Lon Chaney didn't speak during early childhood, as his parents were deaf and mute, and he communicated with them via sign language. When silent movies came along, he was a natural. And at the end of his life, stricken with throat cancer, he lost his voice and again relied on pantomime to make himself understood. He came from silence and went back to silence.
Chaney was a unique kind of movie star, in that his success rested more on variety than reliability: if his audiences had any expectations going into a Chaney film, surely they must have been expectations of surprise, perhaps of an encounter with the unfamiliar and bizarre.
Outside the Law (1920) was Chaney's second film for director Tod Browning, whose concerns seemed to merge with his own in a particularly conducive way: separately and apart, both men pursued stories of humiliation, disfigurement, and revenge, featuring bizarre, displaced menageries and elaborate and uncomfortable disguises.
Chaney was a unique kind of movie star, in that his success rested more on variety than reliability: if his audiences had any expectations going into a Chaney film, surely they must have been expectations of surprise, perhaps of an encounter with the unfamiliar and bizarre.
Outside the Law (1920) was Chaney's second film for director Tod Browning, whose concerns seemed to merge with his own in a particularly conducive way: separately and apart, both men pursued stories of humiliation, disfigurement, and revenge, featuring bizarre, displaced menageries and elaborate and uncomfortable disguises.
- 10/3/2013
- by David Cairns
- MUBI
At a press conference at the National Media Museum yesterday, Artistic Director Tony Earnshaw announced the full programme details for the 17th Bradford International Film Festival (Biff). This year the Festival, which runs from 16th – 2th7 March will open with Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger starring Anthony Hopkins, Naomi Watts, Antonio Banderas, Josh Brolin, Gemma Jones, Lucy Punch, Freida Pinto, Pauline Collins, Ewen Bremner and Anna Friel.
The Closing Night Gala will be the UK Premiere of Oren Moverman’s The Messenger starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Steve Buscemi. The Festival will showcase more than 100 features from countries all over the world including France, Romania, Australia, USA, Argentina, Portugal and Japan.
A selection of horror films will be featured in the new strand introduced this year titled Bradford After Dark, an all-day mini “fest within a fest” that focuses on some of...
The Closing Night Gala will be the UK Premiere of Oren Moverman’s The Messenger starring Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton and Steve Buscemi. The Festival will showcase more than 100 features from countries all over the world including France, Romania, Australia, USA, Argentina, Portugal and Japan.
A selection of horror films will be featured in the new strand introduced this year titled Bradford After Dark, an all-day mini “fest within a fest” that focuses on some of...
- 2/23/2011
- by Phil
- Nerdly
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.