About The Man Who Laughs (1928)
The story behind the film
Universal had scored huge hits with Lon Chaney in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera, and studio head Carl Laemmle wanted another lavish Gothic melodrama from a classic novel. He chose Victor Hugo's 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs and hired two German imports to make it: director Paul Leni, who had made the stylish Waxworks in Germany and the hit spooky comedy The Cat and the Canary for Universal, and actor Conrad Veidt, star of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The role had originally been intended for Chaney.
The story is set in late 17th-century England. As punishment for his father's defiance, a nobleman's young son, Gwynplaine, is sold to a band of child-traffickers who carve his face into a permanent, frozen grin. Abandoned in a snowstorm, the boy rescues a blind baby girl, Dea, and both are taken in by Ursus, a travelling showman, and his wolf, Homo. Years later, Gwynplaine is a famous clown, "The Laughing Man", and he and Dea are in love — but he believes no one could love his face if they could see it. Then the royal court discovers who he really is.
Cast & crew
- Directed by Paul Leni; produced by Paul Kohner for Universal
- Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine
- Mary Philbin as Dea
- Olga Baclanova as Duchess Josiana
- Brandon Hurst as Barkilphedro, the scheming court jester
- Cesare Gravina as Ursus
Why it's worth watching
Conrad Veidt gives one of the great silent performances. With his mouth fixed in a grotesque smile by a dental device, he had to express everything — shame, love, despair — with his eyes alone, and he does it unforgettably. The contrast between his frozen grin and the sadness in his face is haunting.
Although often grouped with Universal's horror films, it is really a sweeping romantic melodrama and adventure, with lavish sets, a carnival, a scene in the House of Lords and a rousing climax. Leni's expressionist style gives it the moody atmosphere of a horror film, and Mary Philbin (Christine in The Phantom of the Opera) is touching as Dea.
Fun facts
- The creators of Batman's arch-enemy the Joker, who debuted in 1940, agreed that his look was influenced by a photograph of Veidt as Gwynplaine.
- The film was completed in 1927 but released in 1928 with a synchronised music and sound-effects track, including the song "When Love Comes Stealing".
- Veidt later fled Nazi Germany and is perhaps best remembered today as Major Strasser in Casablanca (1942).
Public-domain status
The Man Who Laughs was published in 1928 and entered the US public domain on January 1, 2024. See "Rights & source" below.