Paul Leni - The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The Man Who Laughs (1928)

The film premiered in New York on the 27th of April 1928. 

Director: Paul Leni

Writers: Victor Hugo, J. Grubb Alexander, Walter Anthony, May McLean, Marion Ward, Charles E. Whittaker

Cast: 

Mary Philbin - Dea

Conrad Veidt - Gwynplaine/Lord Clancharlie

Julius Molnar - Gwynplaine as a child

Olga Baclanova - Duchess Josiana

Brandon Hurst - Barkilphedro

Cesara Gravina - Ursus

Stuart Holmes - Lord Dirry-Moir

Sam De Grass - King James II

George Siegmann - Dr. Hardquanonne

Josephine Crowell - Queen Anne

Károly Huszár - Innkeeper (as Charles Puffy)

Zimbo the Dog - Homo the Wolf

Gwynplaine, son of Lord Clancharlie, has a permanent smile carved on his face by the King, in revenge for Gwynplaine's father's treachery. After being adopted by a traveling showman, Gwynplaine becomes a popular idol and falls in love the blind Dea.

The Man Who Laughs is an American silent horror film, directed by the German expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name and stars Mary Philbin as the blind Dea and Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine. The film is known for the grim carnival freak-like grin on the character Gwynplaine’s face, which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated, "The Man Who Laughs is a melodrama, at times, similar to films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), and even a swashbuckler, but so steeped in Expressionist gloom that it plays like horror film."

The Man Who Laughs was one of the early Universal Pictures productions that made the transition from silent to sound films, using the Movietone sound system introduced by William Fox. The film was completed in April 1927 but was held for release in April 1928, sound effects and a music score that included the song When Love Comes Stealing by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack, and Ernö Rapée. 

Conrad Veidt’s character, Gwynplaine, was known to have been an inspiration for the creation of the comic book character, The Joker, by Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane, Batman’s arch nemesis. 

Gwynplaine's grotesque grin was achieved with prosthesis. Conrad Veidt was fitted with a set of dentures that had metal hooks to pull back the corners of his mouth. He couldn't speak when the dentures were in. The only scene in which he did not wear the prosthesis is the scene where he is ravished by the Duchess Josiana.