Outside the Law

It's always great to see Lon Chaney films. In this one he plays two roles, two men at opposite ends and although his screen time is limited, he rescues the film. This is the second collaboration of Chaney and Browning and there are already seeds of further and more elaborate collaborations. Although Tod Browning had assisted D.W. Griffith some four years prior in "Intolerance" there is precious little he picked up on camera movement. In fact the camera never moves at all in this film, and after a while it begins to "feel" like filmed theater with the camera nailed to the floor and not much more. In fact, the only film I can recollect in Browning's work is where the camera actually does move during the opening scenes of "Dracula". Then, the camera work is mesmerizing but apparently Browning dismissed the cameraman and that was that. This is a film for Lon Chaney fans who will not be disappointed.

Curtis Stotlar