Mockery

As a lifelong fan of Chaney Sr., this film was on a very short list of existing Chaney films I had yet to see. I watched it last night for the first time and was pleasantly surprised. Although I admit this is far from Chaney's best work, I suspect many of the negative reviews, both then and now, come from unmet expectations. "Mockery" does not have grotesque make-up like "Hunchback of Notre Dame". It lacks bizarre story elements like "The Unknown". Chaney only plays one character instead of two, as he did in "A Blind Bargain". And if you wanted to see sets and scenery on a grand scale, as in "Phantom of the Opera", forget about it.

So what does this film have? Well, this melodrama, set in Russia around the time of the revolution, revolves around the theme you see in most of Chaney's films: unrequited love. Chaney's character is a peasant named Sergei, who reminded me of "Lenny", the character portrayed by Lon Chaney Jr. in "Of Mice and Men". Sergei is a good hearted simpleton, unable to understand matters of love. Sergei's love for the Countess, like Quasimodo's longing for Esmarelda, is destined for failure, but he's the only one who cannot see this.

As the story unfolds, we get glimpses into the good and bad (or Jekyll and Hyde, if you will) found in all of us. Sergei's pure love turns to lust. Tatiana's indifference evolves into compassion.

If you're expecting a 1927 era melodrama, you'll get a good one. If you're expecting something bizarre, like "Novokursk After Midnight", you'll have trouble keeping awake.

I'm a fan but have never seen this Lon Chaney film before. The intensity he brings to his slow-minded character is magnificent.

The title cards keep you on pace with the imagery very well. I didn't especially dislike the ones 'upstairs' but did feel empathy for the peasants 'downstairs.'

Nicely paced and always interesting throughout the story. It was a pleasure to see.

It's easy to spot Károly Huszár (Ivan the Gatekeeper), a familiar face in some great films like. The Blue Angel and The Man Who Laughs. Information about when and where he died at the age of 58 is sketchy, would be nice to know his complete story. IMDB: "His death place and date is still unconfirmed. He and his wife left Hungary in 1941 because of the Holocaust and tried to get into the United States. Some sources say that he died in Tokyo, Japan in 1942. Others that his train was stopped by the Soviet army and he was imprisoned in a Gulag labor camp in Karaganda, Kazahstan where he performed in the camp theatre company. He died there from diphtheria in June, 1943."

Spend a little time with this film, I find it rewarding.

A downtrodden and slow-witted Russian peasant first saves the life of, and then fixates upon, a beautiful countess around the time of the Russian Revolution.

One of Lon Chaney's best films, yet little-seen or mentioned, probably because of him wearing so much less make-up than in his more celebrated roles like The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Phantom of The Opera. It doesn't address the politics or historical events of the revolution in any detail, dwelling as it does on personal power dynamics instead, but it's a thoroughly involving tale, mostly due to the detail of the two leads, Chaney and the delicately expressive Barbara Bedford.

It strikes me again how brutal and cruel some of the great creations of the silent era were, dealing in the dread realities of life the same way as the early blues songs, the ancient folk ballads and original fairy tales. A lot of these rough edges were sanded off to make a more palatable fantasy product for the masses as sound came in, but films like this, The Man Who Laughs, The Last Command and even Chaplin comedies like The Kid and City Lights have a gut-punching pathos in the face of ordinary human horror that it's hard to find anywhere today.

7.1/10.

In this silent Lon Chaney film, he once again plays a non-traditional role. This time he is a dull-witted peasant, Sergei, during a revolution. He survives by taking food off dead bodies on the battlefield. While at this, he is discovered by a beautiful woman, who enlists his aid in trying to escape. He is primarily responsible for getting her out of a potentially deadly situation. What he doesn't realize is that she is a countess, living the high life, ruling the servants. She never intended any sort of relationship, obviously. He doesn't see it this way. So it is hopeless. He then gets enlisted by a cook, who works in the mansion. He uses Sergei to manipulate his situation, wanting to get his hands on the countess. Sergei just doesn't get it. Chaney is fantastic. His amazing facial expressions and his interpretation of the role are superb.

During his career, Lon Chaney played a lot of odd roles and a wide variety of nationalities. So, his playing a Russian peasant in "Mockery" isn't all that surprising.

The film is set during the Russian Revolution and it begins with Sergei (Chaney) looking among the dead after battle in order to find some food. While doing this, he meets up with a woman who offers to give him food and pay him if he can slip her into Novokursk--a nearby city besieged by Communist forces. He agrees and this peasant is now devoted to the woman. His devotion is proved when they are captured and he is beaten. Even then, he won't betray her.

When they are rescued, the woman turns out to be a countess and her gratitude towards Sergei seems shallow and fleeting. When he confronts her about this, she begrudgingly gives him a job working as one of her servants. Not surprisingly, when another servant, Ivan, begins lecturing Sergei about the evils of the rich, Sergei is more than willing to listen. After all, he'd taken a beating to save this woman yet seemed to have little regard for him. And all the servants seem ready to join the rebellion. What's next? See the film.

This is a decent but not exactly sparkling film. Chaney is fine but the plot is confusing as to its message. Is it a rousing endorsement of the destruction of a decadent system? You get inklings of this...but the ending also seems to strongly endorse the system. Or, is it a film that extols the virtue of the nobility? Well, not really as several of the rich folks in this film are real jerk-faces! So what's it all mean? I dunno...

If you do watch this one, look for Mack Swain as a corpulent rich jerk. He is normally known for comedies--particularly films with Chaplin. So, seeing him in a serious and thankless role like this is an interesting change of pace. Also, look for a very young and very handsome Ricardo Cortez as the Captain...he sure looks different than he did in his heyday in the 1930s.