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IMDbPro

Freaks

  • 19321932
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 4m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
48K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,883
1,277
Olga Baclanova, Harry Earles, and Henry Victor in Freaks (1932)
Watch Warner Archive Trailer
Play trailer1:09
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaHorror
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
48K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,883
1,277
    • Tod Browning
  • Writers
    • Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins(suggested by story: "Spurs")
    • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
    • Leon Gordon(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Wallace Ford
    • Leila Hyams
    • Olga Baclanova
    • Tod Browning
  • Writers
    • Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins(suggested by story: "Spurs")
    • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
    • Leon Gordon(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Wallace Ford
    • Leila Hyams
    • Olga Baclanova
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 306User reviews
    • 164Critic reviews
    • 80Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Warner Archive Trailer
    Trailer 1:09
    Watch Warner Archive Trailer

    Photos361

    Jerry Austin, Tod Browning, Johnny Eck, Elizabeth Green, Martha Morris, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, and Jenny Lee Snow in Freaks (1932)
    Olga Baclanova, Daisy Earles, Harry Earles, and Henry Victor in Freaks (1932)
    Jerry Austin, Tod Browning, Johnny Eck, Elizabeth Green, Josephine Joseph, Peter Robinson, Olga Roderick, Schlitze, Elvira Snow, and Jenny Lee Snow in Freaks (1932)
    Olga Baclanova and Harry Earles in Freaks (1932)
    Freaks (1932)
    Roscoe Ates, Daisy Hilton, and Violet Hilton in Freaks (1932)
    Josephine Joseph in Freaks (1932)
    Olga Baclanova and Harry Earles in Freaks (1932)
    Roscoe Ates, Daisy Hilton, and Violet Hilton in Freaks (1932)
    Edward Brophy, Josephine Joseph, and Matt McHugh in Freaks (1932)
    Matt McHugh and Prince Randian in Freaks (1932)
    Freaks (1932)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Wallace Ford
    Wallace Ford
    • Phroso
    Leila Hyams
    Leila Hyams
    • Venus
    Olga Baclanova
    Olga Baclanova
    • Cleopatra
    Roscoe Ates
    Roscoe Ates
    • Roscoe
    • (as Rosco Ates)
    Henry Victor
    Henry Victor
    • Hercules
    Harry Earles
    Harry Earles
    • Hans
    Daisy Earles
    Daisy Earles
    • Frieda
    Rose Dione
    Rose Dione
    • Madame Tetrallini
    Daisy Hilton
    Daisy Hilton
    • Siamese Twin
    Violet Hilton
    Violet Hilton
    • Siamese Twin
    Schlitze
    Schlitze
    • Pin Head
    Josephine Joseph
    Josephine Joseph
    • Half Woman-Half Man
    Johnny Eck
    Johnny Eck
    • Half Boy
    Frances O'Connor
    Frances O'Connor
    • Armless Girl
    Peter Robinson
    Peter Robinson
    • Human Skeleton
    Olga Roderick
    Olga Roderick
    • Bearded Lady
    Koo Koo
    Koo Koo
    • By Herself
    Prince Randian
    Prince Randian
    • The Living Torso
    • (as Rardion)
      • Tod Browning
    • Writers
      • Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins(suggested by story: "Spurs")
      • Willis Goldbeck(screenplay)
      • Leon Gordon(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The on-screen romance between Hans and Frieda was very subdued because the roles were being played by real life brother and sister Harry Earles and Daisy Earles.
    • Goofs
      In the first shot after the "Wedding Feast" title card, we see Violet Hilton & Daisy Hilton playing soprano saxophones, but we only hear a harmonica being played.
    • Quotes

      Freaks: We accept you, one of us! Gooble Gobble!

    • Alternate versions
      Reissue prints included a two-and-a-half minute written prologue about historical interpretations and contemporary studies of "misshapen misfits." These same prints remove the MGM Lion (the studio having disowned the film for many years).
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Le contrôle de l'univers (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Gruesome Tales
      (uncredited)

      Music by William Axt and Erno Rapee

    User reviews306

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    Visit This Sideshow at Your Peril
    A forest glade somewhere in Europe. A warm, sunny day with children playing on the grass. But the camera moves closer and reveals that something is terribly wrong. For these are not children, but tragically misshapen human beings. Pinheads. Dwarfs. A young man with only half a body. A man without arms or legs. These are the Freaks.

    In 1932, director Tod Browning, fresh from his success with DRACULA, was instructed by Irving Thalberg to top FRANKENSTEIN. He succeeded. The resulting film was considered so ghastly that it was banned in Britain for 30 years. It is the strangest film MGM ever released.

    Browning wanted to tell a tale of love, greed & revenge set in a circus, most particularly in the sideshow of human anomalies. He scoured Europe & America for the perfect cast. He got them: Violet & Daisy Hilton, the celebrated Siamese twins; dwarf brother & sister Harry & Daisy Earles; Johnny Eck the Half Boy (a good actor, he will remain in your mind a long time); the tragic Josephine Joseph, a hermaphrodite; as well as a human skeleton, armless girls and the female pinheads, among others.

    While the plot is exploitive & the title tasteless, these people show us glimpses of their hearts, some of the agony of their condition and make us wonder, `What if I'd been born as one of them?'

    The rest of the cast is made up of MGM stock players Leila Hyams, Wallace Ford, Edward Brophy, Olga Baclanova and the screen's champion stutterer Roscoe Ates.

    The plot is simple. A beautiful trapeze artist marries a dwarf for his money, then plots his murder with her lover, the circus strong man. The subsequent action is both horrifying & strangely satisfying. Various scenes - the Freaks' Banquet, the chase through the storm - are among the most bizarre ever filmed. You won't soon forget the time you spend with the FREAKS.
    helpful•125
    15
    • Ron Oliver
    • Jan 25, 2000

    FAQ5

    • What is 'Freaks' about?
    • Is "Freaks" based on a book?
    • Are the freaks real or just actors in costumes?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 20, 1932 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
      • German
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 4 minutes
      • Black and White

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