Event

Andrew’s Video Vault at the Rotunda 2012

Two silent movies directed by Tod Browning with live musical accompaniment from Lincoln vs. The Moon (Jen Lightfoot and Ed Dymek).

The Unknown (1927 / 63 minutes)
Wanted murderer Lon Chaney poses as “Alonzo the Armless Wonder.” He falls in love with unstable and phobic Joan Crawford but becomes enraged when a strongman presents himself as his romantic rival, setting the stage for an unforgettable Grand Guignol climax.

The Unholy Three (1925 / 86 minutes)
A sideshow ventriloquist (Lon Chaney), a little person (Harry Earles), and strongman (Victor McLaglen) flee the carny life and form a perverse crime family operating out of a pet shop. Based on a novel by Tod Robbins, the author of “Spurs” the story that inspired Browning’s movie Freaks.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Cinema Studies Program and The Rotunda at the University of Pennsylvania, and ARMcinema25.
Special thanks: Andrew Repasky McElhinney, Curator of the Film Series.