The Man Who Laughs

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Classic Horror Special

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This somewhat under-the-radar film managed to grasp my attention upon finding out that the titular character here was pretty much the inspiration for the Joker, at least as far as the look. I can definitely see how. But I was curious to see whatever story was behind such an odd looking, creepy character.

In 17th century England, Lord Clancharlie (Conrad Veidt) comes back from exile to see his son. King James II takes the peer, and Clancharlie finds out, just before being killed, that his son was sold to a bunch of comprachicos, Basically, comprachicos translates to "child-buyers". They  would purchase children and alter their physical appearance through unnecessary processes while they grew up. When they became adults, they would either be sold to royalty as court jesters, or making their livings as charlatans, working through deception and trickery.

​Clancharlie's son, Gwinplaine (Julius Molnar, Conrad Veidt as an adult) ended up getting a permanent grin carved onto his face, and abandoned in a freezing cold winter. While seeking shelter, Gwinplaine comes across a dead mother clutching her still-living baby. He takes the baby with him, and eventually finds Ursus, the philosopher. Ursus finds the baby to be blind, sees Gwinplain's secret smile, and takes them in from the cold to raise them. 

Some years later, Gwynplaine ends up putting on shows, as a clown, with Dea (Mary Philbin - the baby he found). The pair are in love now, but he won't marry her due to shame of his appearance, even though she can't see it. He soon takes a liking to Duchess Josiana (Olga Baclanova), who possesses an estate that interests a jester named Barkilphedro (Brandon Hurst), a man involved with Clancharlie's execution.

Barkilphedro causes some trouble by revealing Gwynplaine's lineage in an attempt to get awarded by the queen. Gwynplaine must also face Dea now, wondering if it's possible that Josiana could love him for who he is, since she can see him, and is actually seemingly attracted to him.

Despite all of the horrific elements within the film, it's another drama, as opposed to horror. As Roger Ebert apparently put it, "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film." That pretty much seemed to be the way of things for a good chunk of the silent film horror era, and they largely brought what could be considered stage plays to life.

I have to commend the makeup Job Veidt got for this. It's very clear how this was able to inspire the look for the Joker. It's insane, but he really doesn't drop that smile for the entirety of the movie. I can only imagine what his face must have felt like after shooting this. For context, this is the same guy who played the ever-frowning and bug-eyed Cesare in 'Caligari'.

This wasn't particularly up my alley, story-wise. I found it somewhat confusing in parts, and some of the melodrama was a bit much for me. With that said, though, some of the performances here were still great. I have to give Veidt a lot of credit for really sticking to what he needed to do to make this work. I mean, where would my favourite DC villain be without this role existing? It's nothing spectacular in my eyes, but worth checking out if you appreciate silent cinema's dramatic side.

3/5

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