The Shock

While not nearly as well-remembered today as some of Lon Chaney's other films, "The Shock" is a good melodrama, and it gives Chaney a rather interesting role that shows he could give a convincing performance even without lavish disguises or costumes to work with. Here his character, Wilse Dilling, is a disabled career criminal who is forced by events to re-evaluate his life. Chaney gets good mileage out of his character's crutches and wheelchair, but more than that, he helps the viewer to see his dilemmas as he alternates between despair and hope.

The story is interesting and fairly involved. Wilse starts off under the thumb of the heartless crime boss "Queen Ann", who is using him as part of an elaborate scheme of crime and revenge. But Wilse softens as he gets to knows Ann's intended victims, and he soon becomes caught in the middle as a series of tumultuous events unfolds. Although the production is not of the same quality as in Chaney's best-known movies, it fits together pretty well, with only a couple of slow spots, and most fans of silent films should find it well worth watching.

This film has a strong story and the 1906 San Francisco quake is well re created, mainly in miniature. The difficulty for me, as with several other Chaney films is that deformity and disability seem to be associated with criminality, though,of course, for many years this was deemed to be the case, just as disfigurement was assumed to lead to mental instability. Even though the story tells us that Wilse Dilling is capable of doing good, it makes it clear that this is against the normal run of his character. When the heroine is temporarily disabled by an accident, the other characters react as if this is a fate worse than death. Finally, Dilling's reward for his good deeds is to regain the use of his own crippled legs, thus making him worthy of the heroine and letting the audience know that all their physical shortcomings can be overcome, if only they really want it! It is interesting to note how film-makers of this period went for historical accuracy in terms of costume and scenery whereas in later years, glamour was seen as more important-compare the seedy shabbiness of "The Shock" with the elegance and brightness of "San Francisco"

In THE SHOCK, Lon Chaney Sr. Plays Wilse Dilling, who goes up against the criminal underworld and its powerful, sadistic boss, Queen Ann Cardington (Christine Mayo).

This silent film is well worth viewing. It contains plenty of the requisite action and pathos in keeping with its era. Chaney Sr. Is again a marvel to behold. Dilling is another memorable character for him with his signature makeup and facial expressions.

In addition, the earthquake sequence is breathtaking!...

Having recently been in Christchurch, New Zealand, during the Great Canterbury Earthquake, the earthquake in the film came, like the real thing, by surprise. I was impressed by how well and realistically they did the earthquake sequences (which must have cost a bob or two). The imperceptible shake which builds up to a massive shaking and rattling from which you cannot get away frighteningly familiar. Thankfully, the house I was in shook, but was undamaged. However parts of central Christchurch are quite old and look (or rather looked) very much like the two-storey townscape used in the film. The clip where the earth opened up was also very reminiscent of cracks left in the New Zealand landscape. Of the the filmmakers had probably lived themselves through the San Francisco earthquake.

There were some nice railway sequences (Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe I think). It was interesting that when they put the girl on her stretcher into the train, she is still lying across the vestibule as it pulls out.

Lon Chaney plays Wilse Dilling, a cripple who gave into the enticements of crime long ago. Chaney is working for a ruthless woman in Chinatown in San Francisco and is sent to a small town to "keep his eyes open" and "make friends." There he is befriended by a kind young woman who tells him repeatedly that if the cause/dream is right than the will is enough to achieve it. Circumstances such as the young woman having a fiancée and her father the object of the ruthless woman in Chinatown make this one heck of an old-fashioned melodrama with Chaney giving a tour-de-force performance as a crippled criminal blind-sided by love and acts of kindness making him change. Chaney's features, particularly his face, give off such emotion and pathos that he can do so much with so little. The films has many exciting twists and turns culminating an a rather impressively staged earthquake. The Shock, while perhaps a bit hokey in plot, is yet again another example of just how good films were in the silent era and how performers such as Chey were not just the best of his generation but in the pantheon of all-time greats.