A very weird film much in the style of Tod Browning, THE UNKNOWN, while not being a horror film, has nevertheless been considered one of Lon Chaney's more distinctive work. The story is just too eccentric: Alonzo the Armless, played by Chaney, is a carnival performer who uses his feet for his stunts and has come to believe that Nanon Zanzi, played by Joan Crawford, who hates being touched by men, may eventually fall for him. While concealing his own arms, he propels her to Malabar the Strongman, but Malabar's gentle nature wins Nanon over. Alonzo resorts to extreme measures to make sure he can win Nanon back, but in true Browning fashion, he meets a particularly gruesome ending.
Right at the end of the silent film era, THE UNKNOWN came around with its typical Twenties' setups and wild overacting, and it benefits from its time; if it had been made only a year or two later, it would have been unbelievable. There is a very dream-like quality to this film, even in scenes with Norman Kerry and Joan Crawford just walking under the sunshine. Tod Browning loved the strange, and with the exception of FREAKS, this is a very strange movie. Chaney is -- surprise -- chilling even without makeup and holding his arms together under his clothes. All anyone has to do is to watch his expression when he has come back, sans arms, and Nanon tells him she is in love with Malabar.
It's not surprising that films that initially repel are later re-discovered and even praised. THE UNKNOWN is no exception to the rule. The thought that a man would go to chopping off his arms to make a woman love him is just disturbing. That the MacGuffin in the movie is her fear of being touched makes his ultimate choice even more disturbing. Chaney gives his usual tour-de-force performance, Crawford shows the girl she still was, and the last sequence, involving an attempt by Chaney to murder Malabar in which two horses, rigged for a performance, run out of control as Crawford, is short, bloodless, but spellbinding.
Right at the end of the silent film era, THE UNKNOWN came around with its typical Twenties' setups and wild overacting, and it benefits from its time; if it had been made only a year or two later, it would have been unbelievable. There is a very dream-like quality to this film, even in scenes with Norman Kerry and Joan Crawford just walking under the sunshine. Tod Browning loved the strange, and with the exception of FREAKS, this is a very strange movie. Chaney is -- surprise -- chilling even without makeup and holding his arms together under his clothes. All anyone has to do is to watch his expression when he has come back, sans arms, and Nanon tells him she is in love with Malabar.
It's not surprising that films that initially repel are later re-discovered and even praised. THE UNKNOWN is no exception to the rule. The thought that a man would go to chopping off his arms to make a woman love him is just disturbing. That the MacGuffin in the movie is her fear of being touched makes his ultimate choice even more disturbing. Chaney gives his usual tour-de-force performance, Crawford shows the girl she still was, and the last sequence, involving an attempt by Chaney to murder Malabar in which two horses, rigged for a performance, run out of control as Crawford, is short, bloodless, but spellbinding.