He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Victor Sjöström

Writers:

Leonid Andreyev (play)
Victor Sjöström (adaptation)

Release Date:

9 November 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Story of an inventor who, suffering betrayal in life, makes a career of it by becoming a clown whose...

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Tragedy | Remake | Cuckold | Based On Play

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Paul Beaumont / HE
Norma Shearer	...	Consuelo
John Gilbert	...	Bezano
Tully Marshall	...	Count Mancini
Marc McDermott	...	Baron Regnard
Ford Sterling	...	Tricaud
Harvey Clark	...	Briquet (as Harvey Clarke)
Paulette Duval	...	Zinida
Ruth King	...	Maria Beaumont
Clyde Cook	...	A Clown
Brandon Hurst	...	A Clown
George Davis	...	A Clown

Runtime:

Sweden:95 min | USA:80 min (original release) | 71 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The first film to feature Leo the Lion roaring as MGM's logo. Designed by Howard Dietz, the logo was first used for the Goldwyn Pictures Corporation film Polly of the Circus (1917) and passed to MGM when Goldwyn merged with two other companies to form MGM.

Goofs:

Continuity: During part of the scene where the lion is loose in the room, Beaumont is seen with no, or hardly any, black makeup around his right eye. Before and after this scene, both eyes are made up.

Quotes:

Opening Dialogue Card: In the grim comedy of life, it has been wisely said that the last laugh is the best.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Masterpiece

He Who Gets Slapped (1924)

**** (out of 4)

After being slapped and laughed at by his friend, a scientist (Lon Chaney) decides to join the circus as a performing clown where getting slapped can get him laughs but soon the past starts to catch up with him. This is certainly one of the best Chaney vehicles and in my opinion one of the greatest and strongest films of the silent era. Norma Shearer and John Gilbert are very strong in their roles but there's no denying that this is Chaney's film all the way through. I'd also argue that he gives one of the greatest performances ever caught on film. He works brilliantly as the shamed scientist but once the clown makeup is on he takes the film and performance to another level. The clown routines are wonderfully performed and quite funny and the tragedy that follows is very touching and sad. The film works on every single level due to Chaney. This was the first film made by the then new MGM studio.