Laugh, Clown, Laugh
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' is a 1928 American silent
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
starring
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
and
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
(her film debut). The movie was directed by
Herbert Brenon Herbert Brenon (born Alexander Herbert Reginald St. John Brenon; 13 January 1880 – 21 June 1958) was an Irish-born U.S. film director, actor and screenwriter during the era of silent films through the 1930s. Brenon was among the early film ...
and produced by Irving G. Thalberg for MGM Pictures. The film was written by Elizabeth Meehan, based on the 1923 Broadway stage production ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh,'' by
David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...
and
Tom Cushing Charles Cyprian Strong Cushing (October 27, 1879 – March 6, 1941) was an American playwright who wrote under the name Tom Cushing. Biography Cushing was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of William Lee Cushing, founder and headmaster of t ...
, which in turn was based on a 1919 play ''Ridi, Pagliaccio'' by . The theme song "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" was composed by Ted Fiorito (music) and Lewis and Young (lyrics). Stills exist that show Chaney in his clown make-up. The sets were designed by Cedric Gibbons. The film was in production from December 19, 1927, to February 2, 1928, and cost $293,000 to make. The worldwide box office gross was $1,102,000. "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" is readily available today on DVD. The existing print, however, is not 100% complete; it is missing reel #4, but the missing footage does not severely impact the story. An alternate happy ending wherein Tito survives his fall, Simonetta marries Luigi, and they all remain close friends, was shot at the studio's insistence in case some studios preferred that ending, but the footage no longer exists.


Plot

Tito (
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
), a traveling circus clown, finds an abandoned child. He adopts her and raises her as his daughter, naming her Simonetta after his brother Simon (Bernard Siegel). One day the now-teenaged Simonetta (
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
) encounters Count Luigi Ravelli (
Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...
), a wealthy man who falls madly in love with her, but upon seeing that he already has a girlfriend, she rejects him. She returns home to the circus and Tito suddenly realizes she is no longer a child. Tito further realizes he has sexual feelings for Simonetta, but also knows his feelings are improper because he raised her as his daughter. Luigi begins having fits of uncontrollable laughter because Simonetta has rejected him. Tito falls into
melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly dep ...
because of his conflicted interests about Simonetta. They both see the same doctor about their conditions and meet each other there for the first time. They share their respective troubles and believe maybe they can help each other, not knowing they are both in love with the same woman. Nonetheless, the three eventually develop a strong friendship until Luigi asks Simonetta to marry him. Simonetta eventually accepts Luigi's proposal, which throws Tito into an even deeper melancholy. Simonetta learns of Tito's affections for her before she marries Luigi. She tells Tito that she loved him before she loved Luigi, then goes to break her engagement with Luigi. While Simonetta is breaking her engagement, Tito and Simon begin rehearsing some new material for their "Flik and Flok" act. Tito does not believe Simonetta's love is genuine, but that it is just pity she feels for him and at the same time, he knows that, as her adopted father, it would be immoral to have her become his wife. Driven insane by his internal conflict, he decides to practice his new routine from the act without protection. Despite his brother Simon's protests, he continues with the stunt and falls from the highwire. Tito dies from his fall, freeing Simonetta to marry Luigi.


Cast

*
Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...
as Tito / Flik *
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
as Simonetta *
Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...
as Count Luigi Ravelli * Bernard Siegel as Simon *
Cissy Fitzgerald Cissy Fitzgerald (born Mary Kate Kipping; 1 February 1873 – 10 May 1941) was an English-American vaudeville actress, dancer, and singer who appeared in numerous silent and sound films. Fitzgerald acted in a popular ''Gaiety Girl'' show begin ...
as Giacinta *
Gwen Lee Gwen Lee (born Gwendolyn Lepinski; November 12, 1904 – August 20, 1961) was an American stage and film actress. Lee began her career as a model before being discovered and signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She was typically cast in supporting ...
as Lucretia *
Leo Feodoroff Leo Feodoroff (1867 - November 23, 1949) was a Russian opera impresario, singer and silent film actor. Feodoroff was born in Odessa in the Russian Empire in 1867. At a young age, he left home to travel with an opera company. He sang bass in vari ...
* Emmett King as the Doctor * Julie DeValora as the Nurse * Helena Dime as Woman at Party * Frankie Genardi as Little Boy at Tito's Death * Mickey McBan as 2nd Little Boy * Lilliana Genardi as Little Girl * Carl M. Leviness as Party Guest


Production

The film is based on the 1923 Broadway stage production ''Laugh, Clown, Laugh'' that starred
Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...
as Tito, and his second wife
Irene Fenwick Irene Fenwick (born Irene Frizell; September 5, 1887 – December 24, 1936) was an American stage and silent film actress. She was married to Lionel Barrymore from 1923 until her death in 1936. Fenwick has several surviving feature films fr ...
in the role of Simonetta. The play by
David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of m ...
and
Tom Cushing Charles Cyprian Strong Cushing (October 27, 1879 – March 6, 1941) was an American playwright who wrote under the name Tom Cushing. Biography Cushing was born in New Haven, Connecticut, the son of William Lee Cushing, founder and headmaster of t ...
, which in turn was based on a 1919 Italian stage play ''Ridi, Pagliaccio'' by , ran at the
Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York Ci ...
from November 28, 1923, to March 1924, for a total of 133 performances. The production also featured
Lucille Kahn Lucille may refer to: People People with the given name "Lucille": * Lucille Bailie (born 1969), Australian basketball player * Lucille Ball (1911–1989), American actress best known for the television series ''I Love Lucy'' * Lucille Berrien ( ...
in a supporting role. MGM was thinking of offering Chaney this film in 1925, but delayed production for several years, because Chaney had already appeared as a clown in the 1924 film ''
He Who Gets Slapped ''He Who Gets Slapped'' ( rus, Тот, кто получает пощёчины, links=no) is a play in four acts by Russian dramatist Leonid Andreyev; completed in August 1915 and first produced in that same year at the Moscow Art Theatre on ...
'' and due to speculation that Lionel Barrymore might wish to reprise his role from the stage production. Instead MGM would pair Barrymore with Chaney in '' West of Zanzibar''.


Cast

As a trouping comic stage actor in his youth, Chaney would have been acquainted with clown performers of lesser-known fame. In preparation for this film and ''
He Who Gets Slapped ''He Who Gets Slapped'' ( rus, Тот, кто получает пощёчины, links=no) is a play in four acts by Russian dramatist Leonid Andreyev; completed in August 1915 and first produced in that same year at the Moscow Art Theatre on ...
'' Chaney also studied the clown makeup of circus performers and legendary 19th-century clown stage actors like
Joseph Grimaldi Joseph Grimaldi (18 December 1778 – 31 May 1837) was an English actor, comedian and dancer, who became the most popular English entertainer of the Regency era.Byrne, Eugene"The patient" Historyextra.com, 13 April 2012 In the early 1800s, ...
and George L. Fox, the latter of
Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg, though he is not explicitly described as such. ...
fame. The film was said to have been Chaney's favorite of all his roles. This film was
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
's first major movie role, at the age of fourteen. In interviews near the end of her life, she expressed her gratitude toward Chaney for his kindness and guidance, and for protecting her from director Brenon's sometimes harsh treatment.


Music

An eponymous musical theme was written specially for the film. It was to be played for audiences in movie theatres n the minutes before screenings of the movie It became a
hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
. Chaney's set musicians played the song at his 1930 funeral.


Reception


Critical reception

Author and film critic
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
awarded the film three out of a possible four stars, calling it " the perfect example of Chaney's unmatched talent for turning tearjerking melodrama into heartbreaking tragedy." Historian Jon C. Mirsalis opined "LAUGH, CLOWN, LAUGH is certainly one of the loveliest of Chaney's films. The film was directed by Herbert Brenon, and was stunningly photographed by James Wong Howe, probably the finest cinematographer to work on a Chaney picture. Combined with a radiant 14-year old Loretta Young, and a higher than average budget, the end result is a beautiful film that holds up wonderfully today." "This is the best work of Lon Chaney since THE UNHOLY THREE, and it is a great relief to have him minus his usual sinister make-up. His characterization of Tito Flik is perfect." --- Photoplay "Mr. Chaney, discarding for the moment his usual propensity for distorted limbs, is a properly sentimental clown." --- New York Herald Tribune "Mr. Chaney is superb as the clown. It makes one realize his mental state vividly. The closing scenes where he is shown performing his death-defying acts, and committing suicide, are the most pathetic of them all. It should draw big crowds in any theatre and please them all". --- Harrison's Reports "Another romantic play with a semi-tragic finale....In this case, Lon Chaney as the star should be almost an insurance of a draw. Production is excellent in Herbert Brenon's best style. Chaney does some splendid acting as the clown who makes the world laugh while his heart is breaking with a vain love...." ---Variety "Except for an expertly filmed closing sequence...Herbert Brenon's pictorial translation of LAUGH CLOWN LAUGH...is a somewhat dawdling and sparkless contribution. Even Lon Chaney's undoubtedly earnest interpretation...fails to arouse the necessary sympathy...Miss Young is attractive and dainty, but her talent as an actress is not called for to any great extent in this picture." ---The New York Times "Chaney without his crutches, Chaney the middle-aged lover, Chaney the clown, Chaney the actor! These are good entertainers, particularly the latter, and LAUGH CLOWN LAUGH is good entertainment...I believe I'm giving the impression that I think Mr. Chaney is a whale of an actor. If I'm not, I'm sorry, because that--at least that--is what I think he is." --- Exhibitors Herald-World "Lon Chaney, I think, was one of the real geniuses in our business. There aren't too many of them, but I think surely he was one. I think Lon Chaney was able to separate his work from his life. When he was working, he actually was not in this world at all. He was just inside that character so if that character was up, he was up. If the character was down, he was down." ---Quote,
Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...
interview


Accolades

The film is recognized by
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
in these lists: * 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated


2002 re-score, 2003 release

In January 2002, the third annual Young Film Composers Competition sponsored by
Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
awarded the right to re-score this film to a college student named Scott Salinas. In November 2002, he scored it at Todd-AO, with the film first aired in February 2003.


References


External links

* * * *
''Laugh, Clown, Laugh''
at Virtual History
Lobby poster to the film


at silenthollywood.com

at Nils Asther website {{Irving Thalberg 1928 films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Films about clowns Films directed by Herbert Brenon American romantic drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American films based on plays 1928 romantic drama films 1920s American films Silent romantic drama films Silent American drama films