Based partly on a novel called Spurs and partly on Browning's own experiences as a carnival performer , it's a Gothic revenge fantasy . A circus dwarf Hans is due to inherit a fortune and a normal-bodied trapeze artist Cleopatra and her lover, strong man Hercules plot to obtain it by Cleopatra marrying, and then slowly poisoning, him. Hans's fellow "freaks" get wind of it and carry out a horrific ( though much of the action was excised ) revenge attack on them.
What made the film so controversial was the employment of so many genuine deformed performers rather than professional actors. Audiences who'd been quite happy to accept Lon Chaney's various screen deformities weren't quite so keen on being confronted by the real thing. It's unlikely that Browning was deliberately exploiting these people, many of whom were doubtless happy to pick up an extra paycheck, and the accusation was an easy cover for people's visceral revulsion at who they were watching.
Even leaving aside the exploitation issue the film isn't easy to watch. It's been so hacked about it now feels poorly-paced with too many digressive vignettes and then a rushed cli max and much of the acting is terrible. Nonetheless it's not one you forget in a hurry.
Leila Hyams ( as Venus )
Sex : Venus, the only wholly sympathetic normal-bodied character, is Hercules's mistress at the beginning of the film but deserts him and begins a relationship with a clown, Phroso.
Death : Survives
Leila was one of the first second generation film stars : her parents actually appeared in films after she had retired . She was much in demand and quit at her peak in 1936 . Her 1927 marriage to agent Phil Berg lasted until her death fifty years later.
Olga Baclanova ( as Cleopatra )
Sex : Cleopatra has been seeing Hercules behind Venus's back but thinks nothing of seducing Hans ( largely off screen ) to get at his money.
Death : Survives ( of a sort, having been severely mutilated by the "Freaks" )
Olga , playing the first villainess we've come across, was a naturalised Russian who left her native land for career rather than political reasons. She made an impact in late period silent films but her accent torpedoed her career in talkies. She's pretty unintelligible in Freaks . Her film and stage careers ended in the 1940s and she retired to Switzerland where she died in 1974 aged 81.
Daisy Earles ( as Frieda )
Sex : Frieda loves Hans but their relationship seems platonic ( a good job considering they were real-life siblings ).
Death : Survives
Daisy's real name was Hilda Schneider , one of a quartet of dwarf siblings , along with brother Kurt who played Hans, that performed as The Dancing Dolls. They appeared in many films both individually and together including The Wizard of Oz. Daisy herself was known as "The Midget Mae West " but it has to be said her acting in Freaks is just dreadful, the poor woman being stretched well beyond her capabilities. Ironically, it was Daisy who married a normal -sized person in real life but the marriage was brief. The quartet retired in 1958 , bought a house in Florida together and lived there until each one died. Daisy died in 1980 aged 75.
No comments:
Post a Comment