Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928)

Director:

Herbert Brenon

Writers:

David Belasco (play)
Tom Cushing (play)

Release Date:

14 April 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A professional clown and a self-indulgent count learn to help each other with their problems, but then become romantic rivals.

Plot Keywords:

Circus | Suicide | Unrequited Love | Clown | Depression

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Tito Beppi
Bernard Siegel	...	Simon
Loretta Young	...	Simonetta
Cissy Fitzgerald	...	Giancinta (as Cissy Fitz-Gerald)
Nils Asther	...	Count Luigi Ravelli
Gwen Lee	...	Lucretia

Runtime:

USA:73 min (22.4 fps)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Elysian Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The play opened in New York City, New York, USA on 28 November 1923, and had 133 performances. The cast included Lionel Barrymore as Tito Beppi, Ian Keith as Luigi Ravelli and Irene Fenwick as Simonetta. The play itself was based on "Ridi, Pagliaccio" by Fausto Maria Martini.

Quotes:

Simon, aka Flok: Laugh, clown, laugh, even though your heart is breaking.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Pagliacci (1948)

One of the Great Films

Not only is this the greatest performance I've seen by Chaney, it is one of the great films.

In this, Chaney definitively proves he is one of the greatest actors, perhaps the greatest, in all of film. Although he appears in different make-ups in almost every scene, the make-up is to portray himself as a younger man who slowly grows older as the 25-year span of the film tells the well-known tragic love story more familiarly known as "Pagliacci," the clown who could not laugh.

The film co-stars a radiant 14-year-old Loretta Young, who Chaney supposedly guided to another great performance. Without the director, who was unduly harsh on her, knowing it. When Chaney found out, he made sure he was always with Young whenever the director was. Young's mistreatment ended.

Several times I was near tears because Chaney's performance--watch his eyes, hands and demeanor--is so naturalistic, even though somewhat melodramatic, as all silent performances were.

Almost all of Chaney's films were about unrequieted love, but here he may have reached his apotheosis. I won't know until I see a few more of his non "horror" films, especially, "He Who Gets Slapped."

Don't let what I've said make you think this is some clunky "tear-jerker," It is filled with good laughs, drama, wonder and real pathos. Chaney's final scene is utterly tragic and beautiful.

Even non-Chaney fans will be awed by "Laugh, Clown, Laugh."