The Man Who Laughs is a movie adaptation of a Victor Hugo novel. It is the story of Gmynplaine, the son of a disgraced noblemen who is facially mutilated by gypsies. He has a permanent smile (definitely a family resemblance to Jack Nicolson's Joker... except without the criminal and deranged aspect). German Expressionist actor, Conrad Veidt plays the lead role. His performance is exceptional, especially when one realizes that the smile-face prosthesis prevented him from talking (Universal had played with the idea to make this movie a talkie at first). The theme is a combination of love and personal tragedy. The story revolves mostly around those 2 themes. The set pieces are dark and grim, but feel "real". The close ups are typical of the silent movie era, however, the event scenes are not. Such scenes as the Iron Lady torture scene and the performance of the play set this movie apart from others of the time. The smile itself is the most poignant aspect conveying comedy, sadness and at times creepiness. There are some unintentional comical aspects. For example, Homo the dog. It makes lines like "Homo, where are you taking me?", into a chuckle opportunity . There is also the line towards the end where our hero calls out for the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). All in all this is a classic movie. This movie is not recommended for today's movie audience, as the silent movie aspect will probably put most into a popcorn/soda coma. For those that appreciate the silent movie, I highly recommend it.
Review of The Man Who Laughs
