The Lon Chaney Collection: The Unknown (1927)

I saw Lon Chaney's The Unknown as part of Houston's Discovery Park downtown outdoor film series. The silent film was greatly energized by an original score (klezmer meets Bono) performed live by the six-person band The Invincible Czars, all dressed as gypsies. Here is Chaney without mask or makeup -- we see his facial expressions contort without artifice, only artistry. The story is of course melodramatic and somewhat maudlin but captivating in a Gift of the Magi way. Chaney is Alonso, an armless circus performer who nimbly plays guitar, lights and smokes cigarettes, and does everything else with his toes. (This is one of the most incidentally entertaining parts.) He is enamored with the circus owner's daughter (played saucily by a young Joan Crawford), who confesses to the sympathetic and safe Alonso that she trusts him. Yet Alonso has secret desires of his own and an even greater secret that he dares not reveal to anyone but his trusted servant. He sets out to guard one secret and attain the other but tragedy befalls his twisted plans. How the story unfolds is both simple and captivating. Do what I do: Follow Chaney's facial expressions and supply your own lines, murmuring bits like "Oh great -- now I'm so screwed!" (This review will be updated after I receive and watch the rest of the disc.) 3 stars. (6-14-10 posted 7-26-10)