wsureck

Disappointing biopic of a legendary actor. How could Chaney's life translate into such a generally dull movie? Way too much emphasis on boring aspects of his personal life and not enough time devoted to what it took to create Chaney's landmark, classic movies. More behind-the-scenes looks at the making of and business aspects of silent pictures would also have been appreciated.

Cagney seemed miscast, both by appearance and acting ability. He was also hampered by makeup that fell far short (in some scenes) of the masterworks created by Chaney. The laughable Hunchback imitation reminded my of the makeup in "I was a Teenage Frankenstein." To be fair, the script gave Cagney limited opportunity to delve into the psychology of the "Man of a Thousand Faces." Some scenes were sadly lacking in closeups, significantly reducing the impact of the drama/horror depicted.

Too bad this picture weren't made around 1940 at the height of Lon Jr.'s prowess as an actor. Not only did he look more like his dad, but he had the skill to mimic the tragic nature of many of Sr.'s roles and personal life. He may have had a greater insight into his dad's personality. From what I've read, Chaney Jr. also had a wider range of acting ability than is generally known since many of his (especially later) movies didn't give him the chance to showcase his abilities (that's in addition to Chaney's alcoholism hampering his abilities).

Family (dad, mom, four boys) heading for Australia from England during the early part of the 19th century are shipwrecked on an island in the south Pacific and do their best to survive. Concentrate on Thomas Mitchell's usual fine performance and less on the 1940 vintage special effects, and very poor print quality (typically available) and there is some entertainment to be had of here. The lush "island" surroundings would have been enhanced by filming in color...but I have a suspicion this was not a very big budget picture and it would have been more obvious how many of the scenes were filmed on a sound stage in front of a rear projection screen. Even the island looks like a matte painting. Don't look for bedraggled, miserable Robinson Crusoes either, for generally, the Swiss Family have most of the comforts of an Andy Hardy home...so much for hokey 1930's family film realism.

If you think its funny watching a lot of pop-eyed mugging by the Ritz Brothers, see the Gorilla. If you enjoy the raspy screeching of Patsy Kelly, and watching Bela Lugosi with little to do but make faces at the behavior of his fellow "stars," by all means see the Gorilla. I like Lugosi, but found this film to be quite annoying and boring simultaneously. Why the Ritz Brothers only made a few other films is no mystery to me. The master for the DVD I purchased had excellent picture and sound quality...probably because it had been screened so few times since 1939. Spend the time you would have wasted screening the Gorilla watching Laurel & Hardy, the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, even Abbott & Costello...if you want to see talent.