The film was made by Tod Browning who was well known for pushing the envelope in his films. It stars Lon Chaney as a thief with the perfect cover ; he is also Alonzo the Armless in a travelling circus. His act consists of shooting and throwing knives at the ringmaster's daughter Nanon ( Joan Crawford ) with his feet while his arms are hidden in a body brace . She is sexy but frigid giving the come-on and then shrinking from strong man Malabar ( Norman Kerry ) and hanging round Alonzo because she believes he has no arms with which to paw her. Alonzo becomes obsessed and goes to increasingly desperate lengths to possess her.
Despite the lack of sound this is totally gripping from start to finish ( an economical 53 minutes ) with an amazing performance from Chaney even though the stunts with his feet were achieved by camera trickery rather than his yoga abilities. Crawford and Kerry too are excellent as the other sides of the love triangle.
Joan Crawford ( as Nanon )
Sex : While Alonzo is away Nanon overcomes her frigidity and becomes engaged to Malabar. When Alonzo returns she leaves Alonzo in little doubt that they are already having sex.
Alonzo's act involves stripping Nanon to a bra and tight pants which becomes Joan's costume for the first five minutes. She's dressed provocatively throughout the film and is in another bra and thin skirt for the climax.
Death : Survives
Joan of course went on to be a major film actress although she didn't return to horror until much later in her career when she could no longer be considered a girl. She was rarely this scantily-clad again.
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