The Unholy Three (1930)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jack Conway

Writers:

Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins (novel)
J.C. Nugent (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 July 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

"Talkie" remake of Tod Browning's 1925 silent film. A trio of former sideshow performers double as the "Unholy Three" in a scam to nab some shiny rocks. |

Plot Keywords:

Scam | Remake | Death Of Title Character | Quirky | Ventriloquist

Cast

Lon Chaney	...	Professor Echo / Mrs. 'Grandma' O'Grady
Lila Lee	...	Rosie O'Grady
Elliott Nugent	...	Hector McDonald
Harry Earles	...	Tweedledee, aka Willie 'Midget' / 'Midge'
John Miljan	...	Prosecuting Attorney
Ivan Linow	...	Herman, aka Hercules
Clarence Burton	...	Detective Regan
Crauford Kent	...	Defense Attorney (as Craufurd Kent)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jack Baxley	...	Outside Sideshow Barker (uncredited)
Sidney Bracey	...	Arlington's Butler (uncredited)
Richard Carle	...	Sideshow Barker (uncredited)
Ray Cooke	...	Sailor at Sideshow (uncredited)
De Garo	...	Fire Eater (uncredited)
Dot Farley	...	Woman Buying Parrot (uncredited)
Trixie Friganza	...	Lady Customer (uncredited)
Charles Gemora	...	Gorilla (uncredited)
Joseph W. Girard	...	The Judge (uncredited)
Armand Kaliz	...	Jeweller (uncredited)
Fred Kelsey	...	Detective at Train (uncredited)
Cecilia Parker	...	First Siamese Twin (uncredited)
Linda Parker	...	Second Siamese Twin (uncredited)
Sylvester	...	Sword Swallower (uncredited)
Birdie Thompson	...	Ida From Idaho (Fat Lady) (uncredited)

Directed by
Jack Conway

Writing credits
Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins		(novel) (as Clarence Aaron Robbins)
J.C. Nugent		(writer) and
Elliott Nugent		(writer)

Produced by
Irving Thalberg	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Axt		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Percy Hilburn

Film Editing by
Frank Sullivan

Art Direction by
Cedric Gibbons

Makeup Department
Lon Chaney	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Douglas Shearer	....	recording director
Anstruther MacDonald	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Cox	....	wardrobe

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• Incredibly Strange Filmworks (????) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1993) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Network Enterprises (????) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:(Banned) (1931)

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Final film of Lon Chaney.

Quotes:

Rosie O'Grady: Why, I... I don't know whether to laugh or cry.
Professor Echo, aka Mrs. 'Grandma' O'Grady: Well, why not do a little of both? You know the old gag. That's all there is to life. A little laughter... a little tear.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Soundtrack:

A Hot Time in the Old Town

The swan song of an artist

Make no mistake, Lon Chaney Sr. was one of the most talented and versatile actors in the history of American Film. And in this, his only completed sound film, he is brilliant. As Professor Echo he uses his own pleasant voice (William Holden's voice is a good comparison), while he effectively and believably changes his voice during his old lady disguise. One wonders if he knew he was terminally ill when he made this film. Several sound vehicles were planned for him: "Dracula" (Bela Lugosi became a star inheriting the Chaney part), "The Sea Bat" (Charles Bickford), "The Phantom of Paris" (John Gilbert), and "The Big House" and "The Bugle Sounds" (Wallace Beery, the former establishing him in sound films.). One can only wonder how any of these films would have been if Chaney had lived to complete them.

But Chaney's is not the only good performance here. Lila Lee and future director-screenwriter Elliott Nugent are both good as the young lovers, the former's scenes with Chaney being some of the best in the picture. And, just as much as he did in the silent version, midget Harry Earles conveys pure menace as the depraved dwarf Tweedledee, although a combination of early sound equipment and his thick German accent make many of his lines all but incomprehensible. Reducing that accent by half, he would do impressive work in "Freaks" and, of course, "The Wizard of Oz" later in the decade. The only other roles of any size fall to veteran character men Clarence Burton and John Miljan, and they prove themselves more than up to the task.

Probably the only way anyone will get to see this film, until MGM decides to release it on video, is on Turner Classic Movies, which is where I saw it recently. If you do see it, you're in for a rare treat.