Lon Chaney stars in one of the best performances ever caught on screen. Dedication is a trait we sometimes don't see in actors but when you saw the name Lon Chaney attached to a picture you knew he was going to give 110% to his role. The Penalty is at times very silly but it only becomes that way if you look hard enough through Lon Chaney's mastery.
Lon Chaney stars as Blizzard, a deranged amputee who is the head of San Francisco's crime underworld. He is a mad man and the author-ties are determined to bring him down, an inspector named Licthenstein sends his loyal assistant Rose to go undercover in Blizzard's world. Blizard is planning a crime that will leave San Francisco in ruin but he doesn't focus in on it. He has another part of his plan, he will play with the mind of Barbara an aspiring artist who is creating a sculpture of Satan. Through this he vents all his criminal energy toward capturing Barbara's fiancé, the future son in law of the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs and force him to graft them on to him.
Meanwhile Blizzard exacts his control over the two women in his life, Rose and Barbabra the doctor's daughter. They are both morbidly fascinated by him and both begin to fall in love with him.
This story is overly melodramatic even for the silent era but I have to strongly recommend for Chaney. His performance is absolutely breathtaking. The fact that he so convincingly plays an amputee through great physical pain leaves you in awe. It puts you in so much awe that we forget the silly communist commentary and the fact that if this film did not have Chaney it probably would be another forgotten lost film.
I think this film is an important part of motion picture history simply because it shows what separates a great actor from a legend
Lon Chaney stars as Blizzard, a deranged amputee who is the head of San Francisco's crime underworld. He is a mad man and the author-ties are determined to bring him down, an inspector named Licthenstein sends his loyal assistant Rose to go undercover in Blizzard's world. Blizard is planning a crime that will leave San Francisco in ruin but he doesn't focus in on it. He has another part of his plan, he will play with the mind of Barbara an aspiring artist who is creating a sculpture of Satan. Through this he vents all his criminal energy toward capturing Barbara's fiancé, the future son in law of the doctor who mistakenly amputated his legs and force him to graft them on to him.
Meanwhile Blizzard exacts his control over the two women in his life, Rose and Barbabra the doctor's daughter. They are both morbidly fascinated by him and both begin to fall in love with him.
This story is overly melodramatic even for the silent era but I have to strongly recommend for Chaney. His performance is absolutely breathtaking. The fact that he so convincingly plays an amputee through great physical pain leaves you in awe. It puts you in so much awe that we forget the silly communist commentary and the fact that if this film did not have Chaney it probably would be another forgotten lost film.
I think this film is an important part of motion picture history simply because it shows what separates a great actor from a legend