I'm hardly a silent film buff--but I am a fan of Lon Chaney--and I have seen nearly all of his surviving features. Not being an expert on silents, I'm not sure if some of the comments I've seen over at the Amazon site are on the mark--as far as the feature being projected too fast--but it didn't deter my enjoyment of the film. The score--to my ears--could have been better as well; but again, it didn't take away from another stellar Lon Chaney silent.
Unrequited love is prevalent in pretty much any Chaney film--or at least all that I've seen--and it helps in adding pathos to whatever characters Lon is playing. Here, in "He," Lon is a wronged man who runs away to find solace in the circus life as a put upon clown & ends up getting a rather gruesome revenge on the man who wronged him & loses his life in the process. A very moving scene in the closing reels as we see Lon slip away--and I don't think I'm giving anything away with a movie this old.
At any rate--if you like Lon Chaney--then this is a must see feature of the silent era...
8 stars
Unrequited love is prevalent in pretty much any Chaney film--or at least all that I've seen--and it helps in adding pathos to whatever characters Lon is playing. Here, in "He," Lon is a wronged man who runs away to find solace in the circus life as a put upon clown & ends up getting a rather gruesome revenge on the man who wronged him & loses his life in the process. A very moving scene in the closing reels as we see Lon slip away--and I don't think I'm giving anything away with a movie this old.
At any rate--if you like Lon Chaney--then this is a must see feature of the silent era...
8 stars