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Event
The Unknown & Freaks @ SLIFF
The Unknown
Tod Browning, U.S., 1927, 63 min.
Friday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m., Webster U./Moore, $15 for a double bill with "Freaks"
On Friday the 13th, SLIFF offers a circus-themed double bill of horror classics by director Tod Browning ("Dracula"), who was himself a sideshow barker and performer in his early life. The silent "The Unknown" stars master of makeup Lon Chaney -- the Man of a Thousand Faces -- as Alonzo the Armless, who throws knives and shoots a rifle with his feet. A criminal in hiding, Alonzo keeps multiple secrets, which are shared only by his friend, the midget Cojo. He also lusts after his assistant, Nanon (a fetching and scantily attired young Joan Crawford), the daughter of the circus' ringmaster. Senses of Cinema, citing the film as "a modern masterpiece," describes "The Unknown" as "a truly horrifying film that takes us into the darkest recesses of the human psyche." Screening from an archival 35mm print, "The Unknown" is accompanied by St. Louis' Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra, which plays an original score composed especially for this event. Browning's cult classic "Freaks" completes the double bill. With live accompaniment by the Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra and an introduction and post-film discussion by Tom Stockman, editor and creative director of the We Are Movie Geeks website.
Freaks
Tod Browning, U.S., 1932, 64 min.
Friday, Nov. 13, 9 p.m., Webster U./Moore, $15 for double bill with "The Unknown"
Part of a Friday the 13th "Carnival of Horror" double bill -- with the same director's "The Unknown" -- Todd Browning's legendary cult classic "Freaks" has lost none of its power to disturb. Trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) learns that circus midget Hans (Harry Earles) has an inheritance, and she exploits his infatuation by marrying him, all the while planning to steal his fortune and run off with her lover, strongman Hercules (Henry Victor). When Hans' friends and fellow performers discover the ruse, they band together and carry out a brutal revenge. The film's cast members were drawn from the ranks of actual carnival-sideshow performers, and their deformities were very much real. Dramatically cut by MGM even before its release to tone down its shocking content, "Freaks" still provoked outrage, and Browning's career never quite recovered. But the film was rediscovered in the 1960s, becoming a staple on the midnight circuit, and its critical status began a steady and steep rise. Dave Kehr in the Chicago Reader writes: "If the heart of the horror movie is the annihilating Other, the Other has never appeared with more vividness, teasing sympathy, and terror than in this 1932 film by Tod Browning." With an introduction and post-film discussion by Tom Stockman, editor and creative director of the We Are Movie Geeks website.
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LocationWebster University/Moore Auditorium (View)
470 East Lockwood Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63119
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 21 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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