This is the earliest film of the Universal monsters lineup that I have seen. Many of the previous were ranging around the decade of the 1930s, featuring the main titles that came about with the introduction of more dark fantasy elements. This silent era film had a bigger impact on pop culture than most are probably aware of. With the protagonist, a clown, leading to inspiring comic book artist Jerry Robinson when it came to creating the character of Joker. There are some blatant similarities between the two that are visible within the film, and that's something I'll mention a bit later on. But it's interesting to go into a film knowing it had a huge impact on another creator, to the point in which it led to the spawn of another character that ended up having a larger impact on pop culture going into the future.
The Man Who Laughs is probably a more terrifying experience compared to the later releases that saw Frankenstein and Dracula entering the cinematic realm. And that's partially due to the themes but more the technical limitations of the era. I mean, a silent era film focused on a freak show carnival and clown certainly seems like something that would be a bit unsettling, right? I think I can admire it for this. Being something that wouldn't be made in the same way if made today as a result of the big differences in technological advancements. The silent aspects, the black and white gritty film stock. Even the gradual shift in how a clown would look as culture and society have changed. To look back at The Man Who Laughs is to look back at a different concept regarding the world of horror.
That influence for the Joker's foundations are visible in the creation of the protagonist. A young boy having had his face surgically altered to display a permanent grin as a result of political turmoil. A silent era dialogue and context card displaying the concept of a Jester that eternally smiles but his jokes are cruel and his smile is empty. It's already here that we see the unsettling nature of a silent era film. The silence or little bits of music that accompany the footage, though nothing beyond that. No sound to match the movements of characters, nothing to set the tone beyond the visuals. I think this is where the film really shines, as I mentioned before with that advantage through a technical disadvantage. The story pushes forward with the banishing of the people that were responsible for the surgical operation on the boy. A group of people that were deformed or disabled in one way or another. No longer allowed to remain in England.
As an adult, the boy (named Gwynplaine) left with that permanent disfigurement now finds work travelling with the circus, part of a freak show which display him as The Laughing Man. Though despite finding love with a blind girl that doesn't see his disfigurement, Gwynplaine struggles with his confidence. Constantly seeing himself as a freak, always assuming that people are mocking him, considering him nothing but a clown; a performer. It's quite a tragic tale in that sense, though we can see how it's easy to shape a character from this. Again, this does sound a bit similar to the more recent film of the Joker, doesn't it? A man that seems normal, suffering at the hands of a society that seems cruel, and through time it forming the monster.
Something interesting to see within the film is how it displays people that aren't exactly the usual type to be seen in the entertainment industry. Even for that era where people weren't exactly the greatest lookers. I think this is something that must've been quite shocking to many in the audiences back in 1928. Though the film doesn't portray these people as a group that are disgusting, less than human, or anything in that nature. Of course, there is still that concept of classism and the standards of beauty within society, which the film certainly does speak on. Particularly with how Gwynplaine is now considered one of those people to be banished due to his permanent smile, even though his actually holds a high class lineage to his name, which existed prior to his punishment by surgery.
Now, I haven't seen a whole lot of silent era films before. I think it might even sit in the single digit range still. But this one quite surprised me, when I really thought I would struggle to sit through it. I was surprised at some of the filmmaking within it, how the camera would move and the angles used. It still has some of that silent era style to it, where sometimes that directing can seem a bit odd, a bit theatrical. Where the positioning of the actors is still very much focused towards the camera, as to be speaking to an audience rather than to each other. Obviously this still makes sense given the use of those context and dialogue cards which appear shortly after a character might actually show some lip movement to imply speech. Changes did come just a few short years later when sound became an accessible option, after all.
From a set design and costume point of view, this side of things was dealt with in a fantastic manner. Even in black and white and with old film stock, you could really see and feel the world that this story took place in. The atmosphere of a circus environment. The concept of royalty and classism in the 1600s. From interiors to basic construction of an exterior, it looked really good. Even down to how people looked, large crowds each with distinct features to them. Within all of this is a story that is quite tragic. The portrayal of a good character that struggles to display any true emotion beyond happiness. One that finds solace in another that is equally damaged. It may not be for everyone with it being a silent film, but I do think it's a special title.