The Man Who Laughs (1928) 2/11

[MaskedMan66]

Hardquanonne?! Here's trouble about to happen!

[MaskedMan66]

Mary Philbin was such a darling.

[MaskedMan66]

What a brilliant actor that little boy was!

[celestialangel61]

OMG the blind girl is Christine in the the lon chaney phantom of the opera. I just noticed that!!!

[Bastiest]

Would think the more propiate title would be "The man who grins"

Though it's a silent film so go fiqure.

[TimothyMably]

@Bastiest That's really clever :D

[Bastiest]

@TimothyMably Not really, just appropiate in my mind.

[TimothyMably]

@Bastiest Alright.

[usagikurisu89]

omigosh ursus looks like larry fine><

[MaskedMan66]

@usagikurisu89 I'd say Jackie Mason.

[walmartgoof]

homo the wolf ha ha

[MaskedMan66]

@walmartgoof Don't display your ignorance.

[KimikoMatsuri]

Vsauce.

[iweargoggles2]

under developed motives.

[hahamingudersejest]

"BE QUIET HOMO!"

[HeidyfromNorway]

bravo bravo classic film

[DuchessofTitanic]

Harbingerofbattle@ He was actually cast to play Gwynplaine but withdrew at the last moment.

[HarbingerOfBattle]

This role was perfect for Lon Chaney. Why didn't they cast him?

[sapph920]

@HarbingerOfBattle

Chaney was under contract with MGM.

[HarbingerOfBattle]

@sapph920 So an actor can only appear in films belonging to the studio under which he is contracted? Studio contracts suck!

[TheRokkiephantomlove]

@HarbingerOfBattle he left the role

[Mechanar580]

wow back then they let you enought time to read things^^

[jupiter784]

that whistling is pissing me right off

[Mathiaxzz]

3:57 pedo touch!

[solmaya1]

great movie(:

[jules2mee2]

1:42....when the 2 ravens land in the snow after Gwynplane saves Dea...incredible scene!!!!!!

[57stewie]

This character was the inspiration for Bob Kaine's Joker. And now I know why. The smile is awesome. Just like The Joker.

[susannebass]

Gwynplaine is a beautiful person inside and out! You can see from his beautiful eyes and his love for Dea.

[NightmareVF]

All I have to say is why do you name a dog "Homo"?

[TheaterRaven]

@NightmareVF "Homo" is Latin for "Man". "Ursus" is Latin for "Bear". In the book, Hugo explains that Ursus named himself Ursus and his dog Homo as a pun on the Latin phrase "Homo homini lupus", or, "Man is a wolf to man".

[Mirakelpung]

@NightmareVF

This was back when it was very common to be racist or homophobic, another example would be H.P Lovecraft (I'm not making this up) naming his cat "Nigger-man".

[sapph920]

@Mirakelpung

Actually the homo refers to man.

The book was written before homo referred to gay.

[Peadarisback]

wow that crowd is stupid...I mean so what if he is physically deformed?

And he has a constant smile 'the laughing man'.......really

[TheWanderingchild]

When Gwynplaine is walking outside the van... he looks so handsome! 8o

Well I could fall in love with him! (ooops, I alredy am! x) ) I think he's realy handsome, and even if he "laughs" in sirius moments it's just to ignore the mouth and look at the eyes.

Gwynplaine is beautiful on both the inside and on the outside!<3

[TheaterRaven]

Amen, TheWanderingchild, Amen!

[lilrowyravenclaw]

Oh, I know :) My first time watching this--he is such a handsome man!

[JESTER588]

2:31 LOL

[NullZer0]

LOL, like I haven't said that before!

[LikaLaruku]

Damn, that is one creepy old man.

[13manbearpig13]

LMAO at 2:31

[OldMovieDude]

In the background: 6:51-7:00; that gently rising hill can be seen in lots of Universal movies; famously at the start of Dracula. Also, in their B-westerns. Ive seen it on Universal City tour years ago. Right on the other side is the end of the studio backlot and then the freeway. I think a hotel is there now.

[thepratingknave]

Haha, way to kill the magic, OldMovieDude.

[FrauofGermany]

Gwynplaine may be scarred, but I think that smile's kinda cute...

[MadCapAithne]

@FrauofGermany That's what I thought. I wondered if people would think me nutters for thinking so XD

[Sotocron]

I want to own this movie where in the world can I buy this

[rebaisalovesponge]

you can rent it on netflix

[Riloproducciones]

awesome sets!!ç

[FilmTraum9a]

What a wonderful film!

[neddx]

"Why so serious?"

[Mality]

I've waited for years to see this. What a wonderful, timeless tale...one of the most beautiful films I've seen from ANY era!

[ZiggyShiv]

I'm so glad i found one corner of youtube that isn't over-run with childish bickering. i love this movie.

[Starcutter20]

back when people had little respect for cinema... the golden age.

[nutherefurlong]

This is wonderful, thank you for posting. It hits moods you rarely find in movies. Even among the strange moods that silent films bring, this film feels unique. The cinematography feels ahead of its time.

[axedrecista]

I saw this movie on tv (art channel), just curiosity, but it is good is like a dream, now i am watching it again.

[vidlovr]

young gwynplaine was such a sweet looking little boy.

[silhouetted321]

ForeignMathematics,

Actually Homo was a wolf, not a dog.)

[filmfanbjk]

I think it's wonderful that I can still enjoy true acting entertainment. Would that "YouTube" could only be for us cinemaphiles and not contain so much garbage. Any more treasures like this? This was terrific!

[ForiegnMathematics]

"Be quiet, Homo!" I loled at that.I think Ursus was talking to his dog though, right?

[theartdecohero]

Yea, that's the dog's name. Back when Latin was cool.

[zipgunonprade]

But... Homo is latin for 'same' right? So the wolf is called 'same?'

[theartdecohero]

Homo means "human".

[xtinared]

@zipgunonprade Homo means "hombre" for "human"... This is latin, dude.

[daniohs]

Oh my God, Dea and Gwyn are an adorable couple...

[TheaterRaven]

I agree. They're so cute, perfect for each other.

[daniohs]

Dude... :( This movie totally breaks my heart. That poor little boy!!!

[EmilyGreene1984]

Imagine the suffering, confusion, bitterness the character of little Gwynplaine must have felt and that he had very little to wear and no food and the very fact that despite of it all, he saves that poor little baby out of the kindness of his heart. :)

[Darthlongi]

so how does he get his face into a a smile?

[SpeedyTase]

Dental prosthetics. Hooks were placed on the prosthetics to push back and hold the corners of the mouths of the actors. Technicals ahead of its time.

[Dab137]

that must of killed

[startrek12156]

That's amazing, and creepy.

[SpeedyTase]

Yes, but at the same time, a cinematic classic!

It's available on Netflix.

[PC3900]

Lon Chaney used similar devices two years earlier in "London After Midnight".

[SpeedyTase]

Never heard of that movie, but I would love to see it :o)

[thepratingknave]

Oh, wouldn't we all?

Unfortunately, the only existing copy was destroyed in a fire in an MGM film vault in 1965.

TCM made a "reconstruction" of the film, but it's really just a bunch of publicity stills and intertitles and appropriate 'silent film music'. So, forty-five minutes of that. It's pretty depressing.

Well, the only *known* copy was destroyed, anyway. Who knows, there could be another hidden away in some miserly private collector's (hoarder's) vault, waiting to be discovered...

[Medusa0999]

Are you talking about the Lon C vampire flick?

[thepratingknave]

Medusa0999: Yeah, "London After Midnight".

I was responding to SpeedyTase's comment about wanting to see the film, but for some reason my comment's up here, so it seems disconnected.

Ah, Youtube issues.

[yohannbiimu]

Well, for the longest time it was thought that one-fourth of Fritz Lang's Metropolis was gone forever, and they found a copy of the complete, unedited film in Argentina not too long ago, so I hope you are right. BTW, I hope that they can make a watchable restoration of Metropolis using the missing elements from these reels along with the complete elements that we have now. I love that film.

[TheaterRaven]

Interestingly enough, if you didn't already know this, Lon Chaney was originally cast as Gwynplaine and already had started working on a makeup design, but his current contract at the time would not allow him to leave one studio to do a film for another, so that's when Conrad Veidt was brought in.

As much as I love, love, LOVE Conrad's Gwynplaine, I wonder what Lon would have done with the role . . .

[PC3900]

I hadn't heard this - I wonder if Universal used his design concepts (doubtful, because he was so secretive). As much as I love Chaney, I can't imagine anyone topping Veidt in this role. And Chaney NEVER got the girl in the end.

[praguephotog]

He did sometimes, but he was usually the tragic figure who never won over adversity.

[TheaterRaven]

Well, in the original Victor Hugo book, *Spoilers ahead* Gwynplaine didn't get the girl in the end, either. Well, he did, but in a "Romeo and Juliet" way; after being briefly reunited with Dea on the ship, just when it looks like they're going to live happily ever after, Dea unexpectedly dies and Gwynplaine is so distraught that he drowns himself.

And yes, I agree: It would be very hard to find an actor out there--especially a modern one--who could top Conrad, but I'm sure he's out there.

[Melloncollie1001]

how does the actor get his face into that smile or the character?

[michio]

i just found out what comprachicos were on wiki. And it is so horrible how they mold and disfigure inncoent chilren like that..the poor boys..:(

[darfunkel]

bill finger created the joker after seing a picture of the actor in this film

[Tibu127]

is....that Women...dead?

[evilmick66]

What was yer first clue, Sherlock?