As Leonard Maltin remarks, "ultra creepy" even by Tod Browning's standards. It's the story of a seemingly armless circus man on the lam from the law who hides out in a gypsy wagon. LON CHANEY, of course, plays the man who's in love with showgirl Nanon, JOAN CRAWFORD. The bizarre story is based somewhat on Browning's own circus background as a youth.
Chaney is Alonzo the not so Armless man who throws knives at gypsy girl Crawford with his feet. Alonzo loves the girl and vows to protect her from the grasping arms of other men. He's jealous of the attention paid to her by NORMAN KERRY. When the armless man commits the murder of another gypsy, he's able to conceal his guilt by hiding behind his armless disguise.
The plot takes a weird turn when Alonzo decides to have a doctor amputate his arms so Nanon will still love him when she discovers him to be truly armless on their wedding night. A doctor is bribed to perform the operation and Alonzo returns to the gypsy camp weeks later. What he doesn't realize is that Nanon has fallen in love with the strong man he was jealous of and is planning to marry him.
Without spoiling the rest of the plot, that's as far as I'll go with the outline--but as you can see it's quite an unusual story and it gets the full treatment from Lon Chaney. He's marvelous in the scene where he realizes his great sacrifice has been for nothing.
Well worth viewing.
Chaney is Alonzo the not so Armless man who throws knives at gypsy girl Crawford with his feet. Alonzo loves the girl and vows to protect her from the grasping arms of other men. He's jealous of the attention paid to her by NORMAN KERRY. When the armless man commits the murder of another gypsy, he's able to conceal his guilt by hiding behind his armless disguise.
The plot takes a weird turn when Alonzo decides to have a doctor amputate his arms so Nanon will still love him when she discovers him to be truly armless on their wedding night. A doctor is bribed to perform the operation and Alonzo returns to the gypsy camp weeks later. What he doesn't realize is that Nanon has fallen in love with the strong man he was jealous of and is planning to marry him.
Without spoiling the rest of the plot, that's as far as I'll go with the outline--but as you can see it's quite an unusual story and it gets the full treatment from Lon Chaney. He's marvelous in the scene where he realizes his great sacrifice has been for nothing.
Well worth viewing.