It is October again and of course with Halloween, this is the perfect month to watch a scary movie. To me (and I am sure many other film enthusiasts) that means it is the perfect time to watch a Lon Chaney movie. While I like many of you love Phantom of the Opera (1925), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), The Unknown and many more of the most popular films he starred in, this month we are going to look at an often very overlooked movie starring The Man of a Thousand Faces. This is a horror-comedy called The Monster.
This movie was directed by Roland West. If some of you are not familiar with this name it may be because during his brief movie career (1916-1931). He only directed 12 films and over half of them are unfortunately currently lost films. Two of his movies however may be known by comic book buffs. These are The Bat and its sequel The Bat Whispers. Both of which played a part in inspiring the character of Batman. The Monster is the oldest of West's currently surviving films.
This movie was based off a stage play by Crane Wilbur. Crane Wilbur is quite a name himself in film history. My fellow short subject fans might know him for directing some 1930's Technicolor short subjects for Warner Brothers about the history of the USA. On the other hand horror movie buffs might know him for writing 1953's The House of Wax. My fellow country music fans on the other hand might be interested to know Crane Wilbur directed a 1951 film called Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison, which inspired Johnny Cash to write his song Folsom Prison Blues.
As mentioned before this film stars Lon Chaney himself. One of the things that Chaney is best remembered for now is his understated and often subtle way of acting. This is often attributed to his parents being both deaf and mute and because of this he needed to learn to communicate through pantomime. However in this film he is anything but subtle. He is over the top and very exaggerated in his movements. Since the character he plays is anything but subtle it works very well here. Still this holds an interest to film enthusiasts to see such a beloved actor use such a different acting style.
As this film starts Johnny Goodlittle (played Johnny Arthur) fights over a beautiful girl named Betty (played by Gertrude Olmstead) with his rival Amos (played by Hallam Cooley). Johnny being an amateur detective decides to investigate a disappearance at an asylum. When he gets there however he learns that the evil Dr. Ziska (played by Lon Chaney) has taken over the place. Dr. Ziska kidnaps Amos and Betty. Johnny, Amos and Betty struggle to find a way out of the asylum alive as they learn just how sinister Dr. Ziska really is.
Though I would be lying if I said this movie ranks among one of Chaney's best films, this movie is still a sheer delight, especially for my fellow film buffs. The comedy while not consistently laugh out loud hilarious is often pretty funny. Scenes like the dance hall scene or Johnny being drunk certainty make me laugh. The characters are very likable and always fun to watch, and the acting is fantastic. However the best thing about this movie in my mind is its sense of atmosphere. As soon as you enter the asylum, there is a feeling of dread. You just know things are going to get worse. The lighting and cinematography are perfect here and really accentuate the idea of something not being quite right.
At time critics were not very fond of the movie's combination of comedy and horror. However this is what this movie's current fans loves about the film.
-Michael J. Ruhland
Resources Used
http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/3040/The-Monster/
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