Harry Rapf (uncredited)
Irving Thalberg (uncredited)
Written By/Screenplay:
Willis Goldbeck
Leon Gordon
Based On:
"Spurs" 1923 story by Tod Robbins
Starring:
Wallace Ford
Leila Hyams
Olga Baclanova
Roscoe Ates
Henry Victor
Harry Earles
Daisy Earles
Rose Dione
Daisy and Violet Hilton
Schlitze
Josephine Joseph
Johnny Eck
Frances O’Connor
Peter Robinson
Photography:
Black and White
Cinematography:
Merritt B. Gerstad
Distributed By:
Loew's Inc. MGM
Release Date:
February 12, 1932
Runtime:
64 minutes
Country:
United States
Language:
English
German
French
Budget:
~ $310,000
Box Office:
$341,000
Freaks (also re-released as The Monster Story, Forbidden Love, and Nature's Mistakes) is a 1932 American pre-Code horror film produced and directed by Tod Browning, starring Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, and Roscoe Ates.
The film is based on elements from the short story "Spurs" by Tod Robbins, first published in Munsey's Magazine in February 1923, with the rights being purchased by the studio.
Why It Rocks
It was released by MGM partially as a response to Universal Studio's success with the horror genre.
Based on the short story "Spurs", Henry Browning saw the film as a chance to emerge filmgoers into the realm of sideshows. Though Freaks initially has a couple of strong similarities to his 1930 sound remake of The Unholy Three-- such as the opening scene which not only imitates the setting, but the lighting, camera placement and editing of the opening to said film -- the previous film was a minor, if enjoyable, tale of a criminal gang, filled with comedy and absurd plots, whereas Freaks became something very different.
While the film may not be too scary, it is extremely disturbing among films released at the time. During its time, most filmgoers had never seen people like the titular "freaks" (including a human skeleton, a turtle lady and a bird lady), as they were usually hidden away in circus sideshows.
Decent acting from some of the actors who sell their characters pretty well for the most part.
The film's overall plot is a bitter and cruel tale of exploitation, theft and dismemberment: a beautiful trapeze artist named Cleopatra and a strongman scheme to defraud and then poison Hans, the midget who has fallen in love with her. Hans' story was even near the beginning of the film.
By depicting the sexual appetites of the freaks, the director was trying to make them appear more human. One of the film's real achievements is that the characters gain personalities, and are more than just curiosities to be gaped at. Though with the director, things still weren't that simple. During the climax where the freaks attack the humans at night -- in a thunderstorm, crawling through mud with knives in their teeth -- the freaks are portrayed as absolute monsters capable of horrible perversions, completely subverting how they was shown as decent and good-natured earlier in the film. It leaves viewers uneasy to the point where it makes horror films like Dracula and Frankenstein look timid in comparison.
The Only Bad Quality
With advances in medicine, many of the freaks' conditions can be corrected, making it very unlikely one would come across individuals like these today. Plus, society no longer views the exploitation of "oddities" as unharmful, and terms like "midget" and "pinhead" would be viewed as offensive today.
Modern day viewers may see the film as uneven. Tod Browning likely didn't make the adjustment from silent to sound films. The film's best sequences were various scenes without dialogue, making it arguable that the film may have been more powerful as a silent.
Not all of the actors are professional, and their performances can seem halting, even amateurish.
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