Laugh, clown, laugh is a film directed by herbert brenon with lon chaney, bernard siegel, loretta young, cissy fitzgerald, year. Silent film web site devoted to silent movies, their stars, actor and actress biographies, silent clowns, child stars, cowboys, film directors. Shortly after his sound debut, however, he died of cancer. Jun 08, 2015 the 100 best silent films of all time. As with his other commentaries on this disc, blakes information is interestingly presented without being stodgy or. The movie was directed by herbert brenon and produced and released through mgm studios. Although i didnt like it as much as some of his other work, it is nevertheless considered as one of his best films. Movie still photographs, plot synopsis and credits for the silent film laugh, clown, laugh laugh, clown, laugh 1928 35232. Photos, and silent movie video film clips, and on this page silent clowns like charles chaplin, buster keaton, and harold lloyd. Lon chaney stars as an itinerant italian circus clown who finds himself falling in love with loretta young a girl he adopted at a. Portrait of actor lon chaney right in clown costume, as he appears in the movie laugh clown laugh in 1928. Lon chaney stars as tito, a clown who finds an orphan girl and raises her as his daughter. Tito, a clown, adopts a girl whom he names simonetta. The first movie to watch is laugh clown laugh reportedly chaneys favorite among his films which ably demonstrates his ability to convey deeply felt emotions by the use of his body language and without heavy makeup although he does wear clown makeup at the end.
This was written as the theme for the 1928 mgm film laugh, clown, laugh, starring lon chaney. As professional clowns tito and simon are traveling, they happen upon an abandoned child, whom they take in and name simonetta. Laugh clown laugh chaplinkeatonlloyd film locations. Bizarrely disturbing with one of chaneys best performances, if not his best performance. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. The film is based on the 1923 broadway stage production laugh, clown, laugh, by david belasco and tom cushing, based on a 1919 play ridi, pagliaccio by fausto. Tito chaney and simon bernard siegel are traveling clowns moving from town to town in italy. The pantomime, silent acting of the three leads is the overriding ingredient to laugh, clown, laugh and its wonderful. Lon chaney, loretta young, nils asther, bernard siegel, cissy fitzgerald, gwen lee. The silent clowns film series is dedicated to the memory of walter kerr, whose landmark book, the silent clowns, was the inspiration for our series and its name, as well as to the memory of william k. A professional clown and a selfindulgent count learn to help each other with their problems, but then become romantic rivals.
Contentsshow plot tito lon chaney, a traveling circus clown, finds an abandoned child uncredited. Laugh, clown, laugh the second best of the three, but still stars disc 2, which features the unknown, also contains a lengthy documentary on lon chaney. The source material consists of my original sheet music and 78 rpm. That level of commitment to a few seconds of a movie embodies the ethos of the best silent comedy. Laugh, clown, laugh is a 1928 silent film starring lon chaney and loretta young. Jul 02, 2011 laugh, clown, laugh 1928 laugh, clown, laugh is a silent movie from 1928 starring lon chaney, loretta young and nils asther. Lon chaney loretta young in laugh clown laugh 8 x 10 glossy photo. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 lon chaney, loretta young and nils asther play three corners of a love triangle made pretty disturbing by the leading ladys youth and the general squickiness of the plot. Laugh, clown, laugh is a 1928 american silent drama film starring lon chaney and loretta young. In this love story, set in paris, the successful circus clown joe falls in love with daisy, a dancer.
Which gets him in further trouble as hes courting his girlfriend mildred davis only to be intimidated by a bully charles stevenson who takes credit for churning the ice cream the film is set back in. Nils asther enters the movie playing a rich cad, but his character is. The film is known for the grim carnival freaklike grin on the character gwynplaines face, which often. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 a clown named tito beppi lon chaney adopts orphaned simonetta loretta young, and they begin to travel and perform in the circus together. Emblazoned on the poster was the tagline a funny new motion picture that tells hollywood like it was. Oct, 2016 portrait of actor lon chaney right in clown costume, as he appears in the movie laugh clown laugh in 1928. Sandbergs the golden clown fits somewhere between the lovelorn and the macabre, its story mirroring in many ways that of the reallife deburau, or at least his myth. The movie was directed by herbert brenon and produced.
Tito adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her simonetta after his partner simon bernard siegel. Silent film stars movie stars old hollywood glamour in hollywood lon chaney oliver twist. Original sheet music for lon chaney silent film laugh. The movies from the silent era and early talkie era are featured. Danish exports kept movie censors busy around the world. Grandmas boy is the story of a quiet, shy, and yes, cowardly young man played by harold lloyd. Lon chaney, silent comedians, silent comedies, silent movie locations, silent movies, spring fever, then and now, william haines. Overview of laugh, clown, laugh, 1928, directed by herbert brenon, with lon chaney, bernard siegel, loretta young, at turner classic movies. With lon chaney, bernard siegel, loretta young, cissy fitzgerald. The silent clowns film series januaryapril 2020 programs. Lon chaney stars as an itinerant italian circus clown who finds himself falling in love with loretta young a girl he adopted at a young age who is now growing into adulthood. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 laughing at danger 1924 the laws lash 1928.
The golden clown san francisco silent film festival. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 laugh, clown, laugh is a silent movie from 1928 starring lon chaney, loretta young and nils asther. On the eve of her marriage, simonetta learns that tito loves her, and she responds, presumably. Lon chaney finds an abandoned toddler, naming her simonetta to appease his partner simon. For a clown film, it gets my vote for being most 80s of the group. And it didnt hurt that laugh, clown, laugh had a hit song in 1928. His partner simon and he take her into their lives. Alone in the center ring, a whitefaced clown sings. Still of lon chaney in laugh, clown, laugh lon chaney.
Tito adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her simonetta after his. Posted on april 1, 20 october, 20 by monstergirl posted in film score freak, he who gets slapped 1924, laugh clown laugh 1928, lon chaney, shadows 1922, silent screen, the hunchback of notre dame 1923, the penalty 1920, the phantom of the opera 1925, the shock 1923, the unholy 3, the unknown 1927, west of zanzibar 2 comments. This is a trailer i did for the july 23, 1916 screening of laugh, clown laugh 1928 at niles film museum. Lon chaney in laugh, clown, laugh 1928 lon chaney in hollywood classic hollywood silent film old movies film movie music artists picture photo the man more information. Chaneys performance is nearly irreproachable as he tugs at the audiences heart strings as tito, the pagliaccilike clown. Simonetta contributes to the bill as a pretty tightrope walker.
The other day my son and i watched laugh clown laugh. The film is an adaptation of victor hugos 1869 novel of the same name and stars mary philbin as the blind dea and conrad veidt as gwynplaine. Coney island is a silent short comedy starring roscoe fatty arbuckle, with buster keaton in a secondary role. Sep 19, 2014 still of lon chaney in laugh, clown, laugh. Chaney stars as tito, a performer in a traveling carnival show who goes by the stage name of flik. The girl matures into an attractive woman, desired by luigi, a wealthy nobleman. Regarded as a cult classic for campy clown films, you really cant ignore this on as a mainstay repeat lister. Oct 07, 2015 posts about laugh clown laugh written by john bengtson chaplinkeatonlloyd film locations and more by john bengtson the great detective of silent film locations new york times. Also the 15 year old loretta young is remarkable in her feature film debut.
Laugh, clown, laugh is a very sad movie, much like he who gets slapped, only much more heartrending. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Rather than making the crowd laugh, he draws tears. Posts about laugh clown laugh written by john bengtson. Lon chaney got his start in acting in the early twentieth century, first performing as a clown, then progressing into silent movies, then made one sound movie in 1930. Follow chaplinkeatonlloyd film locations and more on. Look up silent movie clown in the dictionary and youre liable to see larry semons picture the bowler hat, chesthigh balloon trousers, windup toy movements, and pasty white face. The san francisco silent film festival is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about silent film as an art form and as a culturally valuable historical record.
One day tito stumbles upon an abandoned little girl and rescues her. Chaney once again strums on the chord of unrequited love, but the film is dripping in delicious pathos. Laugh, clown laugh is another masterpiece from lon chaney. Danish silent movie feature the clown klovnen 1917. I strongly recommend that you watch this movie for a master class in the glowy, gauzy textures of the silent era.
Buster is interesting to watch, in that he hasnt yet developed his trademark stoneface personality, and can be seen laughing, etc. When simonetta is older, she becomes a circus performer herself. Original sheet music for lon chaney silent film laugh clown. The man who laughs is a 1928 american silent romantic drama film directed by the german expressionist filmmaker paul leni. Original sheet music designed to coincide with the release of the mgm silent film classic laugh, clown, laugh starring lon chaney and loretta young, directed by herbert brenon. As the young girl named simonetta loretta young becomes a woman, fame has come to tito and simon, the most superb clown act in all europe. With the the upcoming release of stephen kings it, here are 20 of the most disturbing movie and tv clowns of all time. His childhood is shown in flashback, humorously showing his cowardly nature.
Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 directed by herbert brenon. Blake, an image gallery, and a short documentary on salinas competition win and subsequent score for laugh, clown, laugh. Loretta young loretta lynn famous movie quotes famous movies old movies metro goldwyn mayer silent film stars movie stars child actresses. Chaney once again displays his talent as one of the supreme actors of the american silent film. The movie which opens on the protagonists funeral, then jumps back through time was called the comic, and, shortly after it hit theaters in new york exactly 50 years ago on nov. Sep 08, 2017 the characters comicstrip creators, bill finger, bob kane and jerry robinson, based him in part on the silent movie actor conrad veidt in 1928s the man who laughs. My you tube channel features the songs written for, of, about the early decades of the movies, from about 19 to 1932. After laugh, clown, laugh, chaney made one sound picture, a commerciallysuccessful remake of one of his silent classics, the unholy three, and was slated to star in a number of other sound movies, including tod brownings classic dracula and the oscarwinning prison drama, the big house.
In this silent film, a circus clown falls for a young innocent in love with another. Find best value and selection for your lon chaney loretta young in laugh clown laugh 8 x 10 glossy photo search on ebay. The dog that buster keaton has in his pocket is non other than ramon novarros chihuahua chiquita. Other memorable films of chaneys include mgms first feature, he who gets slapped 1924, opposite john gilbert and norma shearer, laugh, clown, laugh 1928, opposite teenager loretta young and nils asther and the unknown 1927, opposite a young joan crawford. Laugh, clown, laugh 1928 04141928 us drama 1h m user score. Personifying a creepy clown, chaney plays tito, a circus performer who finds an abandoned child and raises her as his daughter. Nov 19, 2019 emblazoned on the poster was the tagline a funny new motion picture that tells hollywood like it was. Laugh, clown, laugh photos view all photos 2 movie info. Laugh clown laugh 1928 lon chaney loretta young youtube. It may seem on the surface to be pure silliness, but a. But van dyke and reiner cant quite forget the film, which has become an odd footnote in their legendary careers.
There is no horror, and the only special makeup is clown makeup. This collection, called the lon chaney collection, contains three silent movie classics the ace of hearts 1921, the unknown 1927, and laugh, clown, laugh 1928. Overall, this is a great collection for anybody who likes carnivalcircus clown movies and silent movies. Laugh, clown, laugh was a 1928 silent film starring lon chaney and loretta young. A despairing clown suffering a broken heart and a selfindulgent count who uncontrollably laughs learn to help each other with their problems, but both fall in love with the same young woman. The film is based on the 1923 broadway stage production laugh, clown, laugh, by david belasco and tom cushing, based on a 1919 play ridi, pagliaccio by fausto maria martini. Bettmann archive getty images a clown offers a group of children candy, circa 1950s. I screened an acetate print of laugh, clown, laugh duplicated from a nitrate vault print missing reel four. Silent film can cut straight to the soul with little fanfare, though its story may be simple. Victor sjostrom and tod browning via their changeling lon chaney brought the new, mad clown to an international audience. Laugh clown laugh chaplinkeatonlloyd film locations and.
Among the supplemental material for this film is audio commentary by chaney biographer michael f. Lon chaney is tito beppo, a struggling travelingshow clown, who discovers a young girl abandoned by her family. Oct 20, 2017 lon chaney stars as tito, a clown who finds an orphan girl and raises her as his daughter. Silent movie funnyman buster keaton clowning around with a friends chihuahua pup. In any event, the song was a hit in 1928 with multiple versions of the song being released that year. It appears that the song was played before screenings of the film.