more- famous James Cagney. Normally, I like biographies and I am a big, big fan of Cagney....but this film turned me off fairly quickly, and I wish the "Yankee Doodle" man had turned down this role.

Dorothy Malone plays an awful, selfish woman who was Chaney's first wife. She is so annoying I lost interest in this story. The scenes where Malone freaked out over Lon's parents being deaf and dumb, and her subsequent tirades, plus Chaney apologizing for his parent's physical handicaps - come on!! - totally turned me off.

It also looked strange to see Cagney in his mid '50s playing a guy in his early '20s. Give me a break! That was poor casting if I ever saw it. What a disaster this film turned out to be. I prefer to remember Mr. Cagney for his great roles in the 1930s and 1940s.....not stinkers like this.