Freaks (1932)

Director:

Tod Browning

Guionista:

Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins (story)

Release Date:

20 febrero 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror

Frase comercial:

Can a full grown woman truly love a MIDGET ?

Plot:

A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.

Plot Keywords:

Handicapped | Disturbing | Knife | Knife Thrower | Armless Man

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

'Freaks' is an extraordinary movie with a lot of heart.

Cast

Wallace Ford	...	Phroso
Leila Hyams	...	Venus
Olga Baclanova	...	Cleopatra
Roscoe Ates	...	Roscoe (as Rosco Ates)
Henry Victor	...	Hercules
Harry Earles	...	Hans
Daisy Earles	...	Frieda
Rose Dione	...	Madame Tetrallini
Daisy Hilton	...	Siamese Twin
Violet Hilton	...	Siamese Twin
Schlitze	...	Himself
Josephine Joseph	...	Half-Woman, Half Man
Johnny Eck	...	Half Boy
Frances O'Connor	...	Armless Girl
Peter Robinson	...	Human Skeleton

También conocida como:

Forbidden Love (USA) (informal title)
Nature's Mistakes (USA) (informal title)
The Monster Show
Fenómenos (Uruguay) (Venezuela) [es]
Parada de los monstruos, La (Spain) [es]

Duración:

64 min

País:

USA

Idioma:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sonido:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Clasificación:

Finland:(Banned) (1932) | Italy:T (VHS/DVD rating) (self applied) | Italy:(Banned) (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Australia:PG | Germany:16 | UK:12 (re-rating) (2001) | UK:15 (video rating) (1995) | UK:R (original rating) | UK:X (re-rating) (1963) | USA:Unrated | Ireland:(Banned) (1999)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivialidades:

The on-screen romance between Hans and Frieda was very subdued because the roles were being played by real life brother and sister Harry Earles and Daisy Earles.

Goofs:

Continuity: Hercules rushes out of the wagon in pursuit of Josephine/Joseph, hot on his/her heels, but when Cleopatra looks out the window a moment later, Josephene/Joseph is leaning casually against a wagon applying makeup. He/she would not have had time to relax and get out a compact in that short amount of time.

Quotes:

Hercules: They're going to make you one of them, my peacock!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Meet the Robinsons (2007)

'Freaks' is an extraordinary movie with a lot of heart.

I really dig 1930s horror movies. There's just something special about them that can never be recreated. A lot of it has to do with the talkies being new territory, many of the directors adapting German Expressionist techniques to Hollywood melodrama, and the freedom allowed before the Hayes Code really kicked in. Movies like 'Dracula', 'Frankenstein', 'Bride Of Frankenstein', 'Island Of Lost Souls', 'The Invisible Man' and 'White Zombie' are horror classics which still impress today. I wonder whether anyone will be watching the lame horror movies of today in seventy years for any other reason than some cheap laughs? Todd Browning made the transition from silent movies and directed the hugely successful 'Dracula' in 1931. It was a sensation and made Bela Lugosi a horror icon. Browning could pretty much do anything he chose after that. He chose to do 'Freaks'. Great for us as, not so great for him. The movie was universally reviled and even banned in some countries and his career never fully recovered. But 'Freaks' is an extraordinary movie with a lot of heart. It has faults, sure - some corny acting at times, and not so great production values - but it really doesn't matter. I don't know anyone who's seen it who hasn't been deeply affected by it. The reason the movie caused such a negative reaction back in the 1930s was because it used real circus performers including Zip the Pinhead and Radian "The Living Torso". Many people found this to be distasteful and exploitative, but the performers seemed to be glad to get the opportunity to work, and the whole crux of the movie is that the "freaks" are more decent than the "normal" Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) , the trapeze artist who marries little person Hans (Harry Earls) for his money. 'Freaks' is still a very powerful and unique movie. It has inspired many creative people over the years from the Surrealists to The Ramones to Jodorowsky to David Lynch. 'Freaks' comes with my highest recommendation!