IMDb RATING
7.6/10
8.5K
YOUR RATING
When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.When a proud noble refuses to kiss the hand of the despotic King James in 1690, he is cruelly executed and his son surgically disfigured.
Julius Molnar
- Gwynplaine as a Child
- (as Julius Molnar Jr.)
Sam De Grasse
- King James II
- (as Sam DeGrasse)
Károly Huszár
- Innkeeper
- (as Charles Puffy)
Zimbo the Dog
- Homo the Wolf
- (as Zimbo)
Tom Amandares
- Shouting Man at wheel on ship
- (uncredited)
Henry A. Barrows
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Richard Bartlett
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Les Bates
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Charles Brinley
- Undetermined Secondary Role
- (uncredited)
Carmen Castillo
- Dea's Mother
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGwynplaine's fixed grin and disturbing clown-like appearance was a key inspiration for comic book writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson in creating one of the most iconic comic book villains ever, The Joker.
- GoofsThe opening scene happens in James II's reign (1685-1688), but Lord Clancharlie is sentenced to death in an Iron Maiden. This instrument of torture was invented in 1793 for display in museums.
- Quotes
Gwynplaine: [Via subtitles, to the House of Lords] A king made me a clown! A queen made me a Peer! But first, God made me a man!
- ConnectionsEdited into Phobos (2019)
Featured review
This was our first Conrad Veidt experience. The Man Who Laughs is a spellbinding piece of visual art. Veidt's acting is sensational. I knew the plot of the story and wondered how he would portray feelings of sadness and regret with a permanent smile carved on his face. After viewing the tape, we were amazed how the emotions exuded from the TV screen. This is our second Mary Philbin experience and both of us prefer her acting in this movie to her role in The Phantom of the Opera.
We have viewed silents on the TV screen as well as the big screen. We discovered that there is more of the "larger than life" emotions projected and felt by the audience through the larger screenings that is somewhat missed on the 27" TV screen. Not so with this performance. My wife and I were both moved to watch it from the beginning...one more time.
We have viewed silents on the TV screen as well as the big screen. We discovered that there is more of the "larger than life" emotions projected and felt by the audience through the larger screenings that is somewhat missed on the 27" TV screen. Not so with this performance. My wife and I were both moved to watch it from the beginning...one more time.
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $4,347
- Runtime1 hour 50 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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