THE UNKNOWN
US, 1927, 53 minutes. Black and white.
Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Joan Crawford, Nick De Ruiz, John George, Frank Lanning.
Directed by Tod Browning.
The Unknown is one of the last silent films directed by Tod Browning, who had made quite a number of features since 1915. He was to achieve his peak of fame with directing Dracula in 1931. After he made Freaks, a film that raised considerable controversy, he made only a few more films up to 1939, Devil Doll, Mark of the Vampire, Miracles for Sale. However, he has a strong reputation for his horror films.
The star of the film was Lon Chaney, the versatile man of a thousand faces who had appeared as The Phantom of the Opera as well as Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame as well as many other films. However, he was to die in his forties in 1930. Norman Kerry portrays the circus strongman and a young Joan Crawford is the glamorous presence in the circus.
Audiences will realise what is going to happen very quickly when the plot begins to unfold. Lon Chaney portrays Alonzo the Armless, doing everything with his feet, including throwing knives around the outline of Joan Crawford. He is supported by his assistant Cojo, John George. However, he is infatuated with the girl, Nanon. Joan Crawford is glamorous in this role – but is in love with Malabar the Mighty, the strongman. When Alonzo realises that she has a compassion for him, because he has no arms, he feels guilty about having arms – and goes to have surgery to remove them.
For a moment, the audience and Alonzo think that Nanon has been waiting for him to marry him. However, she merely wants to announce her intended marriage with Malabar. The climax of the film is a circus stunt where Malabar is tied to a machine whereby a horse will walk on a treadmill, stretching his arms almost to breaking point. The horse is urged on with a whip by Nanon. Alonzo, becoming evil in his jealousy, decides to pull the switch and urge the horses on so that Malabar will lose his arms. There is a build-up in desperation, Alonzo going out in front of the rearing horse – and saving Malabar by his being trampled to death.
The film is really a short story, but indicative of the style of Tod Browning, not really pulling any punches in the audience’s imagination of the injuries that would come to Malabar’s arms. He utilised some of these talents in his films of the 30s, especially Dracula and Freaks.
This film came at the end of the silent era – and is a silent era curiosity.
