Man of a Thousand Faces

Contrary to some, I feel that Lon Chaney would be dancing in the aisles with this movie. A tribute to him and his great works. Who cares if it may or may not closely resemble "real life!" What celluloid project is ever an absolute depiction? Personally, I thought it to be a movie film industry's fond and deep appreciation for an excellent multifaceted actor and I viewed it as such. Cagney may not resemble Chaney Sr. but he definitely captured Chaney's drive and dedication.

It was a great movie with great actors. I loved the first time I saw it and I love it just as much now, many years later. It's a grand piece and I highly recommend it to everyone.

An excellent story, well told in the manner of the era the film was made. This means the story telling was paramount - thank heavens no tedious digital effects.

So what the story was loosely based on Chaney's life. In the 2 hours or so the film ran it was not possible to tell the whole story. So they use shortcuts and invention - so what. I bet more than one person started to research Chaney and other stories from the silent era. Interest stimulated...... job done.

Rather like the Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman stories, same applies. How many started to appreciate the music, they knew nothing of the inaccuracies. They saw a good story and heard some interesting music, helped me to start listening to jazz and I am grateful.

You will never satisfy the 'expert'.

This picture distinguishes itself from the all-too-familiar reverential and sentimental quasi-biographies of show business legends by emphasizing the complex relationship between Lon Chaney and his first wife, Cleva Creighton, and by treating their problems in an even-handed manner. She emerges as flawed and difficult to deal with - but so does he. Their child is caught in the middle.

The story would be of interest even if it did not concern a famous person. Chaney's career provides a colorful background to an essentially human drama, one which may present its characters too often as one-dimensional prototypes lacking depth or subtlety, but is nevertheless a drama which (except for the maudlin deathbed scene) effectively develops the genuine emotional conflicts at its core. In a solid cast, Dorothy Malone, as Cleva, is most notable.

Other reviewers have knocked the film because it is not historically accurate and I can't dispute that. But for me, James Cagney's performance makes this a film that is a must-see. True, the film is short on depicting Lon Chaney's film characters and although we do get to see Cagney in makeup as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, the scenes are extremely brief. Most of the film depicts Chaney's conflict with his first wife, wonderfully played by the stunning Dorothy Malone - whew, what a knockout!- and the stormy relationship with his son.

The film is a soap opera but Cagney is wonderful showing that he can play drama, comedy and even dance and mime.

Saw this on the late show when I was 12 or 13: I was moved, even scared, by scenes with Miracle Man, Christmas dinner, Quasimodo, & especially with the legless man in the alley ("Pick me up & knock me down again!") We know now that LC, Sr., was less than pleasant to be around & that LC, Jr., grew up to be miserable. But this was an early introduction to what I'd heard of as "vaudeville," & the transitional sequences with Cagney as a film lot extra (with a real silent flick star Marjorie Rambeau, as Gert) were fast-paced & convincing. It was a fair cultural shock to see Jim Backus (as agent Locan) in a dramatic role, since until then I'd seen him only on sitcoms & as Mister Magoo.

I have it on tape & watch it maybe once a year & have seen Cagney & co-stars in other vehicles since then: especially Jane Greer in her unsavory "Out of the Past" role. Dorothy Malone (whom I knew only from "Peyton Place") was a great, underrated actress.

Yes, the ending is slow & shmaltzy, & it was hard to imagine even back then (I'd already seen scary LC, Jr., in the teleplay, The Ballad of Jubal Pickett) that Jr. was ever as handsome as Roger Smith. But if nothing else you can get a fictional behind-the-scenes account of the making of two great silents & cultural icons: Phantom of the Opera & Hunchback of Notre Dame.