Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

happytrigger-64-390517 ... and my favorite Tod Browning, yes better than "Freaks", because Lon Chaney really creates and plays his handicap (as in "Freaks", the actors already have their handicap). "The Unknown" is the most terrific and weird story I've ever seen on screen and Lon Chaney plays his most desperately insane character of his career, just remember the scene in the armchair. And the all the apocalyptic ending ...I'll always remember seeing a french 16 mm print showed by a friend in a garden in Burgundy, and I jumped when I saw a never seen close-up of Lon Chaney's foot doing something special. I hope to see again someday that close-up, another "tour de force" by Lon Chaney.

utgard14 Tod Browning and Lon Chaney classic about a knife thrower named Alonzo (Chaney) who pretends to have no arms. He uses his feet to throw knives. He falls in love with a gypsy girl named Nanon (Joan Crawford). She has a fear of being touched so she rebuffs the advances of men, including a circus strongman who is in love with her. Alonzo will do anything to have Nanon and takes drastic measures to ensure she never finds out his secret.One of Chaney's most memorable performances. He learned to use his feet as hands to throw knives, light cigarettes, scratch his head, etc. You can bet none of today's stars would go to the kinds of lengths Chaney would for a role. Director Tod Browning was Chaney's favorite collaborator. They worked on ten movies together and this is one of the best. A creepy, suspenseful film with an exciting finale.

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki Ludicrous premise has surprisingly effective results: an armless circus performer is involved in a love triangle, with a girl who hates to be touched by anyone, and another who cannot keep his hands off her. "Alonzo the Armless" throws knives with his feet, and fires weapons with his feet. But the sick and twisted part of this macabre story is that Alonzo the Armless does in fact have arms, which he eventually has amputated, solely to win the love of the girl who dislikes being touched. When that proves futile, his attention then goes to eliminating his competition. Sick, macabre, obsessive love story manages to come across well, we feel sorry for Chaney's antihero and his unrequited love, until he begins plotting to kill the girl's suitor by nearly having him torn apart by two horses, in a chilling ending. Alonzo's plot to kill girl's suitor nearly kills his love instead. In a last move, Alonzo saves his love from a death he very nearly caused, only to be killed himself. Film is a bit difficult to find, and most certainly one of the oddest movies you can imagine, but still worthwhile, in a chilling sort of way.

blanche-2 Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford star in "The Unknown," a 1927 film written and directed by Tod Browning.Chaney, who often suffered great physical pain getting into his roles, plays Alonzo, an armless man who uses his feet to throw daggers at Nanon (Crawford) as part of his circus act. In truth, though, only his pal Cojo (John George) knows that Alonzo has both arms, corseted behind him while he's working. He's a burglar hiding from the police. Since one of his thumbs is deformed, it seems to him a good disguise.But Alonzo finds it difficult to hide his love for Nanon. Nanon seems frightened of any man's touch, although she is attracted to Malabar (Norman Kerry). One night, her father Zanzi (Nick de Ruiz) sees that Alonzo has arms, and Alonzo has to kill him. Nanon sees the murder, but not the face of the killer; she does, however, see his deformity.Alonzo decides it's best to have the arm with the deformed finger amputated. When he recovers and returns to work, he discovers that Nanon and Malabar are now an item. It's not something he's willing to take lightly.Weird, bizarre, strange, all these words and more describe this twisted story, typical Tod Browning fare. Joan Crawford looks a little different in this film than she does in other early movies. She may have had her nose altered at some point. Nevertheless, with those tremendous flashing eyes, beautiful figure and vibrant presence, it's not hard for her to earn the love of two men. Unfortunately one of them is nuts.Chaney was a master at facial expressions and physical changes, and he gives a compelling portrait as Alonzo, desperately in love with Nanon, who swears he will have her no matter what. I wasn't familiar with Norman Kerry before this film; he seems to have been a potential Fairbanks replacement, very dashing.All in all, a fascinating silent. I saw it on TCM and like so many other silents, it's not in great shape, but that shouldn't distract from the viewing.