Conrad Veidt

Mary Philbin

Cesare Gravina

Brandon Hurst

Olga Baclanova

Sam De Grasse

Stuart Holmes

Josephine Crowell

Julius Molnar

Károly Huszár

Deno Fritz

Delmo Fritz

Henry A. Barrows

Richard Bartlett

Charles Brinley

Les Bates

Carmen Castillo

Allan Cavan

D'Arcy Corrigan

Carrie Daumery

Howard Davies

Nick De Ruiz

Louise Emmons

J.C. Fowler

John George

Jack A. Goodrich

Charles Hancock

Lila LaPon

George Marion

Torben Meyer

Joe Murphy

Edgar Norton

Broderick O'Farrell

Lon Poff

Frank Puglia

Henry Roquemore

Templar Saxe

Allan Sears

Scott Seaton

Louis Stern

Al Stewart

Anton Vaverka

Paul Leni

Victor Hugo

J. Grubb Alexander

Paul Kohner

Maurice Pivar

Bela Sekely

Gilbert Warrenton

Edward L. Cahn

Walter Anthony

May McLean

Marion Ward

Charles E. Whittaker

Carl Laemmle

William Axt

Sam Perry

Erno Rapee

Charles D. Hall

Thomas F. O'Neill

Joseph C. Wright

David Cox

Vera West

Jack Pierce

Drama

Romance

Horror

The Man Who Laughs

Universal Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

When King James VII (& II) (Sam De Grasse) decides to take revenge on one of his treacherous nobles, he visits the most abhorrent of gifts on his young son. A grin. Cut into his face so that he may always be able to laugh at the thought of his father's betrayals! Pretty swiftly, that king is deposed and the youngster grows up to be "Gwynplaine" (Conrad Veidt). He, in turn, rescues the blind young "Dea" (Mary Philbin) and together they grow up with "Ursus" (Cesare Gravina) as their protector-cum-philosophiser! Besotted, the marked man hides his visage behind a dark cloak certain this his increasing love of "Dea" can never be reciprocated. All the while, Queen Anne (Josephine Crowell) now reigns and thanks to her manipulative jester "Barkilphedro" (Brandon Hurst) - who also worked for the former king, and his puppet-master the rather malevolent "Duchess Josiana" (Olga Baclanova) "Gwynplaine" is introduced to the Stuart court. That's a viper's nest of intrigues and game-playing, presided over by the shrewd and domineering monarch - and soon he becomes embroiled in a plot that could lead to his own destruction whilst he struggles to retain his own sense of decency and, of course, the affections of his love. It's a standard historical story of betrayal and retribution, this - but the photography and direction do really help it stand out. The initial scenes with the "iron lady" - a weapon of torture whose presence prevails throughout - are effective, and Weidt and his piercing eyes (well lit, too) focus the attention well as his character comes to terms with the wrongs done in the past and his options for the future. Some of the scenes are quite intimate and almost provocatively shot, and the settings generally are perfectly matched to the increasingly Machiavellian and sometimes quite amusing plotting that still leaves room for an unfolding love story that avoids sentimentality and delivers with grit and realism a dark depiction of early 17th century British politics.

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The Man Who Laughs (2023) Trailer Rescore | Premiere