The Man Who Laughs is a wonderful movie and can definitively be put in the Universal classics collection in my mind. Centering on a performer who was horrifically disfigured as a boy who garners a healthy reputation in 17th century England as a sideshow, while royal machinations interfere with his quite beautiful romance and the best of both worlds he cannot achieve. The first thing I really gotta point out is these performances...holy shit balls! Even as someone who champions silent cinema, who has seen my fair share, I'm kinda stunned how everything fit so well. Conrad Veidt is a marvel in this film as Gwynplaine (or as I affectionately called him, Gwyn) which says a lot considering he had to wear dentures with metal hooks in him to achieve the ghastly grin, but his eyes and his mannerisms convey so much you almost kinda forget it's a silent film! He shows heartbroken sadness, joyous love, nervous apprehension, and even prideful dismissal all with a smile on his face. Good God he deserves every shred of praise and recognition for this role. Do I even have to say I love Mary Philbin as Dea in this? She's only one of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen and the sheer just brightness and love she brings to this made it impossible for me not to be heavily invested in this character, and hey this might be the beginning of the trope where a blind girl falls in love with a slightly monstrous figure so how could I hate it? On the opposite end of the spectrum Olga Baclanova as the Duchess Josiana kinda gives me Maria vibes from Metropolis just not on as grand as scale, as this life loving, wild, slightly seductive woman who drifts into Gwynplaine's orbit is fascinating to watch. Literally from the first time she sees him you can read like this mix of morbid fascination and budding attraction on her face, and I didn't really know where her story was gonna go. Cesare Gravina as self proclaimed philosopher and sideshow manager Ursus while a minor role is prominent throughout and is a stalwart supporter of Gwyn and Dae's romance, has some standout moments too near the end that actually feels quite real in the desperation and heartache so bravo to him! We even get Brandon Hurst back as Barkilphedro and wow it is night and day between Hunchback and this, in Hunchback it was a very dry performance with enough to make you dislike Jehan but here he is eating this role up as this confidant servant to the royal family, and my God he is such a slimy son of a bitch in this movie and it is glorious to see cause you can tell he's relishing every second he gets to play this conniving swine. Like rarely have I seen a main cast of a silent film this spectacular across the board, you can read so much emotion through their faces alone and it perfectly encapsulates why silent acting has to be respected and appreciated. Production wise it's not as expansive and flashy with it's sets as Hunchback yet I'll be damned if I said they weren't good either. What more caught my eyes beyond the period costuming was the camera does some interesting stuff, it's not your typical early cinema shots, they do exteme close ups and place the camera at interesting angles and even does some crossdissolves that you really just don't see in movies even 20 years after the fact. And I'll admit to you straight up this movie had a loooot of pull on me, damn near cried not once but twice, was smiling like a fool, I even had a moment where I covered my dropped jaw in both shock and joy. I can't even recall the last movie to have those kinds of reactions from me but hey I'm older than the hills, I can't remember what I did three days ago. And on that distressing bombshell it is time to end, I give this 4 stars, 8/10, and next time we get foreigny.
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