I think we can all agree that in the olden days people just weren’t as scared of stuff as we are now. However, that’s probably because they were dumber. Take threshers, for example. WHAT THE FUCK. People today are mostly smart enough to never get near those things. And while “being terrified of clowns” has mostly turned into a lame, overused joke, there is some truth to it. Take this short silent French film entitled “He Who Gets Slapped.” Apparently the French makers of this film had NO EARTHLY IDEA what a beautiful/horrifying film they were making. Check it out, and just TRY to get to sleep tonight!
Music by Circus Contraption.
You’ve awakened my inner movie geek. (To be honest, my IMG doesn’t so much sleep as catnap.)
It’s not French – it’s thoroughly American, despite being adapted from a Russian play and directed by a Swede. He Who Gets Slapped is most famous for being MGM’s first movie, made in 1924 (their first to be filmed, not the first they released; that was Mademoiselle Midnight, which is considerably less fantastic), and it stars Lon Chaney, John Gilbert, and my favourite movie star ever, Norma Shearer. Lon Chaney is extraordinary in this, and demonstrates where his reputation as the man with a thousand faces came from – if you ever get a chance to see the whole movie, it’s well worth your time.
That’s an awesome choice of soundtrack – it’s good to see bits of these films on YouTube. They’re works of art, and deserve a much bigger audience than they get.
If anyone wants to see the whole 70-odd-minute movie (I’m not holding my breath here, but you never know), some kind soul has made it available on Google Videos. It’s not a great quality print, but I’m really thrilled to have found it; I last saw it about 20 years at a silent movie festival in London and I’ve been dying to see it again for years.
French? Nuh-uh. That’s the great Lon Chaney, Sr., and it’s an American film
Oh, oops… yeah, what comment #1 said.
Don’t oops – I’m just very pleased that I’m not the only person who reads Slog who enjoys this stuff enough to recognise the odd actor!