The Man Who Laughs (1928)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Paul Leni

Writers:

J. Grubb Alexander (adaptation)
J. Grubb Alexander (continuity)
(more)

Release Date:

4 November 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance

Plot:

Gwynplaine, son of Lord Clancharlie, has a permanent smile carved on his face by the King, in revenge for Gwynplaine's father's treachery...

Plot Keywords:

Jester | Boy | Clown | Revenge | King James II

Cast

Mary Philbin	...	Dea
Conrad Veidt	...	Gwynplaine
Julius Molnar Jr.	...	Gwynplaine as a child
Olga Baclanova	...	Duchess Josiana
Brandon Hurst	...	Barkilphedro
Cesare Gravina	...	Ursus
Stuart Holmes	...	Lord Dirry-Moir
Sam De Grasse	...	King James II
George Siegmann	...	Dr. Hardquanonne
Josephine Crowell	...	Queen Anne
Charles Puffy	...	Innkeeper
Zimbo the Dog	...	Homo the Wolf (as Zimbo)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Henry A. Barrows	...	(uncredited)
Richard Bartlett	...	(uncredited)
Les Bates	...	(uncredited)
Charles Brinley	...	(uncredited)
Allan Cavan	...	(uncredited)
D'Arcy Corrigan	...	(uncredited)
Carmen Costello	...	Dea's Mother (uncredited)
Carrie Daumery	...	Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited)
Howard Davies	...	(uncredited)
Nick De Ruiz	...	Wapentake (uncredited)
Louise Emmons	...	Gypsey Hag (uncredited)
J.C. Fowler	...	(uncredited)
John George	...	Dwarf (uncredited)
Jack A. Goodrich	...	Clown (uncredited)
Charles Hancock	...	(uncredited)
Lila LaPon	...	Featured (uncredited)
Torben Meyer	...	The Spy (uncredited)
Joe Murphy	...	Hardquanones messenger (uncredited)
Edgar Norton	...	Lord High Chancellor (uncredited)
Broderick O'Farrell	...	(uncredited)
Lon Poff	...	(uncredited)
Frank Puglia	...	Clown (uncredited)
Henry Roquemore	...	(uncredited)
Templar Saxe	...	(uncredited)
Allan Sears	...	(uncredited)
Scott Seaton	...	(uncredited)
Louis Stern	...	(uncredited)
Al Stewart	...	(uncredited)
Anton Vaverka	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Paul Leni

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
J. Grubb Alexander		adaptation
J. Grubb Alexander		continuity
Walter Anthony		titles
Victor Hugo		novel "L'Homme Qui Rit"
May McLean		uncredited
Marion Ward		uncredited
Charles E. Whittaker		uncredited

Produced by
Paul Kohner	....	supervising producer

Original Music by
William Axt		(uncredited)
Sam Perry		(uncredited)
Erno Rapee		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Gilbert Warrenton

Film Editing by
Edward L. Cahn		(as Edward Cahn)

Art Direction by
Charles D. Hall
Thomas F. O'Neill		(as Thomas O'Neil)
Joseph C. Wright		(as Joseph Wright)

Costume Design by
David Cox
Vera West

Makeup Department
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Paul Kohner	....	production supervisor

Editorial Department
Maurice Pivar	....	editorial supervisor

Music Department
Joseph Cherniavsky	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Walter Anthony	....	titles
Charles D. Hall	....	technical director
Carl Laemmle	....	presenter
Lew Landers	....	production staff member (as Louis Friedlander)
Jay Marchant	....	production staff member
R.H. Newlands	....	technical researcher (as Prof. R.H. Newlands)
Thomas F. O'Neill	....	technical director
Bela Sekely	....	story supervisor (as Dr. Bela Sekely)
John M. Voshell	....	production staff member
Joseph C. Wright	....	technical director (as Joseph Wright)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1928) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino Video (2003) (USA) (VHS)
• Magnus Opus (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Sunrise Silents (2004) (worldwide) (DVD) (NTSC) (PAL)

Also Known As:

Der Mann, der lacht (Germany) [de]
El hombre que ríe (Spain) [es]
Gülen adam (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
L'homme qui rit (France) [fr]
L'uomo che ride (Italy) [it]
Nauruihminen (Finland) [fi]
O Homem Que Ri (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System) (musical score and sound effects) | Silent

Filming Locations:

Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Gwynplaine's fixed grin and disturbing clown-like appearance was a key inspiration for comic book talents 'Bob Kane (I)' and Jerry Robinson in creating Batman's greatest enemy, The Joker.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The opening titles set the film in 17th century England (1690 in the novel it is based on). Lord Clancharlie is sentenced to death in an Iron-Maiden, but this instrument of torture was not invented until 1793.

Quotes:

Gwynplaine: [Via subtitles, to the House of Lords] A king made me a clown! A queen made me a Peer! But first, God made me a man!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Black Dahlia (2006)

Soundtrack:

WHEN LOVE COMES STEALING

Watch it twice in a row to take it all in!

This was our first Conrad Veidt experience. The Man Who Laughs is a spellbinding piece of visual art. Veidt's acting is sensational. I knew the plot of the story and wondered how he would portray feelings of sadness and regret with a permanent smile carved on his face. After viewing the tape, we were amazed how the emotions exuded from the TV screen. This is our second Mary Philbin experience and both of us prefer her acting in this movie to her role in The Phantom of the Opera.

We have viewed silents on the TV screen as well as the big screen. We discovered that there is more of the "larger than life" emotions projected and felt by the audience through the larger screenings that is somewhat missed on the 27" TV screen. Not so with this performance. My wife and I were both moved to watch it from the beginning...one more time.