The Unknown (1927): Lon Chaney, Joan Crawford and Tod Browning

     Shocking during it's time, and still chilling today, not only is The Unknown (1927) one of director Tod Browning's best Silent Horror Films, it is also one of the best and most influential of Lon Chaney's roles. Critics often hail Chaney's performance in The Unknown as one of the greatest ever captured on film, and both Joan Crawford and Burt Lancaster cite his acting as a major inspiration for their craft. The Unknown is also notable for an early performance by a young, scantily-clad Joan Crawford. Browning's empathetic direction and Chaney's emotional style meshed perfectly and created a work that has had a lasting and resounding effect, influencing the other Horror films of the Silent and early Sound eras, and still being sensed in the cinematic works of the present.

     A Circus Freak known as Alonzo the Armless (Lon Chaney) uses his feet to shoot a rifle and throw knives at his assistant, Nanon (Joan Crawford)...

The Unknown. 1927: Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney

     The two have a good rapport, and Alonso lusts after Nanon, but he is hiding a secret...

The Unknown. 1927: Joan Crawford

     Alonso is not really armless. He is a murderous fugitive that binds his arms to his body with a harness to pass himself off as a Freak...

The Unknown. 1927: Lon Chaney

     When his employer (Nanon's father) discovers that he has arms, Alonzo kills him with his bare hands...

The Unknown. 1927: Lon Chaney

     That is just the start of this macabre tale, as Alonzo is willing to do anything, harm anyone, who will either expose him...

The Unknown. 1927: Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney

     or get in the way of his love for Nanon...

The Unknown. 1927: Joan Crawford and Lon Chaney

     So, when Nanon falls in love with the Circus Strongman, naturally, horror ensues...

The Unknown. 1927: Joan Crawford

What Ever Happned to Baby Jane? (1962): Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

     The careers of both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were rapidly fading by 1960. Their acting styles and the typical characters they played from the 1930's -1940's were no longer in demand. It was a different time and they seemed unable to adapt. A glorious chance came when Robert Aldrich cast them as the Hudson sisters in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). The parts of the bitter, feuding sisters were departures for both actresses, and re-introduced them to a new genre, and generation of film goers. The film was a success, and provided the format for many similar films over the next decade and beyond.

     In the 1910's, Baby Jane Hudson was the darling of Vaudeville. In the 1930's, Blanche Hudson was the biggest movie star in Hollywood. Now... in the 1960's, both Jane (Bette Davis) and Blanche (Joan Crawford) find themselves old and lonely, living together in Blanche's once fashionable home with each one blaming the other for their failed success. Blanche, in a wheelchair as a result of an "accident", depends on Jane for her care... 

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

     However, Jane has been acting a tad crazy lately...

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis

     Pining for her fame, lost  so many years ago, she harbors jealous feelings as well... 

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis

     News that Blanche plans to sell their house due to financial problems does not go over well... 

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

     With Jane slipping into increased fits of hatred and delusional rage...

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

      and her being the one entrusted with Blanche's care...

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

      Blanche realizes that her life is in grave danger... 

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 1962: Bette Davis and Joan Crawford

Grand Hotel (1932): Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Joan Crawford

     One of the greatest early sound films, Grand Hotel (1932) also developed techniques that would contribute to the process of set manipulation and production within a film. The hotel lobby scenes featured a three hundred and sixty degree desk, adding a revolving vantage point around the action, giving the film a less stagy feel. The dialogue is sharp and elegant, and the format of the film became so well known, that any movie featuring a group of characters in a busy place with overlapping stories is called a "Grand Hotel Theme." The cast is all excellent, including Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore. 

     The Grand Hotel in Berlin, where "People come and go. Nothing ever happens.":

     A group of strangers find their lives overlapping briefly in the corridors, rooms, lobby and bar. These folks include Baron Felix von Geigern (John Barrymore), a broke aristocrat, and part-time jewel thief. Otto Kringenlein (Lionel Barrymore), a terminally ill man, who, having just found out he will die soon, plans to live out his remaining days squandering his savings in the lap of luxury. Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a stenographer and part-time model... 

Grand Hotel. 1932: Joan Crawford and John Barrymore

     General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery), who is at the Hotel on business... 

Grand Hotel. 1932

     and Russian ballet dancer, Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo)...

Grand Hotel. 1932: Greta Garbo

     who has grown despondent with her life and career... 

Grand Hotel. 1932: Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

     but finds new love with the Baron... 

Grand Hotel. 1932: Greta Garbo and John Barrymore

     Friendships develop... 

Grand Hotel. 1932: Joan Crawford

     and conflicts arise and the stories intertwine and unfold...

Grand Hotel. 1932: John Barrymore