This Lon Chaney melodrama has him playing a character called Wilse Dilling. He is a feared but crippled gangster from Chinatown in L.A. Queen Ann, his female crime boss, sends him to a sleepy town where he is to wait for further orders. While there, he meets a young woman who he falls in love with. This changes his outlook on life to the extent that he renounces his evil ways. He keeps his dark past to himself though and things are complication further when his sweetheart's bank manager father is implicated in an embezzlement scheme orchestrated by Queen Ann. This compromises Dilling's position badly; he tries to sort things out by blowing up the bank but this action unfortunately mains his sweetheart in the process.
This is first and foremost a Lon Chaney vehicle. He isn't in heavy make-up like some of his other famous roles but similar to his character in The Penalty he does portray a physically handicapped criminal. Chaney's great physical acting is once again called to the fore. Aside from this the other main attraction I suppose is the recreation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which is done via model work both small and large scale. It's pretty impressive it has to be said. Story-wise and stylistically, there isn't an awful lot that makes this one stand-out though. It's fairly run of the mill I guess. But it is another chance to see the great Lon Chaney in action and that's enough for this to be of interest.
This is first and foremost a Lon Chaney vehicle. He isn't in heavy make-up like some of his other famous roles but similar to his character in The Penalty he does portray a physically handicapped criminal. Chaney's great physical acting is once again called to the fore. Aside from this the other main attraction I suppose is the recreation of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which is done via model work both small and large scale. It's pretty impressive it has to be said. Story-wise and stylistically, there isn't an awful lot that makes this one stand-out though. It's fairly run of the mill I guess. But it is another chance to see the great Lon Chaney in action and that's enough for this to be of interest.