Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:02,000
English Subtitles
by MrTriggerHappy~Karagarga
2
00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:07,211
Lon Chaney's make-up as the
Phantom of the Opera was so frightening
3
00:00:07,212 --> 00:00:10,236
that all photographs
were banned before the release.
4
00:00:11,180 --> 00:00:13,736
This made the kids flock to the movie
5
00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:18,235
eager, but somewhat nervous.
For there had never been anything like it.
6
00:00:18,236 --> 00:00:20,835
Edward Mountaine saw the film as a boy
7
00:00:20,836 --> 00:00:23,935
on its original release in 1925.
8
00:00:23,936 --> 00:00:26,478
There was one spot in the picture
9
00:00:26,479 --> 00:00:28,922
where Mary Philbin takes the mask off
10
00:00:28,923 --> 00:00:32,670
and the screen
is full of this horrible face.
11
00:00:32,671 --> 00:00:34,446
I saw the picture once
12
00:00:34,447 --> 00:00:36,488
and I almost ran out of the theater.
13
00:00:36,489 --> 00:00:39,968
but came back again
with a friend of mine, Russy McCord.
14
00:00:39,969 --> 00:00:44,019
And I started to build
this moment to Russy
15
00:00:44,020 --> 00:00:46,930
and he sat there and we waited
16
00:00:46,931 --> 00:00:48,972
and he said
how close are we to that moment?
17
00:00:48,973 --> 00:00:51,052
How close? Are we getting close? Close?
18
00:00:51,062 --> 00:00:52,799
And just as we got to it he says:
19
00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:55,700
"I've got to see my mother!"
and walked out the theater.
20
00:01:03,103 --> 00:01:05,678
Chaney frightened people, there's no
question about it.
21
00:01:05,679 --> 00:01:06,985
He was a genius.
22
00:02:17,885 --> 00:02:19,491
This man, Lon Chaney
23
00:02:19,492 --> 00:02:21,098
can best be described
24
00:02:21,099 --> 00:02:24,244
as someone who acted out our psyche.
25
00:02:24,245 --> 00:02:28,528
He somehow
got into the shadows inside our bodies.
26
00:02:28,529 --> 00:02:32,999
He was able
to nail down some of our secret fears
27
00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000
and put them on the screen.
28
00:02:35,138 --> 00:02:38,909
We would go wanting to be,
to have a hell-scare out of his movies
29
00:02:38,912 --> 00:02:40,849
and he usually accomplished it.
30
00:02:40,850 --> 00:02:44,162
We would always
tryd to pick a sit near the the front.
31
00:02:44,163 --> 00:02:47,577
So the image would be bigger
and would scare us more.
32
00:02:47,578 --> 00:02:50,623
You couldn't help but laugh
with Lon Chaney.
33
00:02:50,624 --> 00:02:53,000
I guess people don't realize that today.
34
00:02:53,001 --> 00:02:55,578
You know he, all the monsters and
35
00:02:55,579 --> 00:02:57,352
make-up he did all the time.
36
00:02:57,353 --> 00:03:01,033
But he was actually a very,
to me, a very happy
37
00:03:01,034 --> 00:03:02,708
old lucky man.
38
00:03:13,789 --> 00:03:15,495
"The Hunchback of the Notre Dame"
39
00:03:15,496 --> 00:03:18,541
and that wonderful make-up.
40
00:03:18,542 --> 00:03:22,727
And his stature,
it reminds me of a dancer.
41
00:03:22,728 --> 00:03:24,435
He just dances through things.
42
00:03:27,220 --> 00:03:31,932
Lon Chaney was remarkable
and then he did his own make-up.
43
00:03:31,933 --> 00:03:34,107
If he had lived he probably,
44
00:03:34,108 --> 00:03:36,517
to my mind, would've played Frankenstein
45
00:03:36,518 --> 00:03:39,765
and would've been Dracula
and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
46
00:03:39,865 --> 00:03:44,283
But Chaney was a great deal more
than a make-up artist.
47
00:03:44,284 --> 00:03:47,898
He was a,
he was an actor of great power,
48
00:03:47,899 --> 00:03:50,410
enormous eloquence.
49
00:03:50,411 --> 00:03:54,293
Certainly,
I've never heard a tribute to Chaney
50
00:03:54,294 --> 00:03:57,809
of anything like the dimensions he deserve.
51
00:03:57,909 --> 00:04:00,451
Chaney's career
has obsessed another make-up man.
52
00:04:00,452 --> 00:04:02,360
No less than three books
53
00:04:02,361 --> 00:04:05,573
have been written about him
by a Hollywood make-up expert,
54
00:04:05,574 --> 00:04:08,318
who spent 25 years on the task.
55
00:04:08,319 --> 00:04:10,295
Michael F. Blake.
56
00:04:10,296 --> 00:04:15,217
My first taste of Chaney
was watching a very snowy print
57
00:04:15,218 --> 00:04:18,263
on public television station
watching "Shadows".
58
00:04:18,264 --> 00:04:21,114
And I was about 12 years old at the time.
59
00:04:22,616 --> 00:04:25,159
But somehow someway
that marvelous word we call
60
00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:29,075
Charisma and chemistry with the camera,
61
00:04:29,076 --> 00:04:34,129
he just reached out and I got hooked.
62
00:04:34,130 --> 00:04:37,276
What's amazing
is people think today that Lon Chaney
63
00:04:37,277 --> 00:04:39,586
is a horror actor.
64
00:04:39,587 --> 00:04:42,499
But Chaney wasn't just a horror actor.
65
00:04:42,500 --> 00:04:44,138
Now, he could play anything.
66
00:04:44,139 --> 00:04:46,783
He was Hollywood's first character star.
67
00:05:05,302 --> 00:05:07,303
Chaney gave such life and depth
68
00:05:07,304 --> 00:05:09,205
to his characterizations
69
00:05:09,206 --> 00:05:12,211
that his films are invariably more
than just melodramas.
70
00:05:12,311 --> 00:05:15,115
The was a scene in "The Shock"
71
00:05:15,116 --> 00:05:17,284
where he's sitting in his wheelchair
72
00:05:17,285 --> 00:05:20,489
and he thinks he has injured his girlfriend
73
00:05:20,490 --> 00:05:22,292
and she's being taken away
74
00:05:22,293 --> 00:05:25,663
and the expression on his face
75
00:05:25,664 --> 00:05:27,732
It was so, so sad
76
00:05:27,733 --> 00:05:30,437
it said everything.
77
00:05:30,438 --> 00:05:33,941
It said sorrow, regret, pity. Everything.
78
00:05:33,942 --> 00:05:37,947
After that, every afflicted person,
every cripple
79
00:05:37,948 --> 00:05:42,320
has been special to me, because of Lon.
80
00:05:49,300 --> 00:05:51,768
I think he tried to convey that,
81
00:05:51,769 --> 00:05:55,407
no matter how bad a person is,
82
00:05:55,408 --> 00:05:57,745
no matter how bad a villain he is,
83
00:05:57,746 --> 00:06:00,382
there's always some good in him.
84
00:06:01,882 --> 00:06:03,885
One or two of his performances
85
00:06:03,886 --> 00:06:05,621
may seem old fashioned now,
86
00:06:05,622 --> 00:06:07,924
but most are
as realistic as Humphrey Bogart,
87
00:06:07,925 --> 00:06:10,061
who he sometimes resembles.
88
00:06:10,062 --> 00:06:12,098
Yet he is remembered mainly for the fact
89
00:06:12,099 --> 00:06:13,834
that he frightened people.
90
00:06:15,738 --> 00:06:20,075
¶ Lon Chaney's gonna get you ¶
91
00:06:20,076 --> 00:06:22,213
¶ if you don't watch out ¶
92
00:06:28,790 --> 00:06:32,626
Colorado Springs
is now a modern industrial town
93
00:06:32,627 --> 00:06:34,762
of 300.000.
94
00:06:34,763 --> 00:06:38,469
When Leonidas Chaney
was born there in 1883,
95
00:06:38,470 --> 00:06:42,008
the population was a mere 6,000.
96
00:06:42,009 --> 00:06:45,346
In this colorful mining town,
his maternal grandparents
97
00:06:45,347 --> 00:06:47,283
had founded a school for the deaf which
98
00:06:47,284 --> 00:06:48,919
is still there today.
99
00:06:51,491 --> 00:06:53,357
His parents were deaf-mutes.
100
00:06:53,358 --> 00:06:55,328
Frank had met his mother, Emma
101
00:06:55,329 --> 00:06:57,531
when she was working at the deaf school
102
00:06:57,532 --> 00:06:59,467
and they settled in the town.
103
00:06:59,468 --> 00:07:03,272
Years later, when Frank Chaney
had moved to Los Angeles,
104
00:07:03,273 --> 00:07:05,442
he lived in this house
opposite of Malcolm Sebastian.
105
00:07:05,443 --> 00:07:07,778
A child actor in silent comedies.
106
00:07:07,779 --> 00:07:10,549
Lon Chaney
used to visit Malcolm at the studio
107
00:07:10,550 --> 00:07:13,253
and watch him work because the boy
108
00:07:13,254 --> 00:07:16,158
was friendly with his step-mother,
Cora, also a deaf-mute.
109
00:07:16,159 --> 00:07:18,026
I liked it very much.
110
00:07:18,027 --> 00:07:20,196
I got started going over there
111
00:07:20,197 --> 00:07:22,600
when the other kids wouldn't go over there.
112
00:07:22,601 --> 00:07:24,436
Because they were afraid of her.
113
00:07:24,437 --> 00:07:27,674
She was some kind of a,
excuse the expression,
114
00:07:27,675 --> 00:07:29,177
a monster.
115
00:07:29,178 --> 00:07:31,882
And they would stand around on the side
116
00:07:31,883 --> 00:07:34,452
looking around the trees at her
117
00:07:34,453 --> 00:07:37,589
and everything, but,
118
00:07:37,590 --> 00:07:39,626
I was curious.
119
00:07:39,627 --> 00:07:41,161
I wandered up there
120
00:07:41,162 --> 00:07:42,830
on to the porch
121
00:07:42,831 --> 00:07:44,433
and she'd go in the house
122
00:07:44,434 --> 00:07:46,736
and come back out with a cookie.
123
00:07:46,737 --> 00:07:48,439
Several times he was over there and
124
00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,275
he'd have a cookie
along with us so I believe
125
00:07:50,276 --> 00:07:52,510
he came down to the studio,
126
00:07:52,511 --> 00:07:56,349
because I cared for his step-mother.
127
00:07:56,350 --> 00:07:58,486
Lon Chaney always said
128
00:07:58,487 --> 00:08:00,688
his childhood was reasonably happy.
129
00:08:00,689 --> 00:08:03,025
But he had a difficult time.
130
00:08:03,026 --> 00:08:04,728
Well, the first part of his life,
131
00:08:04,729 --> 00:08:06,430
from what I understand,
132
00:08:06,431 --> 00:08:08,066
has been passed down through the family.
133
00:08:08,067 --> 00:08:09,801
He didn't speak
134
00:08:09,802 --> 00:08:11,706
for the first several years of his life.
135
00:08:11,707 --> 00:08:14,042
Because he grew up in this world of silence
136
00:08:14,043 --> 00:08:16,178
outside of a, you know,
137
00:08:16,179 --> 00:08:18,515
the children,
138
00:08:18,516 --> 00:08:20,620
the children
didn't have any affliction as far as
139
00:08:20,621 --> 00:08:22,621
deafness goes.
140
00:08:22,622 --> 00:08:27,194
So, the noise around the house
was only by the children.
141
00:08:27,195 --> 00:08:29,432
The parents were quite silent.
142
00:08:29,433 --> 00:08:32,970
Lon Chaney's education
at the Lincoln school
143
00:08:32,971 --> 00:08:35,039
came to an abrupt end when he was only 9.
144
00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:36,541
His mother fell ill.
145
00:08:36,542 --> 00:08:38,845
The family was living in this house
146
00:08:38,846 --> 00:08:40,514
on West Bijou street.
147
00:08:40,515 --> 00:08:42,950
And Lon had to look after
his brother and sister,
148
00:08:42,951 --> 00:08:44,654
but above all, his mother.
149
00:08:44,655 --> 00:08:47,791
Due to the fact
that she had rheumatism
150
00:08:47,792 --> 00:08:50,093
and not only she was bedridden,
151
00:08:50,094 --> 00:08:54,201
but she can no longer
use her hands for sign language.
152
00:08:54,202 --> 00:08:57,205
So, their only contact
was through the eyes.
153
00:08:57,206 --> 00:09:00,944
Growing up in a deaf family
was probably one of the best
154
00:09:02,513 --> 00:09:05,384
training grounds for Chaney.
155
00:09:05,385 --> 00:09:09,156
Because as the deaf people say,
he had a "Deaf Face".
156
00:09:09,157 --> 00:09:12,228
You use your whole body,
you use your face,
157
00:09:12,229 --> 00:09:13,664
your hand,
158
00:09:13,665 --> 00:09:15,566
you communicate everything,
159
00:09:15,567 --> 00:09:18,270
because you don't have
the ability to speak or hear.
160
00:09:18,271 --> 00:09:19,738
At the opera house
161
00:09:19,739 --> 00:09:21,373
his older brother was a stage hand
162
00:09:21,374 --> 00:09:23,176
and Lon joined him in 1902.
163
00:09:23,177 --> 00:09:24,545
It was here
164
00:09:24,546 --> 00:09:26,715
that he first began to act.
165
00:09:26,716 --> 00:09:28,985
"As a comedian, he is irresistible",
166
00:09:28,986 --> 00:09:32,591
said his first review,
which also praised his dancing.
167
00:09:32,592 --> 00:09:35,895
He toured the mid-west
in one night stands.
168
00:09:35,896 --> 00:09:38,031
In 1905, he reached Oklahoma city
169
00:09:38,032 --> 00:09:40,068
and met a 15 year old singer
170
00:09:40,069 --> 00:09:44,474
who came to an audition
and ended up marrying him.
171
00:09:44,475 --> 00:09:46,676
Cleva Creighton
wanted to become a dancer
172
00:09:46,677 --> 00:09:48,211
but couldn't dance,
173
00:09:48,212 --> 00:09:50,014
and Chaney did his best to teach her.
174
00:09:50,015 --> 00:09:51,885
They went on tour together.
175
00:09:51,886 --> 00:09:53,620
Before they knew it,
176
00:09:53,621 --> 00:09:55,990
they had to return to Oklahoma city
177
00:09:55,991 --> 00:09:58,193
because she became pregnant.
178
00:09:58,194 --> 00:10:00,899
And the birth of my grandfather
179
00:10:00,900 --> 00:10:02,368
whose real name...
180
00:10:02,369 --> 00:10:04,570
most people known as Lon Chaney Jr.
181
00:10:04,571 --> 00:10:06,606
his real name is Creighton Chaney.
182
00:10:06,607 --> 00:10:10,980
He was born on February 10th, 1906.
183
00:10:10,981 --> 00:10:16,120
I was born dead.
I was born black and dead.
184
00:10:16,121 --> 00:10:19,291
My father happened to be the mid-wife.
185
00:10:19,292 --> 00:10:25,900
My poor mother
gave birth to me at seven months.
186
00:10:25,901 --> 00:10:30,708
Well, dad not knowing what to do better
187
00:10:30,709 --> 00:10:33,213
took me outside,
188
00:10:33,214 --> 00:10:35,515
this was in February, imagine,
189
00:10:35,516 --> 00:10:38,252
in Oklahoma it's very cold.
190
00:10:38,253 --> 00:10:40,656
He took me outside
191
00:10:40,657 --> 00:10:43,660
to the edge of the lake,
cracked the ice,
192
00:10:43,661 --> 00:10:47,365
dumped me in and brought me to life.
193
00:10:47,366 --> 00:10:50,239
Until the baby was strong enough,
194
00:10:50,240 --> 00:10:52,342
Chaney took a job
at the furniture store,
195
00:10:52,343 --> 00:10:54,277
then returned to the theater.
196
00:10:54,278 --> 00:10:58,518
These barnstorming tours
that they would go out on
197
00:10:58,519 --> 00:11:02,189
sometimes and often went broke
when they were out on the road.
198
00:11:02,190 --> 00:11:06,495
So, not only did they
not get paid for their performances,
199
00:11:06,496 --> 00:11:08,497
they had no money to get back home.
200
00:11:08,498 --> 00:11:11,769
If you had a nickel,
you could buy a beer and
201
00:11:11,770 --> 00:11:15,007
that would entitle you
to go to the free lunch
202
00:11:15,008 --> 00:11:16,843
and have all you wished.
203
00:11:16,844 --> 00:11:19,781
Well, while dad was getting his beer,
204
00:11:19,782 --> 00:11:22,582
I'd go down
and get underneath the free lunch.
205
00:11:24,290 --> 00:11:27,559
Of course I wasn't tall enough
to come above the counter
206
00:11:27,560 --> 00:11:29,995
and the bar tender couldn't see me.
207
00:11:29,996 --> 00:11:33,200
So, dad would get his beer
and instead of drinking it,
208
00:11:33,201 --> 00:11:35,202
he would take his time and
209
00:11:35,203 --> 00:11:37,206
come down to the free lunch.
210
00:11:37,207 --> 00:11:40,044
And then he'd start
making big sandwiches,
211
00:11:40,045 --> 00:11:41,680
such sandwiches,
212
00:11:41,681 --> 00:11:43,984
and he'd act like he was gonna eat it but
213
00:11:43,985 --> 00:11:46,787
then he'd hand them down
underneath, like that.
214
00:11:46,788 --> 00:11:50,359
I'd grab them, into the pocket.
215
00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,932
We did this as long as we dared.
Till the pockets were bulging.
216
00:11:54,933 --> 00:11:56,335
Then we'd leave.
217
00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,509
When he did get work,
Chaney not only acted,
218
00:12:01,510 --> 00:12:03,143
he was choreographer
wardrobe supervisor,
219
00:12:03,144 --> 00:12:05,848
and stage manager.
220
00:12:05,849 --> 00:12:10,454
But the marriage was in danger
by Cleva's fractiousness.
221
00:12:10,455 --> 00:12:13,993
Cleva was very headstrong,
and so was Lon.
222
00:12:13,994 --> 00:12:15,996
Jealousy is aroused,
223
00:12:15,997 --> 00:12:19,867
so he was teaching
224
00:12:19,868 --> 00:12:22,203
ballet dances and working
with the female roles as well.
225
00:12:22,204 --> 00:12:23,439
So, I'm sure
226
00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:25,476
lots of misunderstandings.
227
00:12:25,477 --> 00:12:28,513
And by the time
they came out to Los Angeles,
228
00:12:28,514 --> 00:12:31,720
Cleva was still performing with him
in various shows,
229
00:12:31,721 --> 00:12:34,356
but then she started to branch out.
230
00:12:34,357 --> 00:12:37,930
She took a singing job
at one of the local cabarets
231
00:12:37,931 --> 00:12:39,332
in Los Angeles,
232
00:12:39,333 --> 00:12:41,501
and she became very, very popular.
233
00:12:41,502 --> 00:12:43,805
More so than Chaney.
234
00:12:43,806 --> 00:12:45,942
And that caused a lot of problems,
235
00:12:45,943 --> 00:12:47,844
as well as with the facts that,
236
00:12:47,845 --> 00:12:50,381
in order to be very popular
with a cabaret crowd
237
00:12:50,382 --> 00:12:52,785
a woman would have to sit at the table
238
00:12:52,786 --> 00:12:54,888
with whoever was there
and share drinks,
239
00:12:54,889 --> 00:12:57,391
and obviously there were
a lot of well-dressed men
240
00:12:57,392 --> 00:12:59,727
and a lot of drinks going around,
241
00:12:59,728 --> 00:13:03,933
and unfortunately she developed
a very bad habit of drinking.
242
00:13:03,934 --> 00:13:06,036
When Chaney prepared to leave
243
00:13:06,037 --> 00:13:07,504
with the "Kolb & Dill" company,
244
00:13:07,505 --> 00:13:09,175
they had a furious argument about
245
00:13:09,176 --> 00:13:10,443
who was to look after Creighton.
246
00:13:10,444 --> 00:13:12,812
Cleva refused.
247
00:13:12,813 --> 00:13:15,383
She'd been on some various medicines
248
00:13:15,384 --> 00:13:17,986
that were prescribed
for her nerves at the time
249
00:13:17,987 --> 00:13:19,658
and she went,
250
00:13:19,659 --> 00:13:21,828
I think they couldn't resolve it,
251
00:13:21,829 --> 00:13:24,364
they separated for a time
before this event took place
252
00:13:24,365 --> 00:13:25,967
and tried to reconcile.
253
00:13:25,968 --> 00:13:28,236
So, after she finished her show,
254
00:13:28,237 --> 00:13:30,273
she walked over
255
00:13:30,274 --> 00:13:33,311
to the Majestic Theater
in downtown Los Angeles,
256
00:13:33,312 --> 00:13:35,713
and standing
in the wings of the theater,
257
00:13:35,714 --> 00:13:38,117
swallowed a vial of bichloride mercury.
258
00:13:38,118 --> 00:13:39,953
It didn't kill her,
259
00:13:39,954 --> 00:13:42,156
but it did kill her singing career.
260
00:13:42,157 --> 00:13:45,862
And they separated in May, after Chaney
261
00:13:45,863 --> 00:13:48,431
was assured that she would survive.
262
00:13:48,432 --> 00:13:51,604
After the separation,
the Chaneys were divorced.
263
00:13:51,605 --> 00:13:55,075
And Lon never met
or spoke about Cleva again.
264
00:13:55,076 --> 00:13:58,546
Once the newspapers
printed details of the scandal,
265
00:13:58,547 --> 00:14:00,715
Chaney could not stay in the theater.
266
00:14:00,716 --> 00:14:03,688
He was forced into
the moving picture business.
267
00:14:03,689 --> 00:14:06,925
By coincidence, one of his early films
268
00:14:06,926 --> 00:14:08,627
shows him as a reporter.
269
00:14:08,628 --> 00:14:12,436
Working for
a sensation hungry newspaper.
270
00:14:15,808 --> 00:14:17,709
He comes to the aid of a girl reporter,
271
00:14:17,710 --> 00:14:21,015
upset at orders
to ruin a woman's reputation.
272
00:14:24,420 --> 00:14:26,589
Chaney helps her to save it.
273
00:14:29,794 --> 00:14:32,396
His earliest films
ere made at the first studio
274
00:14:32,397 --> 00:14:34,099
to open in Hollywood.
275
00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:35,935
Nestor at Sunset and Gower.
276
00:14:35,936 --> 00:14:37,570
He began as an extra,
277
00:14:37,571 --> 00:14:40,174
but soon won more substantial parts.
278
00:14:40,175 --> 00:14:42,745
Here, with Agnes Vernon,
279
00:14:42,746 --> 00:14:44,346
he stages a rape-scene,
280
00:14:44,347 --> 00:14:46,150
which was
alarmingly realistic for 1914.
281
00:15:00,340 --> 00:15:03,910
Universal moved out
to the San Fernando valley.
282
00:15:03,911 --> 00:15:07,347
And in 1915,
a much bigger studio was opened.
283
00:15:07,348 --> 00:15:09,517
Universal City.
284
00:15:09,518 --> 00:15:11,487
Chaney became one of hundreds of actors
285
00:15:11,488 --> 00:15:12,956
trying to get work,
286
00:15:12,957 --> 00:15:14,557
but he had the edge on the rest because
287
00:15:14,558 --> 00:15:16,226
of his skills with make-up.
288
00:15:16,227 --> 00:15:18,931
This was the make-up case
he used at Universal.
289
00:15:18,932 --> 00:15:20,834
It was an ordinary lunch box,
290
00:15:20,835 --> 00:15:25,240
But out of it, Chaney
conjured an extraordinary gallery.
291
00:15:25,241 --> 00:15:27,577
He had his make-ups photographed
292
00:15:27,578 --> 00:15:30,314
so that he could judge
what worked and what didn't
293
00:15:30,315 --> 00:15:31,783
on film.
294
00:15:36,926 --> 00:15:39,628
These were stills
Chaney sent home to his brother.
295
00:15:39,629 --> 00:15:42,364
Sometimes he was recognizable,
296
00:15:42,365 --> 00:15:45,769
but often he had to indicate
which part he played.
297
00:15:45,770 --> 00:15:48,774
"I was playing a wild man."
298
00:15:50,847 --> 00:15:53,181
"This is me, just below the X sign."
299
00:15:53,182 --> 00:15:55,585
"Here I am a Russian prince."
300
00:16:01,450 --> 00:16:03,616
The films from Chaney's early career
301
00:16:03,617 --> 00:16:06,018
were almost all destroyed by Universal
302
00:16:06,019 --> 00:16:07,688
to recover the silver.
303
00:16:07,689 --> 00:16:10,058
Of a 110 films he made for the studio,
304
00:16:10,059 --> 00:16:12,626
only 4 exist complete.
305
00:16:12,627 --> 00:16:14,962
Those that survived
are often ravaged copies,
306
00:16:14,963 --> 00:16:17,898
too shrunk sometimes
to go through a printer.
307
00:16:17,899 --> 00:16:22,503
But archives and collectors
struggle to save what they can.
308
00:16:22,504 --> 00:16:24,505
The National Film Archive in London
309
00:16:24,506 --> 00:16:25,840
saved this earliest example
310
00:16:25,841 --> 00:16:28,243
of Chaney playing two roles.
311
00:16:28,244 --> 00:16:29,711
Both hunchbacks.
312
00:16:29,712 --> 00:16:32,279
One in a vision,
313
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,152
the other in reality. A fisherman.
314
00:16:36,153 --> 00:16:38,990
A collector in England
rescued this film,
315
00:16:38,991 --> 00:16:41,692
which displays
the beauty of Chaney's movements,
316
00:16:41,693 --> 00:16:44,496
even if the acting style
belongs to the stage.
317
00:16:59,512 --> 00:17:02,614
It contains the only
surviving shot of Chaney dancing.
318
00:17:02,615 --> 00:17:05,950
All too brief.
319
00:17:05,951 --> 00:17:09,655
Chaney was taken out
by the director Joseph De Grasse,
320
00:17:09,656 --> 00:17:13,425
and his wife Ida May Park,
also a director.
321
00:17:13,426 --> 00:17:15,962
De Grasse encouraged Chaney
to develop his ability
322
00:17:15,963 --> 00:17:17,730
with bizarre characters,
323
00:17:17,731 --> 00:17:20,666
and together
the team made more than 60 pictures.
324
00:17:20,667 --> 00:17:24,105
During this period
Chaney began directing films himself,
325
00:17:24,106 --> 00:17:26,139
and even tried script-writing.
326
00:17:26,140 --> 00:17:28,308
But he wasn't allowed
to carry out his ideas,
327
00:17:28,309 --> 00:17:30,546
so he returned to acting.
328
00:17:30,547 --> 00:17:32,713
In "The Scarlet Car",
329
00:17:32,714 --> 00:17:34,583
directed by De Grasse, Chaney plays an
330
00:17:34,584 --> 00:17:36,718
elderly bank teller
who catches his employers
331
00:17:36,719 --> 00:17:38,221
cooking the books.
332
00:17:52,737 --> 00:17:54,437
Chaney had married Hazel Hastings
333
00:17:54,438 --> 00:17:56,138
while he was at Universal.
334
00:17:56,139 --> 00:17:58,108
Creighton came home from boarding school
335
00:17:58,109 --> 00:17:59,509
to live with them.
336
00:17:59,510 --> 00:18:01,177
Hazel persuaded Lon to
337
00:18:01,178 --> 00:18:03,079
ask Universal for a raise.
338
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:06,950
He had asked for a $125 a week
and a five year contract.
339
00:18:06,951 --> 00:18:08,485
And the studio manager,
340
00:18:08,486 --> 00:18:10,720
William Sistrom, refused.
341
00:18:10,721 --> 00:18:12,623
He says: "You're never gonna
342
00:18:12,624 --> 00:18:14,226
worth more than a $100 a week."
343
00:18:14,227 --> 00:18:17,527
He left, but outside Universal
344
00:18:17,528 --> 00:18:20,867
he endured weeks of unemployment.
345
00:18:20,868 --> 00:18:24,304
His career was saved
by western star William S. Hart,
346
00:18:24,305 --> 00:18:27,974
who gave him
an important part in a film now lost.
347
00:18:27,975 --> 00:18:32,347
This surviving scene
came from the archive in Moscow.
348
00:18:36,184 --> 00:18:39,318
Chaney came to public notice
and began to get work.
349
00:18:39,319 --> 00:18:42,457
He was even employed
back at Universal with a director
350
00:18:42,458 --> 00:18:43,925
called Tod Browning.
351
00:18:46,429 --> 00:18:48,662
Browning was
one of the most remarkable directors of
352
00:18:48,663 --> 00:18:50,265
the silent era.
353
00:18:50,266 --> 00:18:53,301
A former carnival barker,
he revealed an obsession
354
00:18:53,302 --> 00:18:54,970
for the morbid and bizarre.
355
00:18:54,971 --> 00:18:56,939
He created disturbing dramas
356
00:18:56,940 --> 00:18:59,341
the stories of which
he often wrote himself.
357
00:19:02,180 --> 00:19:04,980
His collaboration with Chaney
began with this picture,
358
00:19:04,981 --> 00:19:06,950
long considered lost.
359
00:19:12,525 --> 00:19:16,361
He presented the underworld
with an uncompromising toughness.
360
00:19:16,362 --> 00:19:18,464
He never allowed his characters
to look like actors.
361
00:19:20,936 --> 00:19:22,900
Here he signals to his audience
362
00:19:22,901 --> 00:19:25,304
that Priscilla Dean
is playing a street worker
363
00:19:25,305 --> 00:19:28,806
having trouble with her shoes.
364
00:19:28,807 --> 00:19:30,877
He throws in a dope addict.
365
00:19:41,922 --> 00:19:43,722
Chaney and Priscilla Dean
366
00:19:43,723 --> 00:19:46,225
played
hard-bitten characters who don't care
367
00:19:46,226 --> 00:19:48,293
if the audience thinks them obnoxious.
368
00:19:48,294 --> 00:19:50,797
This was startling at the time.
369
00:20:06,649 --> 00:20:09,218
But it was "The Miracle Man" that
370
00:20:09,219 --> 00:20:12,655
made Chaney Hollywood's
most outstanding character actor.
371
00:20:12,656 --> 00:20:15,459
He played one of four crooks
who tried to cash in on
372
00:20:15,460 --> 00:20:17,461
a series of apparent miracles,
373
00:20:17,462 --> 00:20:19,529
performed by a blind faith-healer.
374
00:20:19,530 --> 00:20:23,433
Director George Loane Tucker
wanted a real contortionist,
375
00:20:23,434 --> 00:20:26,035
but none of those he found could act.
376
00:20:26,036 --> 00:20:28,138
Chaney did a test so convincingly,
377
00:20:28,139 --> 00:20:30,574
Tucker was shaking.
378
00:20:30,575 --> 00:20:33,210
Everyone used to say
Chaney was contortionist
379
00:20:33,211 --> 00:20:35,345
or he was double-jointed.
It's not true.
380
00:20:35,346 --> 00:20:39,185
If you really watch
the healing sequence,
381
00:20:39,186 --> 00:20:41,318
when he comes up and
382
00:20:41,319 --> 00:20:44,189
he'll do like
the hand will snap out like this,
383
00:20:46,661 --> 00:20:49,398
or he'll snap the joints like this,
384
00:20:51,867 --> 00:20:53,399
it's all acting.
385
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,270
It's all just acting.
386
00:20:59,176 --> 00:21:01,243
In the story, Chaney pretends to be
387
00:21:01,244 --> 00:21:03,045
a crippled begger
388
00:21:03,046 --> 00:21:04,979
in the process
of being cured by the faith-healer.
389
00:21:04,980 --> 00:21:07,317
The crooks ready
to fleece a gullible public.
390
00:21:42,990 --> 00:21:45,993
Then, a real miracle occurs.
391
00:22:15,692 --> 00:22:17,825
"The Miracle Man" was
392
00:22:17,826 --> 00:22:19,661
Paramount's
biggest money maker of the year
393
00:22:19,662 --> 00:22:21,529
and a tremendous hit for Chaney.
394
00:22:24,701 --> 00:22:28,102
Chaney's fame
brought him no leading man parts,
395
00:22:28,103 --> 00:22:29,738
but more character roles.
396
00:22:29,739 --> 00:22:31,708
Here he plays a Canadian trapper
397
00:22:31,709 --> 00:22:33,644
supposedly lost in the mountains.
398
00:22:36,516 --> 00:22:38,349
Chaney loved the mountains
399
00:22:38,350 --> 00:22:41,353
and location trips like this
were a holiday for him.
400
00:22:49,629 --> 00:22:53,299
In this minor film,
he plays opposite Betty Blythe.
401
00:23:11,788 --> 00:23:14,154
"The Penalty"
is a forgotten masterpiece.
402
00:23:14,155 --> 00:23:17,355
So brutal,
that protests appeared in the press.
403
00:23:17,356 --> 00:23:20,162
Based on a novel by Gouverneur Morris,
404
00:23:20,163 --> 00:23:22,497
It was hardly the sort of film
405
00:23:22,498 --> 00:23:25,666
when associate with the age of innocence.
406
00:23:25,667 --> 00:23:27,568
"The Penalty" had the censors running
407
00:23:27,569 --> 00:23:29,570
for their scissors as quick as they could.
408
00:23:29,571 --> 00:23:31,739
I mean you had a dope fiend,
409
00:23:31,740 --> 00:23:33,543
you had a murder,
410
00:23:33,544 --> 00:23:35,244
you had a naked model
411
00:23:35,245 --> 00:23:37,246
and you had this character who wants to
412
00:23:37,247 --> 00:23:39,415
cut off another man's legs and
413
00:23:39,416 --> 00:23:41,584
have them grafted onto his own.
414
00:23:41,585 --> 00:23:44,787
You watch it today and you say,
it's a really powerful film.
415
00:23:44,788 --> 00:23:46,689
Back then Variety said:
416
00:23:46,690 --> 00:23:48,624
"Here's a film as cheerful as a hanging."
417
00:24:08,781 --> 00:24:10,684
Chaney plays Blizzard,
418
00:24:10,685 --> 00:24:13,820
a gangster whose legs were amputated
when he was a boy
419
00:24:13,821 --> 00:24:15,388
by this girl's father.
420
00:24:24,867 --> 00:24:27,868
For Chaney seen here
with writer Gouverneur Morris,
421
00:24:27,869 --> 00:24:31,771
this was as important a role as
"The Miracle Man".
422
00:24:31,772 --> 00:24:34,208
Everything he trained for,
423
00:24:34,209 --> 00:24:36,175
everything that he was,
424
00:24:36,176 --> 00:24:38,880
that he learned throughout the years,
425
00:24:38,881 --> 00:24:40,283
came through in this part.
426
00:24:51,195 --> 00:24:54,664
Chaney actually
strapped his legs behind him,
427
00:24:54,665 --> 00:24:57,667
walked on his knees
428
00:24:57,668 --> 00:24:59,603
and refused to do trick-angles.
429
00:25:02,107 --> 00:25:04,474
This is
the back of the jacket of the costume
430
00:25:04,475 --> 00:25:06,178
for "The Penalty".
431
00:25:06,179 --> 00:25:08,712
You'll notice
the lower portion here of the jacket
432
00:25:08,713 --> 00:25:11,949
is very long,
much longer than in the front
433
00:25:11,950 --> 00:25:13,883
and has a wider swoop in the back.
434
00:25:13,884 --> 00:25:15,554
This was designed so that Chaney
435
00:25:15,555 --> 00:25:17,589
could hide his bent up legs
436
00:25:17,590 --> 00:25:21,860
and still appear like
a real double amputee to the audience.
437
00:25:21,861 --> 00:25:26,397
Chaney put his bent up legs
into these leather stumps
438
00:25:26,398 --> 00:25:29,768
and then
the oversized pants and the oversized coat
439
00:25:29,769 --> 00:25:31,204
completed the effect.
440
00:25:31,205 --> 00:25:33,972
The pain was so intense,
441
00:25:33,973 --> 00:25:36,741
that Chaney
could only stand wearing the stumps
442
00:25:36,742 --> 00:25:39,177
for 10, 20 minutes at the time.
443
00:25:39,178 --> 00:25:42,148
Blizzard takes his revenge.
444
00:25:42,149 --> 00:25:44,418
He plans
to have this young doctor's legs removed
445
00:25:44,419 --> 00:25:46,521
in an underground operating theater.
446
00:25:58,671 --> 00:26:00,903
Fascinated by the criminal mind,
447
00:26:00,904 --> 00:26:03,773
Chaney wrote articles on prison reform.
448
00:26:03,774 --> 00:26:06,976
He paid visits
to the underworld as an observer.
449
00:26:06,977 --> 00:26:10,246
He was aided by law enforcement officers
like William J. Burns,
450
00:26:10,247 --> 00:26:12,414
here visitng Chaney and Tod Browning
451
00:26:12,415 --> 00:26:15,017
on the set of "Outside the Law".
452
00:26:15,018 --> 00:26:18,954
"Outside the Law" has to be
453
00:26:18,955 --> 00:26:21,691
a turning point
in the Chaney/Browning collaboration.
454
00:26:21,692 --> 00:26:25,263
He plays the gangster Black Mike Sylva.
455
00:26:25,264 --> 00:26:27,632
He's vicious,
he's terrible, he's villainous.
456
00:26:27,633 --> 00:26:30,868
He's also got
a real interesting streak about him.
457
00:26:30,869 --> 00:26:33,703
Chaney would do
certain things with his character.
458
00:26:33,704 --> 00:26:36,910
I remember once discussing
this movie with a friend of mine.
459
00:26:36,911 --> 00:26:40,113
who had seen it as a young boy and
460
00:26:40,114 --> 00:26:42,549
after I told him I had seen it, he said:
461
00:26:42,550 --> 00:26:45,218
"Did it still have the scene
where he picks up the tip?"
462
00:26:45,219 --> 00:26:47,487
There's a scene in the movie
463
00:26:47,488 --> 00:26:50,858
where they are plotting to set up a murder
464
00:26:50,859 --> 00:26:54,127
and so, Chaney's the last to leave
465
00:26:54,128 --> 00:26:56,863
and he pauses for a second,
he looks down at the table,
466
00:26:56,864 --> 00:26:59,032
he picks up the tip and he pockets it.
467
00:26:59,033 --> 00:27:02,001
I mean, it's a little piece of business,
468
00:27:02,002 --> 00:27:03,838
it doesn't mean anything really,
469
00:27:03,839 --> 00:27:05,774
but speaks volumes of the character
470
00:27:05,775 --> 00:27:07,374
and then you look at
471
00:27:07,375 --> 00:27:10,011
what Browning
did with the Chinese character.
472
00:27:10,012 --> 00:27:11,780
He had nothing to do with the story,
473
00:27:11,781 --> 00:27:16,451
the Ah Wing character that Chaney plays
474
00:27:16,452 --> 00:27:18,487
doesn't advance the story whatsoever.
475
00:27:18,488 --> 00:27:21,556
But Browning realized
this was a good piece for Chaney
476
00:27:21,557 --> 00:27:24,560
and if you compare his performance
477
00:27:24,561 --> 00:27:27,097
to the man
who plays Chang Lo in the film,
478
00:27:27,098 --> 00:27:28,731
who's another Caucasian actor,
479
00:27:28,732 --> 00:27:31,335
Chaney is more Chinese
480
00:27:31,336 --> 00:27:34,873
than any other Caucasian actor around.
481
00:27:34,874 --> 00:27:37,442
It was courageous to make this film,
482
00:27:37,443 --> 00:27:40,645
because of the widespread prejudice
against the Chinese.
483
00:27:40,646 --> 00:27:44,048
They were really reviled,
484
00:27:44,049 --> 00:27:46,085
hated,
485
00:27:46,086 --> 00:27:48,454
terribly mistreated,
486
00:27:48,455 --> 00:27:52,257
and there were even lynchings
487
00:27:52,258 --> 00:27:56,227
if anyone tried to speak up or protest.
488
00:27:56,228 --> 00:27:58,797
There has been a wreck
489
00:27:58,798 --> 00:28:01,167
off the New England sea port of Urkey
490
00:28:01,168 --> 00:28:03,804
and among the survivors
there's a Chinese cook
491
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,180
I remember how completely
492
00:28:44,181 --> 00:28:46,282
Lon Chaney was in the role.
493
00:28:46,283 --> 00:28:48,952
And I remember the,
like the way he walked,
494
00:28:48,953 --> 00:28:50,956
as if his feet had been
bounded or something.
495
00:28:50,957 --> 00:28:52,756
He had a little,
496
00:28:52,757 --> 00:28:54,325
very, very characteristic
497
00:28:54,326 --> 00:28:57,961
and memorable way that
498
00:28:57,962 --> 00:28:59,498
he walked.
499
00:28:59,499 --> 00:29:01,967
Of course it was all make-up that
500
00:29:01,968 --> 00:29:03,903
made him to look Chinese,
501
00:29:03,904 --> 00:29:07,638
but all of the body language, eh,
sort of humiliated,
502
00:29:07,639 --> 00:29:12,880
and I remember him
in sort of a bent way that he was.
503
00:29:12,881 --> 00:29:17,216
He didn't have to say anything,
he didn't have to have dialogue.
504
00:29:17,217 --> 00:29:20,322
You just felt him. You felt his presence.
505
00:29:20,323 --> 00:29:22,323
Budd Schulberg was a boy of 8
506
00:29:22,324 --> 00:29:24,024
when he visited the set.
507
00:29:24,025 --> 00:29:26,594
The film was directed
by Tom Forman, seated,
508
00:29:26,595 --> 00:29:28,498
and produced by Budd Schulberg's father,
509
00:29:28,499 --> 00:29:30,232
B.P. Schulberg.
510
00:29:30,233 --> 00:29:33,369
It may not have been
a box office sensation,
511
00:29:33,370 --> 00:29:35,138
but it was selected
512
00:29:35,139 --> 00:29:37,041
as one of the best pictures of 1922.
513
00:29:40,212 --> 00:29:43,144
It was a very daring thing for then,
514
00:29:43,145 --> 00:29:47,249
and it would still
be daring if they made it now.
515
00:30:18,288 --> 00:30:22,456
Chaney was so sympathetic in the role,
516
00:30:22,457 --> 00:30:26,961
that he was able to make a connection
517
00:30:26,962 --> 00:30:30,897
with the audience that even people
who might come in the theater
518
00:30:30,898 --> 00:30:33,933
hating the Chinese
519
00:30:33,934 --> 00:30:35,570
would come out with a different
520
00:30:35,571 --> 00:30:37,540
feeling that
521
00:30:37,541 --> 00:30:39,507
these people are human beings also.
522
00:30:39,508 --> 00:30:44,311
It amazed me
that this guy I had seen in pictures,
523
00:30:44,312 --> 00:30:46,681
wearing a cap, and a suit, and a tie,
524
00:30:46,682 --> 00:30:49,819
and suddenly he's bent over
and looks like a Chinese
525
00:30:49,820 --> 00:30:52,455
and he acts like a Chinese character.
526
00:30:52,456 --> 00:30:55,392
That's what one reviewer
said one time in the 20s:
527
00:30:55,393 --> 00:30:57,862
"What else can this guy do?"
528
00:31:02,435 --> 00:31:04,636
The role of Fagin in Oliver Twist
529
00:31:04,637 --> 00:31:06,738
went automatically to Lon Chaney.
530
00:31:06,739 --> 00:31:09,606
The title role
was played by Jackie Coogan.
531
00:31:09,607 --> 00:31:13,379
We hired him to play Fagin,
532
00:31:13,380 --> 00:31:18,082
we hired the outstanding actor.
533
00:31:18,083 --> 00:31:21,051
Both had the ability to play anything,
534
00:31:21,052 --> 00:31:24,490
and the ability to look like anything.
535
00:31:24,491 --> 00:31:27,927
When he came down
to do his stuff with me,
536
00:31:27,928 --> 00:31:30,563
we went to work
like on a Monday morning
537
00:31:30,564 --> 00:31:32,366
and I met him for the first time
538
00:31:32,367 --> 00:31:34,168
and we got up to rehearse this scene.
539
00:31:34,169 --> 00:31:35,970
It was a pickpocket scene,
540
00:31:35,971 --> 00:31:38,839
where Fagin
teaches Oliver how to pickpocket
541
00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:43,179
and my dad told me: "Watch him,
542
00:31:43,180 --> 00:31:45,014
he's a thief.
543
00:31:45,015 --> 00:31:47,349
He'd steal the whole scene from you,
544
00:31:47,350 --> 00:31:49,118
be careful to every trick."
545
00:31:49,119 --> 00:31:52,957
But we rehearsed
and we shot it in the first take.
546
00:32:02,836 --> 00:32:05,002
The only thing he ever said to me.
547
00:32:05,003 --> 00:32:09,940
after that he came over
after we had done the scene he says:
548
00:32:09,941 --> 00:32:12,743
"Hey, kid, you're all right."
549
00:32:12,744 --> 00:32:15,546
But he gave a wonderful performance.
550
00:32:15,547 --> 00:32:18,015
The same could not be said of this film,
551
00:32:18,016 --> 00:32:19,518
which began life as
552
00:32:19,519 --> 00:32:21,051
"The Heart of the Wolf",
553
00:32:21,052 --> 00:32:22,988
with the highest credentials.
554
00:32:22,989 --> 00:32:25,590
Its story co-authored
by Lon Chaney and Irving Thalberg,
555
00:32:25,591 --> 00:32:28,728
the young head of production at Universal.
556
00:32:28,729 --> 00:32:31,163
But the company
saved money on the director,
557
00:32:31,164 --> 00:32:33,066
who wasn't up to the task.
558
00:32:33,067 --> 00:32:37,203
Chaney always said he needed direction,
559
00:32:37,204 --> 00:32:38,806
despite his experience.
560
00:32:38,807 --> 00:32:40,642
Otherwise he might overact.
561
00:33:04,835 --> 00:33:07,870
Re-titled to "The Trap",
562
00:33:07,871 --> 00:33:10,072
it was the first film to be advertised
563
00:33:10,073 --> 00:33:11,475
with this famous slogan.
564
00:33:14,413 --> 00:33:16,880
"The Shock" was another for universal.
565
00:33:16,881 --> 00:33:19,016
But it came in for severe criticism
566
00:33:19,017 --> 00:33:22,154
Irving Thalberg
received from studio boss Carl Laemmle,
567
00:33:22,155 --> 00:33:24,490
a letter saying
how disappointed he had been
568
00:33:24,491 --> 00:33:26,525
by "The Shock" and "The Trap".
569
00:33:26,526 --> 00:33:30,996
"I say to you, Irving,
I'm worried about the future.
570
00:33:30,997 --> 00:33:34,300
I'm not going
to see you produce any more flivvers."
571
00:33:40,474 --> 00:33:42,307
It has always been thought
572
00:33:42,308 --> 00:33:44,376
that the idea of making
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
573
00:33:44,377 --> 00:33:46,045
was Irving Thalberg's.
574
00:33:46,046 --> 00:33:48,148
But Michael Blake
founded Alfred Grasso,
575
00:33:48,149 --> 00:33:50,284
Chaney's business manager
had kept papers
576
00:33:50,285 --> 00:33:52,852
proving otherwise.
577
00:33:52,853 --> 00:33:56,122
Well,
Hollywood history has been re-written
578
00:33:56,123 --> 00:33:59,393
because Lon Chaney,
like a lot of stars back then,
579
00:33:59,394 --> 00:34:02,130
was looking to find material for himself
580
00:34:02,131 --> 00:34:04,297
and he actually optioned the right to
581
00:34:04,298 --> 00:34:06,232
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame",
582
00:34:06,233 --> 00:34:09,105
and he was trying to find
financing for the picture.
583
00:34:09,106 --> 00:34:11,240
It eventually came to Thalberg
584
00:34:11,241 --> 00:34:12,976
and he convinced Laemmle.
585
00:34:12,977 --> 00:34:15,411
The extent of Chaney's involvement
586
00:34:15,412 --> 00:34:17,446
has never been before realized.
587
00:34:17,447 --> 00:34:20,117
It ranged from who would direct
to who would write
588
00:34:20,118 --> 00:34:22,718
and who would play Esmeralda.
589
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:25,688
Thalberg had
recent experience in making epics.
590
00:34:25,689 --> 00:34:28,861
His baptism of fire
had been "Foolish Wives"
591
00:34:28,862 --> 00:34:32,663
for which
Erich Von Stroheim had re-build Monte Carlo
592
00:34:32,664 --> 00:34:34,866
and had gone on shooting until the cost
593
00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:37,569
drove close to a million dollars.
594
00:34:37,570 --> 00:34:39,871
Behind the set
of the "Foolish Wives" casino
595
00:34:39,872 --> 00:34:43,374
rose a more economical set
for the cathedral of Notre Dame.
596
00:34:43,375 --> 00:34:45,276
It would be combined with a miniature
597
00:34:45,277 --> 00:34:47,146
to amaze audiences.
598
00:34:47,147 --> 00:34:49,013
Just as Chaney himself
599
00:34:49,014 --> 00:34:52,951
would startle the world
with his most extreme make-up yet.
600
00:35:00,263 --> 00:35:02,762
Chaney's inspiration
came from an illustrated
601
00:35:02,763 --> 00:35:04,565
edition of Victor Hugo's novel.
602
00:35:04,566 --> 00:35:06,602
It meant
that he had to alter his whole body.
603
00:35:06,603 --> 00:35:09,571
Making-up took 3 hours a day
604
00:35:09,572 --> 00:35:11,373
and was extremely uncomfortable.
605
00:35:13,676 --> 00:35:16,745
Patsy Ruth Miller played Esmeralda.
606
00:35:16,746 --> 00:35:19,880
I felt that he almost relished that pain
607
00:35:19,881 --> 00:35:21,351
because,
608
00:35:21,352 --> 00:35:24,954
it gave him that feeling
that he wanted to have
609
00:35:24,955 --> 00:35:27,456
of a tortured creature.
610
00:35:27,457 --> 00:35:31,326
He did obviously suffered
a great deal of discomfort
611
00:35:31,327 --> 00:35:36,499
but a lot of the myths behind Chaney
612
00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:38,501
are just that, myths.
613
00:35:38,502 --> 00:35:41,103
There's no truth
that he was a masochist,
614
00:35:41,104 --> 00:35:43,405
he was very proud of his work,
615
00:35:43,406 --> 00:35:45,842
he was very professional about his work,
616
00:35:45,843 --> 00:35:48,912
but he would never
endanger himself to the point
617
00:35:48,913 --> 00:35:52,018
that he hurt his body
that he would never work again.
618
00:35:52,019 --> 00:35:54,488
I mean it's foolish
when you really think about it.
619
00:35:54,489 --> 00:35:57,856
Everyone said
he wore a 70-pound (32 kg) rubber hump
620
00:35:57,857 --> 00:35:59,624
but it's not true.
621
00:35:59,625 --> 00:36:04,030
It was 5 to 20-pound (9 kg)
and was made out of plaster
622
00:36:04,031 --> 00:36:07,199
and it fit
on a harness that he wore on his back,
623
00:36:07,200 --> 00:36:10,737
similar to a back-pack,
attached around the waist
624
00:36:10,738 --> 00:36:14,741
and on the upper portion
of the breastplate area
625
00:36:14,742 --> 00:36:17,979
he had some ropes
626
00:36:17,980 --> 00:36:21,781
and he would tie, take the rope
and bend down and tie himself here
627
00:36:21,782 --> 00:36:23,986
so he would be in a stooped position.
628
00:36:30,826 --> 00:36:33,828
Chaney got his friend
Wallace Worsley as director.
629
00:36:33,829 --> 00:36:35,697
Worsley had done "The Penalty"
630
00:36:35,698 --> 00:36:37,731
and three other Chaney productions.
631
00:36:37,732 --> 00:36:40,769
Wallace Worsley was the director,
632
00:36:40,770 --> 00:36:43,039
but in my opinion,
633
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,845
Lon directed it more than Worsley did.
634
00:36:51,117 --> 00:36:53,117
One of the things that I learned
635
00:36:53,118 --> 00:36:56,052
about acting from him was
636
00:36:56,053 --> 00:36:59,890
that you don't have to feel the emotion
637
00:36:59,891 --> 00:37:04,995
enough to really cry real tears
or tear yourself apart.
638
00:37:04,996 --> 00:37:06,797
I don't think he would've approved
639
00:37:06,798 --> 00:37:08,733
to the school of acting a bit.
640
00:37:08,734 --> 00:37:11,703
What he kept saying to me:
"Remember, you are an actress
641
00:37:11,704 --> 00:37:15,873
and an actresses job
is to make the audience feel.
642
00:37:15,874 --> 00:37:19,243
doesn't matter
whether you're torn apart inside.
643
00:37:19,244 --> 00:37:21,680
if you do not tear the audience apart
644
00:37:21,681 --> 00:37:23,382
you're not playing the part well."
645
00:37:40,705 --> 00:37:43,941
He convinced me,
even though I was 3 years old.
646
00:37:43,942 --> 00:37:47,043
that there was
a hunchback somewhere in me.
647
00:37:47,044 --> 00:37:49,678
There was this shadow of this hunchback
648
00:37:49,679 --> 00:37:51,848
even though I was a normal kid.
649
00:37:51,849 --> 00:37:55,820
But my feelings for him were so terrific
650
00:37:55,821 --> 00:37:57,555
that I bursted into tears.
651
00:38:24,353 --> 00:38:26,554
Every available arc-light in Hollywood
652
00:38:26,555 --> 00:38:28,589
was used
to illuminate the massive night scenes.
653
00:38:33,196 --> 00:38:37,431
Quasimodo was besieged in the cathedral
with Esmeralda,
654
00:38:37,432 --> 00:38:40,269
as the Paris mob rises.
655
00:39:07,465 --> 00:39:09,568
It was something
656
00:39:09,569 --> 00:39:12,070
people hadn't seen before.
657
00:39:12,071 --> 00:39:15,873
You know, this was medieval Paris
and all the sets and the crowds
658
00:39:15,874 --> 00:39:18,210
and here you have this hunchback character
659
00:39:18,211 --> 00:39:20,445
that people love, people feel sorry for
660
00:39:20,446 --> 00:39:22,447
when he doesn't get the girl.
661
00:39:22,448 --> 00:39:25,183
And when he dies
at the end and he's ringing the bells,
662
00:39:25,184 --> 00:39:27,786
you know he's ringing
his own death-knell.
663
00:39:27,787 --> 00:39:29,989
It was a tremoundes performance,
664
00:39:45,373 --> 00:39:47,641
"The Hunchback" established Chaney
665
00:39:47,642 --> 00:39:50,310
as Hollywood's
outstanding character star.
666
00:39:50,311 --> 00:39:53,614
His modest announcement
that he was now at liberty
667
00:39:53,615 --> 00:39:56,416
was followed by a picture for Paramount
668
00:39:56,417 --> 00:39:58,218
and then one for a new company
669
00:39:58,219 --> 00:40:00,824
Metro Goldwyn,
occupying the old Goldwyn studio
670
00:40:00,825 --> 00:40:01,958
at Culver City.
671
00:40:01,959 --> 00:40:03,392
In charge of production,
672
00:40:03,393 --> 00:40:06,329
Irving Thalberg.
673
00:40:06,330 --> 00:40:09,300
But MGM insisted on publicity
674
00:40:09,301 --> 00:40:11,935
while Chaney was ambivalent about it.
675
00:40:11,936 --> 00:40:14,737
Chaney's approach to publicity was:
676
00:40:14,738 --> 00:40:17,742
I get more publicity
if I say nothing and do nothing
677
00:40:17,743 --> 00:40:19,409
than if I stood there and smiled.
678
00:40:19,410 --> 00:40:20,844
For instance,
679
00:40:20,845 --> 00:40:24,480
a prime example
is the 1925 MGM's studio tour
680
00:40:24,481 --> 00:40:26,083
which was made for
681
00:40:26,084 --> 00:40:28,419
the stock holders of Loews Inc.
682
00:40:28,420 --> 00:40:30,788
and they had all the MGM stars assembled
683
00:40:30,789 --> 00:40:33,890
on the front lawn
in front of the dressing room row
684
00:40:33,891 --> 00:40:36,193
and the camera pans
and you see Norma Shearer,
685
00:40:36,194 --> 00:40:38,261
John Gilbert, and everybody in it.
686
00:40:38,262 --> 00:40:40,365
And then,
as we come towards the end here
687
00:40:40,366 --> 00:40:43,067
here's this guy
with his back to the camera
688
00:40:43,068 --> 00:40:44,836
and he's in a very animated conversation
689
00:40:44,837 --> 00:40:47,738
and he turns just ever so briefly
690
00:40:47,739 --> 00:40:49,610
so you get a quick look at the face
691
00:40:49,611 --> 00:40:51,045
and then turns back
and that was Chaney.
692
00:40:51,046 --> 00:40:52,880
He had embarked
693
00:40:52,881 --> 00:40:55,281
on a rare publicity tour for "Hunchback"
694
00:40:55,282 --> 00:40:56,984
and thrilled this boy when
695
00:40:56,985 --> 00:40:58,920
his picture appeared in the papers.
696
00:40:58,921 --> 00:41:00,721
But he avoided interviewers
697
00:41:00,722 --> 00:41:03,992
and the press
regarded him as a man of mystery.
698
00:41:03,993 --> 00:41:05,927
Between pictures he used to say
699
00:41:05,928 --> 00:41:08,563
there is no Lon Chaney.
700
00:41:08,564 --> 00:41:12,499
He was what I would call
a self-enclosed man,
701
00:41:12,500 --> 00:41:14,435
if you know what I mean.
702
00:41:14,436 --> 00:41:18,674
Not that he wasn't outgoing,
in many ways he was very sweet,
703
00:41:18,675 --> 00:41:23,612
he was easy to chat with
if you got him in the right mood,
704
00:41:23,613 --> 00:41:26,449
when he wasn't thinking of his part,
705
00:41:26,450 --> 00:41:30,684
but he did not enter
into Hollywood as such.
706
00:41:30,685 --> 00:41:33,856
I don't recall
he's ever been at any parties
707
00:41:33,857 --> 00:41:36,093
and I don't think many people knew much
708
00:41:36,094 --> 00:41:37,959
about his private life.
709
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,964
His private life was private.
710
00:41:40,965 --> 00:41:43,135
There are few personal photographs
711
00:41:43,136 --> 00:41:45,537
even theses shots of his farewell
712
00:41:45,538 --> 00:41:48,741
to Hazel and Creighton
were taken on the "Hunchback" tour.
713
00:41:48,742 --> 00:41:50,608
There are shots of him clowning on the set
714
00:41:50,609 --> 00:41:52,711
with Wallace Beery.
715
00:41:52,712 --> 00:41:56,348
A few snap-shots
show him on holiday in the mountains.
716
00:41:56,349 --> 00:41:58,386
He built a cabin in the woods at Big Pine.
717
00:42:00,587 --> 00:42:02,857
And there are home movies
718
00:42:02,858 --> 00:42:05,559
taken by his friends, the Dunphys.
719
00:42:05,560 --> 00:42:08,261
Here, Chaney clowns with his wife Hazel.
720
00:42:08,262 --> 00:42:10,196
The other man is William Dunphy.
721
00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:21,410
Little is known about Hazel,
but they were a devoted couple.
722
00:42:24,313 --> 00:42:26,546
Chaney was so keen on filmmaking
723
00:42:26,547 --> 00:42:29,585
that he bought
one of the first 16mm cameras.
724
00:42:29,586 --> 00:42:32,723
This still is
the only evidence of his filmmaking,
725
00:42:32,724 --> 00:42:36,359
the footage he shot has disappeared.
726
00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:38,493
Chaney was no recluse,
727
00:42:38,494 --> 00:42:41,633
Here he is
with western star Harry Carey.
728
00:42:41,634 --> 00:42:44,635
With director Clarence Brown.
729
00:42:44,636 --> 00:42:48,005
With a new actress, Greta Garbo.
730
00:42:48,006 --> 00:42:49,808
Chaney stood up for the best interests
731
00:42:49,809 --> 00:42:51,476
of the crews he worked with
732
00:42:51,477 --> 00:42:53,712
and was generous with money and advise.
733
00:42:53,713 --> 00:42:56,913
One man he helped was Boris Karloff.
734
00:42:56,914 --> 00:43:01,819
He of all people,
gave him the best single piece of advice
735
00:43:01,820 --> 00:43:03,688
he had ever been given.
736
00:43:03,689 --> 00:43:07,960
There was a time
when my father was certainly
737
00:43:07,961 --> 00:43:09,862
an unknown struggling actor
738
00:43:09,863 --> 00:43:12,331
and a bit discouraged
739
00:43:12,332 --> 00:43:15,734
and Chaney Sr. gave him a lift home
740
00:43:15,735 --> 00:43:19,641
and in the car
my father was asking his advice
741
00:43:19,642 --> 00:43:21,275
and Chaney Sr. said to him:
742
00:43:21,276 --> 00:43:23,710
"The best advice I can give you is to
743
00:43:23,711 --> 00:43:27,914
find something no one else can do
744
00:43:27,915 --> 00:43:31,987
and do it better
than anybody else can do it
745
00:43:31,988 --> 00:43:34,088
and you'll leave your mark."
746
00:43:34,089 --> 00:43:36,658
Chaney was Metro Goldwyn's first star
747
00:43:36,659 --> 00:43:38,526
in the company's first film.
748
00:43:38,527 --> 00:43:40,862
His director was
from Sweden, Victor Sjostrom.
749
00:43:40,863 --> 00:43:42,599
Chaney co-starred
750
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:44,833
with Norma Shearer and John Gilbert.
751
00:43:49,942 --> 00:43:53,908
The clown takes revenge
on the man who have betrayed him.
752
00:43:53,909 --> 00:43:55,745
Tully Marshall as the Count,
753
00:44:02,020 --> 00:44:04,320
Marc MacDermott as the Baron.
754
00:44:04,321 --> 00:44:08,290
Chaney plays a scientist
in the Andreyev's play.
755
00:44:08,291 --> 00:44:10,495
His discoveries
are presented to the academy
756
00:44:10,496 --> 00:44:12,797
by his sponsor, the Baron.
757
00:44:57,380 --> 00:45:00,884
The scientist joins a circus
using the slap as his act.
758
00:45:23,577 --> 00:45:25,410
The clown sees the Baron
759
00:45:25,411 --> 00:45:27,513
among the audience.
760
00:45:48,568 --> 00:45:50,704
He falls in love
with the bareback rider
761
00:45:50,705 --> 00:45:52,207
played by Norma Shearer.
762
00:45:52,208 --> 00:45:54,276
When he confesses his love to her,
763
00:45:54,277 --> 00:45:56,044
she thinks he's kidding and she slaps him.
764
00:45:59,316 --> 00:46:00,581
He's devastated and
765
00:46:00,582 --> 00:46:02,416
your heart breaks,
766
00:46:02,417 --> 00:46:04,820
you're going oh my God,
you feel terrible for him.
767
00:46:04,821 --> 00:46:07,757
That was a credit
to Chaney's talent that
768
00:46:07,758 --> 00:46:10,159
he was able to reach in and
769
00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:12,095
get the audience's sympathy.
770
00:46:20,805 --> 00:46:22,640
The history of Lon Chaney
771
00:46:22,641 --> 00:46:26,744
is the history
of a sequence of unrequited loves.
772
00:46:26,745 --> 00:46:29,545
In film after film after film
773
00:46:29,546 --> 00:46:32,249
he brings
that part of you out in the open
774
00:46:32,250 --> 00:46:35,653
because you fear that you are not loved,
775
00:46:35,654 --> 00:46:38,054
you fear that you never will be loved,
776
00:46:38,055 --> 00:46:41,628
you fear there's some part of you
777
00:46:41,629 --> 00:46:44,965
that's grotesque.
That the world will turn away from.
778
00:46:44,966 --> 00:46:47,565
I think that's the quality
that puts Lon Chaney
779
00:46:47,566 --> 00:46:51,038
above almost all the stars of his time.
780
00:46:51,039 --> 00:46:53,974
In "The Unholy Three"
781
00:46:53,975 --> 00:46:55,644
the girl Chaney loves comes back to him
782
00:46:55,645 --> 00:46:57,177
as she promised
783
00:46:57,178 --> 00:46:58,980
and he lets her go.
784
00:46:58,981 --> 00:47:00,580
Her gratitude is profound,
785
00:47:00,581 --> 00:47:02,751
she leaves for the man she really loves.
786
00:47:34,120 --> 00:47:37,655
Tod Browning had great difficulties
selling the project,
787
00:47:37,656 --> 00:47:39,291
but it turned out to be
788
00:47:39,292 --> 00:47:41,026
one of the most successful
films of the year.
789
00:47:41,027 --> 00:47:43,328
Restoring Browning's reputation,
790
00:47:43,329 --> 00:47:46,131
he was back with the world he knew so well.
791
00:47:46,132 --> 00:47:49,569
A world of carnivals,
freaks and side shows.
792
00:47:49,570 --> 00:47:51,903
The script-writer was Waldemar Young,
793
00:47:51,904 --> 00:47:55,642
who adapted 8 of the Chaney-Browning films.
794
00:47:55,643 --> 00:47:58,043
Chaney was at the peak of his talent
795
00:47:58,044 --> 00:47:59,912
as Echo, the ventriloquist.
796
00:48:13,261 --> 00:48:15,062
"The Unholy Three"
797
00:48:15,063 --> 00:48:16,630
Echo, played by Chaney;
798
00:48:16,631 --> 00:48:18,533
a strong man, Victor McLaglen;
799
00:48:18,534 --> 00:48:19,970
a midget, Harry Earles,
800
00:48:19,971 --> 00:48:22,005
can concoct the perfect crime.
801
00:48:22,006 --> 00:48:25,340
They open a bird store as a front.
802
00:48:25,341 --> 00:48:27,043
Mrs. O'Grady runs it.
803
00:48:27,044 --> 00:48:28,344
The old lady and the baby
804
00:48:28,345 --> 00:48:30,179
add a charming domestic touch.
805
00:48:30,180 --> 00:48:32,248
Nobody would suspect these gentle people
806
00:48:32,249 --> 00:48:34,518
of robbery or murder.
807
00:48:46,498 --> 00:48:48,466
In a scene
with Matthew Betz as a detective,
808
00:48:48,467 --> 00:48:50,067
Chaney's expressions
809
00:48:50,068 --> 00:48:52,636
enhance the suspense,
810
00:48:52,637 --> 00:48:54,571
for the stolen jewels
811
00:48:54,572 --> 00:48:56,307
are in the elephant.
812
00:50:33,782 --> 00:50:37,417
This is Lon Chaney
in a 1918 propaganda film
813
00:50:37,418 --> 00:50:39,886
with Rupert Julian as the Kaiser.
814
00:50:39,887 --> 00:50:43,156
Julian never got over
the Prussian officer pose
815
00:50:43,157 --> 00:50:45,460
and maintained it even while
816
00:50:45,461 --> 00:50:48,228
directing "The Phantom of the Opera"
at the Universal.
817
00:50:48,229 --> 00:50:51,534
There were rumors of tension
between Julian and Chaney.
818
00:50:51,535 --> 00:50:53,336
But were they true?
819
00:50:53,337 --> 00:50:55,236
Oh, I know the problems
820
00:50:55,237 --> 00:50:57,374
between Chaney and Julian were true.
821
00:50:57,375 --> 00:51:01,110
Charles Van Enger,
the cameraman, told me that
822
00:51:01,111 --> 00:51:03,247
they just hated each other.
823
00:51:03,248 --> 00:51:06,082
Julian wanted a much broader performance
824
00:51:06,083 --> 00:51:10,153
than what Chaney had in mind
for his character
825
00:51:10,154 --> 00:51:14,025
and Julian kinda coming off
of replacing Von Stroheim
826
00:51:14,026 --> 00:51:15,993
in "Merry-Go-Around",
827
00:51:15,994 --> 00:51:19,094
he probably thought
he was as good as Von Stroheim,
828
00:51:19,095 --> 00:51:20,599
if not better.
829
00:51:20,600 --> 00:51:24,835
And the relationship
between Chaney and Julian
830
00:51:24,836 --> 00:51:27,072
quickly went downhill.
831
00:51:27,073 --> 00:51:30,508
Nonetheless Julian did a remarkable job.
832
00:51:30,509 --> 00:51:33,980
The Phantom
is at first sketched in by suggestion.
833
00:51:37,451 --> 00:51:39,987
People thought Universal mad,
834
00:51:39,988 --> 00:51:42,425
where they really
paying Chaney to play a shadow?
835
00:51:45,896 --> 00:51:47,594
I mean you can always tell Chaney,
836
00:51:47,595 --> 00:51:49,330
no matter how much make-up he's got on
837
00:51:49,331 --> 00:51:52,067
you can tell it's Chaney
by the use of his hands.
838
00:51:52,068 --> 00:51:54,236
They were like music.
839
00:52:24,304 --> 00:52:27,537
Some scenes were done
in various color processes:
840
00:52:27,538 --> 00:52:30,043
Handschiegl and Technicolor.
841
00:52:30,044 --> 00:52:32,879
There were
certain scenes in all of his films
842
00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:35,415
that you knew were set pieces.
843
00:52:35,416 --> 00:52:38,217
Like on top of the opera house
844
00:52:38,218 --> 00:52:40,554
late at night with the lovers up there
845
00:52:40,555 --> 00:52:42,689
and they think
they have escaped The Phantom
846
00:52:42,690 --> 00:52:45,159
but he's above them in the wind.
847
00:52:53,203 --> 00:52:56,504
Or the moment
when The Phantom comes down the stairs
848
00:52:56,505 --> 00:53:00,009
and freezes the people
at The Masque of the Red Death.
849
00:53:09,386 --> 00:53:11,419
And then at the very end of the film,
850
00:53:11,420 --> 00:53:14,088
when The Phantom confronts the crowd,
851
00:53:14,089 --> 00:53:15,824
and he rears back,
852
00:53:15,825 --> 00:53:18,626
and he's got what they think
might be a hand grenade
853
00:53:18,627 --> 00:53:20,731
or something in one hand
854
00:53:20,732 --> 00:53:23,399
and he threatens them
with a clenched hand
855
00:53:23,400 --> 00:53:25,303
and they all pull back.
856
00:53:31,612 --> 00:53:34,945
And then he opens his hand and laughs
857
00:53:34,946 --> 00:53:37,849
to show
that he terrified them with nothing.
858
00:53:37,850 --> 00:53:42,220
That metaphor
is the whole of the Lon Chaney.
859
00:53:42,221 --> 00:53:44,922
For a whole lifetime
860
00:53:44,923 --> 00:53:46,825
he threatened you with his closed fist
861
00:53:46,826 --> 00:53:49,029
and you knew
there was something terrible in there
862
00:53:49,030 --> 00:53:50,964
and at the very end of his life
863
00:53:50,965 --> 00:53:52,565
went like that
864
00:53:52,566 --> 00:53:54,866
and you saw
there was nothing there at all
865
00:53:54,867 --> 00:53:57,637
but you've been terrified for no reason.
866
00:53:57,638 --> 00:53:59,473
Chaney's contract
867
00:53:59,474 --> 00:54:02,308
proscribed all photographs
of the un-masked Phantom
868
00:54:02,309 --> 00:54:05,646
to ensure the strongest possible impact
in the theater.
869
00:54:09,720 --> 00:54:13,187
A lot of people say
that the make-up caused him
870
00:54:13,188 --> 00:54:16,293
great pain
and great difficulty but it's not true.
871
00:54:16,294 --> 00:54:20,964
The secret lay
in a small leather covered box.
872
00:54:24,269 --> 00:54:27,305
This was Lon Chaney's make-up box.
873
00:54:27,306 --> 00:54:31,842
To many make-up artists
this is the Holy Grail.
874
00:54:31,843 --> 00:54:33,511
This is the make-up case
875
00:54:33,512 --> 00:54:37,649
that he created his thousand faces with.
876
00:54:37,650 --> 00:54:42,554
He started using this case in 1919
877
00:54:42,555 --> 00:54:47,659
and used it until his death in 1930.
878
00:54:47,660 --> 00:54:49,294
It was originally a mechanic's
879
00:54:49,295 --> 00:54:51,663
tool box.
880
00:54:53,968 --> 00:54:55,834
With these simple devices,
881
00:54:55,835 --> 00:54:58,137
Chaney created
one of the most frightening faces
882
00:54:58,138 --> 00:55:00,076
ever put on the screen.
883
00:55:00,077 --> 00:55:02,177
He prepared much of his make-up
884
00:55:02,178 --> 00:55:04,045
on this wax model of his head
885
00:55:04,046 --> 00:55:07,849
using cotton and collodion
to create face pieces.
886
00:55:07,850 --> 00:55:11,353
And as far as the nose,
he took a strip of fish skin
887
00:55:11,354 --> 00:55:13,388
which is a thin transparent material
888
00:55:13,389 --> 00:55:17,257
that he would glue here
on his nose with spirit gum,
889
00:55:17,258 --> 00:55:21,430
hold the nose up
to whatever length or width he'd want
890
00:55:21,431 --> 00:55:23,533
and then run it up
to the bridge of the nose
891
00:55:23,534 --> 00:55:27,337
and up under the skullcap
so you'd have that effect.
892
00:55:50,599 --> 00:55:53,966
No one thought
Chaney could ever improve on that.
893
00:55:53,967 --> 00:55:57,270
One of the very few
whoever saw the make-up develop
894
00:55:57,271 --> 00:55:59,506
was assistant director Willard Sheldon
895
00:55:59,507 --> 00:56:03,076
who watched him create
an ancient Chinese for a MGM film
896
00:56:03,077 --> 00:56:04,944
called "Mr. Wu".
897
00:56:04,945 --> 00:56:07,280
So, what he did,
898
00:56:07,281 --> 00:56:10,049
he got on a streetcar
899
00:56:10,050 --> 00:56:13,554
and took a seat
at the back of that streetcar
900
00:56:13,555 --> 00:56:15,688
and stayed in that streetcar
901
00:56:15,689 --> 00:56:17,725
towards the end.
902
00:56:17,726 --> 00:56:19,090
He didn't care where it was going
903
00:56:19,093 --> 00:56:21,662
at the end of that time
904
00:56:21,663 --> 00:56:25,198
not one person took him for
905
00:56:25,199 --> 00:56:27,200
anything but what he appeared to be,
906
00:56:27,201 --> 00:56:30,103
and old Chinese laundry man.
907
00:56:30,104 --> 00:56:31,873
In the film,
908
00:56:31,874 --> 00:56:34,843
the make-up became
that of a hundred year old Mandarin.
909
00:56:41,954 --> 00:56:44,222
In the same picture
he played his own grandson,
910
00:56:44,223 --> 00:56:46,825
young, and middle aged.
911
00:56:48,526 --> 00:56:50,695
My grandfather talks about
remembering him
912
00:56:50,696 --> 00:56:53,331
going out to his room
and secluding himself
913
00:56:53,332 --> 00:56:55,933
and calling him up occasionally, saying:
914
00:56:55,934 --> 00:56:57,835
"Hey, what do you think of this?"
915
00:56:57,836 --> 00:57:00,938
You know, and he would certainly
916
00:57:00,939 --> 00:57:04,076
go through a lot of pains
to perfect the role.
917
00:57:04,077 --> 00:57:07,044
Out of a small little kid
918
00:57:07,045 --> 00:57:09,346
these thousand faces emerged
919
00:57:09,347 --> 00:57:12,552
that was just incredible,
the way he changed himself.
920
00:57:28,903 --> 00:57:31,339
But then Chaney made
"Tell It to the Marines"
921
00:57:31,340 --> 00:57:33,641
with William Haines.
922
00:57:33,642 --> 00:57:37,678
This was the movie that proved
Lon Chaney did not need make-up
923
00:57:37,679 --> 00:57:39,716
to prove that he was a good actor
924
00:57:39,717 --> 00:57:42,017
and he was a box office star.
925
00:57:42,018 --> 00:57:43,519
Chaney is
926
00:57:43,520 --> 00:57:45,954
just phenomenal in it.
927
00:57:45,955 --> 00:57:49,292
He is the character
that you see in later films like
928
00:57:49,293 --> 00:57:51,461
"To the Shores of Tripoli",
"Sands of Iwo Jima",
929
00:57:51,462 --> 00:57:53,263
tough Marine sergeant
930
00:57:53,264 --> 00:57:57,767
who's gonna mould
this wise-mouth smart-aleck
931
00:57:57,768 --> 00:57:59,968
into a real Marine
932
00:57:59,969 --> 00:58:01,905
and despite him being so hard
933
00:58:01,906 --> 00:58:04,273
and so gruff
934
00:58:04,274 --> 00:58:07,042
he's really got
a heart of gold underneath.
935
00:58:07,043 --> 00:58:09,379
Eleanor Boardman played a nurse
936
00:58:09,380 --> 00:58:11,115
who cares for both men,
937
00:58:11,116 --> 00:58:14,553
while the sergeant
conceals his love for her.
938
00:58:43,586 --> 00:58:46,187
Everybody praised it.
939
00:58:46,188 --> 00:58:48,089
I mean, the reviews for this film were
940
00:58:48,090 --> 00:58:50,358
across the board very, very positive
941
00:58:50,359 --> 00:58:55,095
and I think the best review
that was ever written for the film came
942
00:58:55,096 --> 00:58:58,566
in Leatherneck magazine
which was for the Marine Corps.
943
00:58:58,567 --> 00:58:59,933
And they said that:
944
00:58:59,934 --> 00:59:02,771
"In Chaney's performance we saw
945
00:59:02,772 --> 00:59:05,341
every sergeant we knew."
946
00:59:05,342 --> 00:59:07,777
He was the living, breathing, embodiment
947
00:59:07,778 --> 00:59:09,746
of that tough Marine sergeant.
948
00:59:09,747 --> 00:59:12,116
And so much so,
949
00:59:12,117 --> 00:59:14,184
the Marines loved his performance
950
00:59:14,185 --> 00:59:18,489
that he became
the first motion picture actor
951
00:59:18,490 --> 00:59:20,791
to be made an honorary member
952
00:59:20,792 --> 00:59:22,595
of the United States Marine Corps.
953
00:59:38,913 --> 00:59:41,314
This was one of Chaney's
favorite films, according to his wife
954
00:59:41,315 --> 00:59:43,648
and he and Hazel
955
00:59:43,649 --> 00:59:45,619
made a rare attendance at the premiere.
956
00:59:49,791 --> 00:59:52,057
MGM's new star Lucille LeSueur,
957
00:59:52,058 --> 00:59:54,362
seen here with designer Erte,
958
00:59:54,363 --> 00:59:57,397
was chosen for Chaney's "The Unknown".
959
00:59:57,398 --> 01:00:01,003
By now, her name
had been changed to Joan Crawford.
960
01:00:01,004 --> 01:00:04,539
It was a reunion for Chaney
with his old friend Tod Browning
961
01:00:04,540 --> 01:00:07,877
and it was one of their
strangest productions.
962
01:00:07,878 --> 01:00:10,978
Crawford played Nanon,
the daughter of the owner
963
01:00:10,979 --> 01:00:12,748
of a circus in Spain.
964
01:00:12,749 --> 01:00:15,618
Chaney was
"Alonzo the Armless", a knife thrower
965
01:00:15,619 --> 01:00:18,522
deeply in love with Nanon.
966
01:00:21,159 --> 01:00:24,561
Nanon has a fear
of being touched by men.
967
01:00:24,562 --> 01:00:26,629
Norman Kerry as "Malabar the Strong Man"
968
01:00:26,630 --> 01:00:30,866
is baffled by her rejection.
969
01:00:30,867 --> 01:00:34,303
She feels at ease with Alonzo.
970
01:00:34,304 --> 01:00:37,340
Incredibly, Chaney is doing this trick
with a real arm-less
971
01:00:37,341 --> 01:00:40,845
body double providing the legs.
972
01:00:49,190 --> 01:00:51,290
Alonzo seems a pleasant enough man
973
01:00:51,291 --> 01:00:53,960
who puts up with this situation
until his secret is revealed.
974
01:01:25,428 --> 01:01:27,730
Alonzo is a murderer on the run.
975
01:01:27,731 --> 01:01:29,063
He hides his arms because
976
01:01:29,064 --> 01:01:30,699
of a congenital defect
977
01:01:30,700 --> 01:01:32,634
that would immediately incriminate him.
978
01:01:32,635 --> 01:01:35,371
And now Nanon
has seen those double thumbs.
979
01:01:41,147 --> 01:01:43,882
He visits a surgeon and blackmails him
980
01:01:43,883 --> 01:01:45,217
into removing his arms.
981
01:02:15,684 --> 01:02:18,317
Burt Lancaster told me
when I was working with him once
982
01:02:18,318 --> 01:02:21,221
we got talking about Chaney,
983
01:02:21,222 --> 01:02:23,356
and Burt Lancaster said:
984
01:02:23,357 --> 01:02:25,992
"The scene where Chaney realizes he's
985
01:02:25,993 --> 01:02:29,230
cut his arms off for nothing
986
01:02:29,231 --> 01:02:31,767
was the most emotionally
987
01:02:31,768 --> 01:02:33,802
compelling scene
he's ever seen an actor do".
988
01:02:33,803 --> 01:02:35,338
And it is
989
01:02:35,339 --> 01:02:38,374
when you realize that it's basically shot
990
01:02:38,375 --> 01:02:40,344
in a medium close-up,
991
01:02:40,345 --> 01:02:43,412
he doesn't use his hands,
it's his face.
992
01:02:43,413 --> 01:02:46,849
And you can feel the emotional intensity
993
01:02:46,850 --> 01:02:48,619
that just comes right up from the gut.
994
01:03:54,190 --> 01:03:57,593
"London After Midnight" is a lost film.
995
01:03:57,594 --> 01:04:00,229
The most eagerly sought after
of all the missing Chaney's.
996
01:04:00,230 --> 01:04:04,466
I saw "London After Midnight",
Lon played a straight part of a detective
997
01:04:04,467 --> 01:04:07,405
who dresses up as a vampire
998
01:04:07,406 --> 01:04:11,041
and the vampire is terrible.
999
01:04:11,042 --> 01:04:13,578
He had a huge grin,
1000
01:04:13,579 --> 01:04:16,215
long hair and a top hat
1001
01:04:16,216 --> 01:04:19,018
and walked along in a sort of
1002
01:04:19,019 --> 01:04:21,355
crawling way.
1003
01:04:21,850 --> 01:04:25,162
I'm convinced
that Groucho Marx saw the film and
1004
01:04:26,145 --> 01:04:28,598
patterned himself after
Lon Chaney that kinda
1005
01:04:28,623 --> 01:04:30,968
of a crouch he had in
the way he went around
1006
01:04:31,412 --> 01:04:37,685
and if you see it today you may say:
"Why, he's mimicking Groucho Marx!"
1007
01:04:38,213 --> 01:04:42,938
And he certainly did a mysterious glide
1008
01:04:42,939 --> 01:04:45,387
up from the ceiling I think in the room
1009
01:04:45,388 --> 01:04:47,400
to terrify somebody or other.
1010
01:04:47,401 --> 01:04:49,514
That was a fantasy.
1011
01:04:49,515 --> 01:04:53,170
It was so unreal,
but the make-up was terrific.
1012
01:04:53,171 --> 01:04:56,491
He had thin wires
that fitted around his eyes
1013
01:04:56,492 --> 01:04:57,562
so that it would give this
1014
01:04:57,563 --> 01:04:59,005
hypnotic stare.
1015
01:04:59,006 --> 01:05:00,180
Then he had a set of
1016
01:05:00,181 --> 01:05:01,924
upper and lower false teeth,
1017
01:05:01,925 --> 01:05:03,669
the upper portion had a wire
1018
01:05:03,670 --> 01:05:06,049
that would hold
the corners of his mouth open
1019
01:05:06,050 --> 01:05:07,291
to give it a kind of a
1020
01:05:07,292 --> 01:05:09,203
fixated grin.
1021
01:05:09,204 --> 01:05:10,543
And that was it, and a wig.
1022
01:05:10,544 --> 01:05:12,489
And the characterization itself.
1023
01:05:12,490 --> 01:05:15,243
One tends to get excited
about lost films.
1024
01:05:15,244 --> 01:05:17,790
I think people
would be very disappointed
1025
01:05:17,791 --> 01:05:20,407
if they saw "London After Midnight".
1026
01:05:20,408 --> 01:05:25,035
I didn't enjoy it
anything as like as much "The Phantom".
1027
01:05:25,036 --> 01:05:28,524
It was so fantastic and unreal
1028
01:05:28,525 --> 01:05:31,442
that you couldn't take it seriously.
1029
01:05:31,443 --> 01:05:33,890
The people who made it obviously didn't.
1030
01:05:33,891 --> 01:05:36,708
And yet it was blamed
for a murder in London.
1031
01:05:36,709 --> 01:05:40,063
A man said
he had been so terrified by Chaney
1032
01:05:40,064 --> 01:05:43,182
he had had a fit
and murdered a woman in Hyde Park.
1033
01:05:43,183 --> 01:05:45,765
His defense was rejected.
1034
01:05:51,500 --> 01:05:57,273
"Laugh, Clown, Laugh"
showed Chaney cast again as a clown, Tito.
1035
01:05:57,274 --> 01:05:58,976
It was a Pagliacci story,
1036
01:05:58,977 --> 01:06:03,415
directed by the veteran Herbert Brenon.
1037
01:06:03,416 --> 01:06:05,688
Tito performs a hazardous act.
1038
01:06:17,743 --> 01:06:20,245
Chaney was always doubled
for scenes like this.
1039
01:06:27,724 --> 01:06:31,663
This was said to have been
the favorite of all his roles.
1040
01:06:31,664 --> 01:06:36,271
The clown, who loves a girl,
who loves someone else.
1041
01:06:41,180 --> 01:06:43,514
Tito had found the girl
abandoned as a child
1042
01:06:43,515 --> 01:06:45,351
and brings her up in the circus.
1043
01:06:45,352 --> 01:06:48,221
Herbert Brenon was a dedicated filmmaker
1044
01:06:48,222 --> 01:06:50,091
who found himself directing
1045
01:06:50,092 --> 01:06:53,430
an inexperienced actress
in her first feature role.
1046
01:06:53,431 --> 01:06:58,106
Loretta Young, aged 14,
whose real name was Gretchen.
1047
01:06:58,107 --> 01:07:01,310
It seemed he had to have a patsy.
1048
01:07:01,311 --> 01:07:03,748
Naturally he picked
on the most vulnerable one
1049
01:07:03,749 --> 01:07:05,116
and I was it.
1050
01:07:05,117 --> 01:07:07,887
He called me in,
"Gretchen, come here".
1051
01:07:07,888 --> 01:07:09,690
and I stand there and he says:
1052
01:07:09,691 --> 01:07:11,693
"I don't know whatever gave you the idea
1053
01:07:11,694 --> 01:07:13,730
that you could ever be an actress."
1054
01:07:13,731 --> 01:07:16,200
He would rip me up one side or the other
1055
01:07:16,201 --> 01:07:18,303
and he would do it at least twice a week.
1056
01:07:18,304 --> 01:07:21,009
But never when Lon Chaney was on the set
1057
01:07:21,010 --> 01:07:22,944
and then he said:
1058
01:07:22,945 --> 01:07:24,915
"Alright, ready, alright, Gretchen
1059
01:07:24,916 --> 01:07:26,851
go to your dressing room
and get yourself fixed up."
1060
01:07:26,852 --> 01:07:28,452
As long as Chaney was around
1061
01:07:28,453 --> 01:07:30,290
he behaved.
1062
01:07:30,291 --> 01:07:33,460
And I didn't know anything about acting.
1063
01:07:33,461 --> 01:07:36,432
Anyways, Chaney saw that
1064
01:07:36,433 --> 01:07:38,035
and then he never left the stage
while I was working,
1065
01:07:38,036 --> 01:07:40,439
never.
1066
01:07:40,440 --> 01:07:43,511
But he really directed me.
1067
01:07:43,512 --> 01:07:47,218
He did it in such a manner
that nobody else knew it.
1068
01:07:47,219 --> 01:07:49,589
I don't think
even Brenon was conscious of it.
1069
01:07:52,360 --> 01:07:54,362
Alongside the tragedy,
1070
01:07:54,363 --> 01:07:57,436
there was often humor in Chaney's roles.
1071
01:08:22,308 --> 01:08:25,645
Chaney plays Phroso,
a magician who loves his wife
1072
01:08:25,646 --> 01:08:28,348
and is horrified
when she leaves him for Crane,
1073
01:08:28,349 --> 01:08:30,754
played by Lionel Barrymore.
1074
01:08:49,987 --> 01:08:52,755
His wife returns, but dies
1075
01:08:52,756 --> 01:08:55,561
and leaves Phroso with her daughter.
1076
01:08:55,562 --> 01:08:57,029
He brings the girl up in the
1077
01:08:57,030 --> 01:08:58,464
worst of the African brothels,
1078
01:08:58,465 --> 01:09:00,969
for he knows it to be Crane's.
1079
01:09:04,175 --> 01:09:06,478
The girl was played by Mary Nolan.
1080
01:09:09,317 --> 01:09:12,253
Phroso repeats his stage act
1081
01:09:12,254 --> 01:09:13,822
for the benefit of Crane
1082
01:09:13,823 --> 01:09:15,826
who remembers it
from all those years ago
1083
01:09:46,811 --> 01:09:50,249
Phroso tells him it is his daughter.
1084
01:10:27,576 --> 01:10:29,510
Chaney goes from one end here
1085
01:10:29,511 --> 01:10:31,647
where he's taking sheer delight
1086
01:10:31,648 --> 01:10:34,418
and you see it go across the spectrum
1087
01:10:34,419 --> 01:10:37,691
to the horrendous realization
that it's his daughter
1088
01:10:37,692 --> 01:10:39,194
he's put through this.
1089
01:10:53,985 --> 01:10:56,285
The tears well up in his eyes and
1090
01:10:56,286 --> 01:10:58,089
he's clutching at his throat
1091
01:10:58,090 --> 01:11:00,124
I mean even though this is a silent film
1092
01:11:00,125 --> 01:11:03,130
you can hear the wail
that he's giving out
1093
01:11:27,907 --> 01:11:30,709
"While the City Sleeps"
was a character study
1094
01:11:30,710 --> 01:11:32,948
of a detective close to retirement.
1095
01:11:43,132 --> 01:11:44,699
Whatever it is he's doing
1096
01:11:44,700 --> 01:11:47,435
he has the command of that skill.
1097
01:11:47,436 --> 01:11:50,206
It looks like this character
has been doing
1098
01:11:50,207 --> 01:11:53,044
whatever it's been doing for years.
1099
01:11:53,045 --> 01:11:55,116
Chaney's policeman behaved
1100
01:11:55,117 --> 01:11:56,819
as in real life,
1101
01:11:56,820 --> 01:11:58,757
not a as glamourized for the screen.
1102
01:12:03,031 --> 01:12:05,366
His character
is secretly in love with a girl,
1103
01:12:05,367 --> 01:12:06,835
Anita Page.
1104
01:12:06,836 --> 01:12:09,739
But he tries
to keep to a fatherly concern,
1105
01:12:09,740 --> 01:12:12,111
brilliantly caught in this scene.
1106
01:12:51,408 --> 01:12:53,744
Gangster films had been given a boost
1107
01:12:53,745 --> 01:12:57,049
by the success
of Paramount's thriller "Underworld".
1108
01:12:57,050 --> 01:12:59,753
So, this MGM film tried to outdo
1109
01:12:59,754 --> 01:13:01,923
the climactic gunfight.
1110
01:13:49,302 --> 01:13:53,040
Lon Chaney final silent film
proved to be "Thunder".
1111
01:13:53,041 --> 01:13:55,276
It has also been lost for many years.
1112
01:13:55,277 --> 01:13:57,780
He played Grumpy Anderson,
1113
01:13:57,781 --> 01:13:59,717
an old time engineer who
1114
01:13:59,718 --> 01:14:01,686
will take his train
through hell or high water
1115
01:14:01,687 --> 01:14:03,623
but refuses to hitch on a private car
1116
01:14:03,624 --> 01:14:05,460
for a night club singer.
1117
01:14:05,461 --> 01:14:08,330
She rides on the footplate
with his son, the fireman.
1118
01:14:41,152 --> 01:14:42,919
To make his character real,
1119
01:14:42,920 --> 01:14:44,654
he found a pair of overalls that
1120
01:14:44,655 --> 01:14:47,059
one old train engineer was wearing
1121
01:14:47,060 --> 01:14:48,962
and he made a deal with him:
1122
01:14:48,963 --> 01:14:50,765
"I'd buy you
a brand new pair if you give me yours
1123
01:14:50,766 --> 01:14:52,234
so I can wear it in the movie."
1124
01:14:52,235 --> 01:14:53,836
And it looked worn
1125
01:14:53,837 --> 01:14:56,908
and it was beaten up
and it looked lived in.
1126
01:14:56,909 --> 01:14:59,144
There again,
1127
01:14:59,145 --> 01:15:00,947
he just looks like an old train engineer.
1128
01:15:00,948 --> 01:15:04,586
He just fits the part, he looks like
he just got off the steam locomotive.
1129
01:15:04,587 --> 01:15:06,290
After an accident,
1130
01:15:06,291 --> 01:15:08,192
Anderson is retired to the machine shop
1131
01:15:08,193 --> 01:15:10,898
where he is reunited
with the remains of his engine.
1132
01:15:24,555 --> 01:15:27,758
But it was
a very trying film for Chaney.
1133
01:15:27,759 --> 01:15:29,559
When he went on location from
1134
01:15:29,560 --> 01:15:32,298
the warmth of California
to Green Bay, Wisconsin,
1135
01:15:32,299 --> 01:15:33,702
it was snowy.
1136
01:15:36,240 --> 01:15:38,576
He caught a cold but kept on working in
1137
01:15:38,577 --> 01:15:40,412
true Chaney fashion.
1138
01:15:40,413 --> 01:15:44,050
The cold developed
into walking pneumonia.
1139
01:15:44,051 --> 01:15:45,852
He woke some morning,
1140
01:15:45,853 --> 01:15:49,159
he showed up very late
and very apologetic
1141
01:15:49,160 --> 01:15:52,698
and nobody really knew how sick he was.
1142
01:15:52,699 --> 01:15:56,704
And finally
as the picture got near the end
1143
01:15:56,705 --> 01:16:01,077
he had to stay out
for several days at the time
1144
01:16:01,078 --> 01:16:03,882
and finally the picture was shut down,
1145
01:16:03,883 --> 01:16:06,354
I forget, I think for a couple of weeks,
1146
01:16:06,355 --> 01:16:07,990
two or three weeks,
1147
01:16:07,991 --> 01:16:11,862
and then picked up again.
1148
01:16:11,863 --> 01:16:15,301
But I don't think
anybody in the company realized
1149
01:16:15,302 --> 01:16:18,206
how terribly sick he was.
1150
01:16:18,207 --> 01:16:20,609
Alright, everybody quiet please.
1151
01:16:20,610 --> 01:16:22,312
After the bell.
1152
01:16:22,313 --> 01:16:25,585
Sound had arrived and Chaney resisted it.
1153
01:16:25,586 --> 01:16:27,119
He wouldn't talk, he said,
1154
01:16:27,120 --> 01:16:29,056
because it might destroy the mystery.
1155
01:16:29,057 --> 01:16:31,827
MGM made a musical with all their stars
1156
01:16:31,828 --> 01:16:33,930
except Garbo and Chaney.
1157
01:16:33,931 --> 01:16:36,635
But Chaney had a number devoted to him.
1158
01:16:46,117 --> 01:16:49,588
¶ Lon Chaney's gonna get you ¶
1159
01:16:49,589 --> 01:16:54,498
¶ if you don't watch out ¶
1160
01:16:56,337 --> 01:16:58,203
"The Phantom of the Opera" was re-issued
1161
01:16:58,204 --> 01:17:00,039
with sound.
1162
01:17:00,040 --> 01:17:03,011
But The Phantom did not speak.
1163
01:17:03,012 --> 01:17:06,817
Universal wanted him urgently
for Dracula.
1164
01:17:06,818 --> 01:17:10,623
MGM gave Chaney a large bonus
for signing a new contract.
1165
01:17:10,624 --> 01:17:14,730
And Irving Thalberg
chose his first sound film.
1166
01:17:14,731 --> 01:17:17,134
And so they picked "The Unholy Three"
1167
01:17:17,135 --> 01:17:20,071
as Chaney's talking picture debut.
1168
01:17:20,072 --> 01:17:22,642
And in reality
it was probably a good choice,
1169
01:17:22,643 --> 01:17:25,213
because it gives Chaney
the chance to now become:
1170
01:17:25,214 --> 01:17:27,716
The man of a hundred golden voices,
1171
01:17:27,717 --> 01:17:30,287
Professor Echo.
1172
01:17:30,288 --> 01:17:31,956
Thank you doctor, thank you.
1173
01:17:31,957 --> 01:17:34,026
Now, folks, if you just
gather around a little closer now.
1174
01:17:34,027 --> 01:17:35,762
Come right a little closer.
1175
01:17:35,763 --> 01:17:38,065
That's it, that's fine, folks.
1176
01:17:38,066 --> 01:17:40,037
Now, then, if you be real quiet
1177
01:17:40,038 --> 01:17:42,006
I'll see if I can get
the little boy to say something.
1178
01:17:42,007 --> 01:17:44,075
Chaney had to sign an affidavit
1179
01:17:44,076 --> 01:17:46,048
that all five voices was his
1180
01:17:46,049 --> 01:17:48,351
and not the work of voice doubles.
1181
01:17:48,352 --> 01:17:50,822
He through his voice, he imitated the girl,
1182
01:17:50,823 --> 01:17:52,557
and even a parrot.
1183
01:17:52,558 --> 01:17:55,829
As Mrs. O'Grady,
he didn't try to fake the voice.
1184
01:17:55,830 --> 01:17:59,735
He just spoke softly
and chose the words carefully.
1185
01:17:59,736 --> 01:18:01,439
Oh, Rosie,
1186
01:18:01,440 --> 01:18:04,376
will you come here please?
1187
01:18:04,377 --> 01:18:05,577
Alright.
1188
01:18:11,689 --> 01:18:14,025
Come right in, Rosie.
1189
01:18:22,807 --> 01:18:24,507
What's the big idea?
1190
01:18:24,508 --> 01:18:27,546
What's eating you now?
1191
01:18:29,117 --> 01:18:30,951
You're making a play for that guy.
1192
01:18:30,952 --> 01:18:32,487
Don't be silly,
1193
01:18:32,488 --> 01:18:34,490
I like him cause he hands me a laugh.
1194
01:18:34,491 --> 01:18:36,361
Yeah? well, you keep on
and and I'll hand you a laugh,
1195
01:18:36,362 --> 01:18:37,597
you get that?
1196
01:18:37,598 --> 01:18:39,400
In the courtroom,
1197
01:18:39,401 --> 01:18:42,605
Mrs. O'Grady
is under intense cross examination.
1198
01:18:42,606 --> 01:18:45,042
In short Mrs. O'Grady,
1199
01:18:45,043 --> 01:18:48,781
you don't remember anything else
except what you want to remember,
1200
01:18:48,782 --> 01:18:50,551
do you?
1201
01:18:50,552 --> 01:18:52,421
Oh, I have such a headache.
1202
01:19:01,234 --> 01:19:03,036
Well, I'm sorry Mrs. O'Grady,
1203
01:19:03,037 --> 01:19:04,439
if you have a headache.
1204
01:19:04,440 --> 01:19:06,007
Thank you.
1205
01:19:06,008 --> 01:19:08,078
I didn't mean to make you nervous.
1206
01:19:08,079 --> 01:19:10,115
Oh, it's much better now, thank you.
1207
01:19:10,116 --> 01:19:12,685
You see, I'm only
attempting to get to the truth.
1208
01:19:12,686 --> 01:19:14,053
Yes, of course.
1209
01:19:14,054 --> 01:19:16,523
Now, Mrs. O'Grady...
1210
01:19:16,524 --> 01:19:18,594
You see your honor? An imposter!
1211
01:19:18,595 --> 01:19:21,264
Order, order in the court.
1212
01:19:21,265 --> 01:19:23,302
And then of course at the end,
1213
01:19:23,303 --> 01:19:25,907
the ending was re-shot.
1214
01:19:25,908 --> 01:19:28,712
Originally the ending
was like in the silent version
1215
01:19:28,713 --> 01:19:33,119
where Chaney goes back to the side show.
1216
01:19:33,120 --> 01:19:35,221
Rosie comes up and says:
1217
01:19:35,222 --> 01:19:38,660
"I'm going to fulfill
my part of the bargain."
1218
01:19:38,661 --> 01:19:42,066
And Echo realizes
that she really loves Hector.
1219
01:19:42,067 --> 01:19:44,002
He says: "No, you go on."
1220
01:19:44,003 --> 01:19:47,306
And as she starts to leave,
he has the dummy, says:
1221
01:19:47,307 --> 01:19:49,144
"Goodbye, old pal."
1222
01:19:49,145 --> 01:19:50,782
And she turns around
1223
01:19:50,783 --> 01:19:52,350
and he's holding the dummy in his lap
1224
01:19:52,351 --> 01:19:54,319
and he waves dummy's arm
1225
01:19:54,320 --> 01:19:57,892
and as she leaves
the dummy comes to Chaney's chest
1226
01:19:57,893 --> 01:20:00,196
and he puts his head down
and he begins to cry.
1227
01:20:00,197 --> 01:20:02,064
And I talked with a man who
1228
01:20:02,065 --> 01:20:04,235
happened to be working at MGM at the time
1229
01:20:04,236 --> 01:20:08,708
who just happened
to sneak in on the set at that point
1230
01:20:08,709 --> 01:20:11,513
and he said Chaney cried real tears
1231
01:20:11,514 --> 01:20:12,916
like you wouldn't believe.
1232
01:20:19,430 --> 01:20:21,164
In the final scene
1233
01:20:21,165 --> 01:20:22,733
as re-shot,
1234
01:20:22,734 --> 01:20:24,536
Echo says farewell
at the railroad station
1235
01:20:24,537 --> 01:20:28,509
To Hector,
Elliot Nugent and Rosie, Lila Lee.
1236
01:20:28,510 --> 01:20:31,480
By now Chaney knew he had lung cancer.
1237
01:20:31,481 --> 01:20:34,083
Well,
I guess Rosie wants to talk to you now
1238
01:20:34,084 --> 01:20:36,154
so I'll say goodbye.
1239
01:20:36,155 --> 01:20:37,823
Well, goodbye kid. Good luck.
1240
01:20:37,824 --> 01:20:39,359
Irony of ironies,
1241
01:20:39,360 --> 01:20:41,495
here's the man
who has through this film
1242
01:20:41,496 --> 01:20:44,299
Harry Earles told me,
he was struggling to go along
1243
01:20:44,300 --> 01:20:46,169
because of his health.
1244
01:20:46,170 --> 01:20:48,374
There were some days
where he just didn't have the energy
1245
01:20:48,375 --> 01:20:50,810
to get through the day.
1246
01:20:50,811 --> 01:20:52,981
And Hector,
as a way of saying thank you
1247
01:20:52,982 --> 01:20:55,083
gives him a carton of cigarettes.
1248
01:20:55,084 --> 01:20:56,720
I brought you some cigarettes.
1249
01:20:56,721 --> 01:20:58,387
Oh, swell.
1250
01:20:58,388 --> 01:20:59,991
Thanks, kid.
1251
01:20:59,992 --> 01:21:03,242
I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
1252
01:21:06,405 --> 01:21:09,908
Well, why don't you do a little of both?
1253
01:21:09,909 --> 01:21:12,646
You know the old saying:
1254
01:21:12,647 --> 01:21:15,349
"That's all there is to life,
1255
01:21:15,350 --> 01:21:19,556
just a little laugh, a little tear."
1256
01:21:19,557 --> 01:21:23,330
I'll send you postal cards.
1257
01:21:23,331 --> 01:21:25,333
Fades to black and we see
1258
01:21:25,334 --> 01:21:26,969
"The End".
1259
01:21:26,970 --> 01:21:31,341
That was Lon's last performance
on the silver screen.
1260
01:21:31,342 --> 01:21:33,979
Seven weeks after the film was released
1261
01:21:33,980 --> 01:21:35,916
Chaney died.
1262
01:21:35,917 --> 01:21:38,420
He was 47 years old.
1263
01:21:38,421 --> 01:21:40,723
I remember
1264
01:21:40,724 --> 01:21:44,630
it was my father
who saw it first on the placards
1265
01:21:44,631 --> 01:21:47,768
cause it was quite a sensation when,
1266
01:21:47,769 --> 01:21:52,074
and when he came in with the news
1267
01:21:52,075 --> 01:21:57,152
I really, I couldn't take it in.
1268
01:21:57,153 --> 01:22:01,458
I did think the end of the world
had come. No more Lon.
1269
01:22:01,459 --> 01:22:04,196
The day he died
when I was 10 years old
1270
01:22:04,197 --> 01:22:05,932
was the end of the world.
1271
01:22:05,933 --> 01:22:11,006
I thought, my God,
Lon Chaney died here in 1930
1272
01:22:11,007 --> 01:22:13,610
and I'm only 10 years old.
1273
01:22:13,611 --> 01:22:17,048
If he can die that means me too.
1274
01:22:17,049 --> 01:22:18,485
Nothing's safe.
1275
01:22:18,486 --> 01:22:20,720
If this great man,
1276
01:22:20,721 --> 01:22:24,227
this man taller than
all the buildings in the world
1277
01:22:24,228 --> 01:22:26,630
who represents
all the people in the world,
1278
01:22:26,631 --> 01:22:29,067
if he can be taken away by death,
1279
01:22:29,068 --> 01:22:31,772
then I'm vulnerable
1280
01:22:31,773 --> 01:22:34,042
and that was a terrible feeling to have.
1281
01:22:34,043 --> 01:22:35,810
The funeral service
1282
01:22:35,811 --> 01:22:37,582
was held at "Cunningham & O'Connor"
1283
01:22:37,583 --> 01:22:40,485
funeral home in downtown Los Angeles.
1284
01:22:40,486 --> 01:22:42,422
The eulogy was given by the
1285
01:22:42,423 --> 01:22:45,094
Chaplain of the Marine Corps of San Diego.
1286
01:22:52,808 --> 01:22:57,047
Hazel Chaney was in a state of collapse.
1287
01:22:57,048 --> 01:23:00,920
All studios in Hollywood halted work
1288
01:23:00,921 --> 01:23:04,058
to observe a moment of silence.
1289
01:23:04,059 --> 01:23:05,928
And at MGM,
1290
01:23:05,929 --> 01:23:08,833
They had a color guard there
from the Marine Corps
1291
01:23:08,834 --> 01:23:12,772
and they blew "Taps",
1292
01:23:12,773 --> 01:23:14,942
as the Marines
lower the flag to half-staff.
1293
01:23:19,217 --> 01:23:20,817
Chaney was interred
1294
01:23:20,818 --> 01:23:23,023
at Forest Lawn cemetery at Glendale.
1295
01:23:28,966 --> 01:23:31,366
No one knows the reason,
1296
01:23:31,367 --> 01:23:33,205
but his crypt, bears no name.
1297
01:23:35,108 --> 01:23:38,546
"Lon Chaney attains immortality",
1298
01:23:38,547 --> 01:23:41,284
said a screen magazine at the time.
1299
01:23:41,285 --> 01:23:43,554
No man in pictures, nor woman, either
1300
01:23:43,555 --> 01:23:46,025
has won the wide space in the popular heart
1301
01:23:46,026 --> 01:23:48,495
that Chaney could call his own.
1302
01:23:48,496 --> 01:23:50,866
There never was an actor
whose every gesture
1303
01:23:50,867 --> 01:23:57,276
carried more feeling,
more eloquence, than Chaney.
1304
01:23:57,277 --> 01:24:00,181
He will be missed
not only by the producers,
1305
01:24:00,182 --> 01:24:03,688
but by the millions
who took him into their hearts.
99353
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.