the importance of tod browning’s works.

Create a 5 pages page paper that discusses the importance of tod browning’s works.

The Unknown tells the story of Alonzo (played by Lon Chaney), a maimed knife thrower, set in an odd as well as a cruel carnival sideshow. His performance’s main draw in the circus was his deformity. Alonzo was armless, and that he uses his feet to throw knives. However, this was revealed to be a fraud since Alonzo was actually normal with both arms intact. The catch was that he tricked his audience and coworkers into believing his disability by tying his arms close to his torso. The conflict happened when Alonzo’s secret was discovered by the circus owner (Nick de Ruiz).

For fear of losing his work and Nanon’s woman (Joan Crawford), whom he loves, he killed the man with his bare hands. Nanon had issues herself: she cannot bear being touched by any man. Her intimacy with Alonzo stemmed from the fact that she believed Alonzo as subhuman because of his disability. In this respect, Alonzo decided to contract the services of a surgeon and have his arms removed because he concluded that Nanon could never love him as he was. The result was tragic because after his operation, upon his return, Nanon already conquered her fear and fell in love with another man.

The carnival is again used as a setting for the movie Freaks. An interesting aspect of the film is that most characters who were “freaks” were real disabled actors specifically chosen for their deformities. The tale was about a trapeze artist named Cleopatra (played by Olga Baclanova) who decided to marry a fellow circus performer, Hans (Harry Earles), a little person. It soon became clear that the marriage for Cleopatra was not because of love but that she was after Han’s inheritance.

After the wedding, Cleopatra started to poison Hans to murder him. She tried to do this with Hercules’ help (Henry Victor) – the circus strongman and her lover. The other “freaks” got wind of the devious plot, and, in retaliation, they attacked both Cleopatra and Hercules with guns and knives, maiming Cleopatra in the process, making her a freak herself as a punishment.