No Laughing Matter, continued

Such a sad character Conrad Veidt portrayed, despite his (the character's) severe facial deformity. Mr. Veidt continued to amaze me, scene-to-scene, with his ability to give us so much of what was going on within him. The crowds who gathered to see him laughed, but we, the film-watchers, saw so much emotional pain at times. But, then, when he truly was happy, or content, we saw that, too. Conrad Veidt was an actor of rare and powerful talent.

Just a couple of more bits of trivia before I close.

Our old friend, German Expressionist Paul Leni, directed The Man Who Laughs. Mr. Leni directed two other early classics of horror/mystery, Waxworks (1924), and The Cat and the Canary (1927).

The Man Who Laughs is based on Victor Hugo's novel of the same title, but from what I understand (I haven't read the book), the movie ends a little differently from the novel. Can't say anything more -- spoiler alert.

Originally, Lon Chaney, Sr., was slated to play Gwynplaine, but contractual obligations prevented him from doing so. Probably a good thing, as Mr. Chaney already was in the habit of abusing his body enough for various roles. As it was, Conrad Veidt wore specially-designed dentures with metal hooks to produce the permanent grin. Man, talk about suffering for you art!

The Joker, the main arch-villain of Batman, was inspired by Gwynplaine. At least the permanent smile was. Otherwise, any similarities between The Joker and Gwynplaine parted company severely.

Well, that's about it for now.

'til next time... Adios.