|
The Man Who Laughs
''The Man Who Laughs'' (also published under the title ''By Order of the King'' from its subtitle in French) is a Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, originally published in April 1869 under the French title ''L'Homme qui rit''. It takes place in England beginning in 1690 and extends into the early 18th-century reign of Queen Anne. It depicts England's royalty and aristocracy of the time as cruel and power-hungry. Hugo intended parallels with the France of Louis-Philippe and the Régence. The novel concerns the life of a young nobleman who was disfigured as a child on the orders of the king. Exiled and renamed "Gwynplaine", he travels with his protector and companion, the vagabond philosopher Ursus, and Dea, who he rescued as a baby during a storm. The novel is famous for Gwynplaine's mutilated face, stuck in a permanent grin. The book has inspired many artists, dramatists, and filmmakers. Background Hugo wrote ''The Man Who Laughs'' over a period of 15 months while he was living in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (1831) and ''Les Misérables'' (1862). In France, Hugo is renowned for his poetry collections, such as and (''The Legend of the Ages''). Hugo was at the forefront of the Romanticism, Romantic literary movement with his play ''Cromwell (play), Cromwell'' and drama ''Hernani (drama), Hernani''. His works have inspired music, both during his lifetime and after his death, including the opera ''Rigoletto'' and the musicals ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérables'' and ''Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), Notre-Dame de Paris''. He produced more than 4,000 drawings in his lifetime, and campaigned for social causes such as the abolition of Capital punishment in France, capital punishment and Abolitionism, slavery. Although he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Algernon Charles Swinburne
Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleventh Edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Swinburne wrote about many taboo topics, such as lesbianism, sadomasochism, and antitheism. His poems have many common motifs, such as the ocean, time, and death. Several historical people are featured in his poems, such as Sappho ("Sapphics"), Anactoria ("Anactoria"), and Catullus ("To Catullus"). Biography Swinburne was born at 7 Chester Street, Grosvenor Place, London, on 5 April 1837. He was the eldest of six children born to Captain (later Admiral) Charles Henry Swinburne (1797–1877) and Lady Jane Henrietta, daughter of the 3rd Earl of Ashburnham, a wealthy Northumbrian family. He grew up at East Dene in Bonchurch on the Isle of Wight. The Swinburnes also had a London home at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batman
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American Playboy lifestyle, playboy, Philanthropy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Origin of Batman, His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas Wayne, Thomas and Martha Wayne, Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a Batsuit, bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with List of Batman supporting characters, supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin (character), Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joker (comics)
The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, the character first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' on April 25, 1940. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for his design while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although the Joker was planned to be Killing off, killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman. In the DC Universe, the Joker is portrayed as a criminal mastermind and the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance. He was introduced as a murderous Psychopathy, psychopath with a warped, sadistic personality disorder, sadistic sense of humor but became a comical prankster in the late 1950s in response to regulation by the Comics Code Authority, before retur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book series first published in 1937. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, the first comic under the DC banner being published in 1937. The majority of its published stories are set in the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous List of DC Comics characters, culturally iconic heroic characters, such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash (DC Comics character), Flash; as well as famous fictional teams, including the Justice League, the Teen Titans, the Suicide Squad, and the Legion of Superheroes. The universe contains an assortment of well-known supervillains, such as Lex Luthor, the Joker (character), Joker, Darkseid, and the antihero Catwoman. The company has published non-DC Universe-related mater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Olga Baclanova
Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova (; 19 August 1893 – 6 September 1974), known professionally as Olga Baclanova, was a Russian-born actress who found success in Hollywood films, as well as stage roles in the US and the United Kingdom, she was mainly billed as an exotic blonde temptress, who was given the title of the "Russian Tigress". Baclanova spent her early years in her native land appearing in silent films from 1914 until 1918, reducing her age by several years and changing the spelling of her surname Baklanova. She was often billed under her surname only, similar to her fellow countrywoman Nazimova.Mank, Gregory W. (1999). ''Women in horror films, 1930s,'' p. 118. McFarland; Vazzana, Eugene Michael (2001). ''Silent film necrology,'' p. 25. McFarland; She emigrated to the United States in 1925, and started appearing on stage and subsequently in Hollywood films, where she was celebrated for the Universal Pictures silent ''The Man Who Laughs'' as the evil Duchess Josiana and in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mary Philbin
Mary Loretta Philbin (July 16, 1902 – May 7, 1993) was an American film actress of the silent film era, who played Christine Daaé in the 1925 film ''The Phantom of the Opera '' opposite Lon Chaney, and Dea in ''The Man Who Laughs'' alongside Conrad Veidt. Early life Philbin was born on July 16, 1902 in Chicago, Illinois, into a middle-class, Irish-American family and raised Catholic. She was an only child, and was named after her mother, Mary. Her father, John Philbin, was born in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland, and had emigrated to America in 1900. Career Philbin began her acting career after winning a beauty contest sponsored by Universal Pictures in Chicago. After she moved to California, Erich von Stroheim signed her to a contract with Universal, deeming her a "Universal Super Jewel." She made her screen debut in 1921, and the following year was honored at the first WAMPAS Baby Stars awards, a promotional campaign sponsored by the Western Association of Motion Picture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conrad Veidt
Hans Walter Conrad Veidt ( , ; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German and British actor. He attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs (1928 film), The Man Who Laughs'' (1928). After a successful career in German silent films, where he was one of the best-paid stars of UFA GmbH, UFA, Veidt and his new Jewish wife Ilona Prager left Germany in 1933 after the Nazis came to power. The couple settled in Britain, where he took citizenship in 1939. Veidt subsequently appeared in many British films, including ''The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film), The Thief of Bagdad'' (1940). After emigrating to the United States around 1941, he was cast as Major Strasser in ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca'' (1942), his last film role to be released during his lifetime. Early life Hans Walter Conrad Veidt was born on 22 January 1893 in his parents' home at Tieckstraße 39 in Berlin to Am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Leni
Paul Leni (born Paul Josef Levi, 8 July 1885 – 2 September 1929) was a German filmmaker and a key figure in German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionism, making ''Hintertreppe'' (1921) and ''Waxworks (film), Waxworks'' (1924) in Germany, and ''The Cat and the Canary (1927 film), The Cat and the Canary'' (1927), ''The Chinese Parrot (film), The Chinese Parrot'' (1927), ''The Man Who Laughs (1928 film), The Man Who Laughs'' (1928), and ''The Last Warning (1928 film), The Last Warning'' (1928) in the United States. Life and career Paul Josef Levi was born to a Jewish family in Stuttgart. He became an avant-garde painter at the age of 15, he studied at Berlin's Academy of Fine Arts, and subsequently worked as a theatrical set designer, working for a number of theatres in Berlin (but not with Max Reinhardt (theatre director), Max Reinhardt). In 1913, he started working in the German film industry designing film sets and/or costumes for directors such as Joe May, Ernst Lub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States asserts sovereignty over five Territories of the United States, major island territories and United States Minor Outlying Islands, various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, third-largest population, exceeding 340 million. Its three Metropolitan statistical areas by population, largest metropolitan areas are New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Man Who Laughs (1928 Film)
''The Man Who Laughs'' is a 1928 American synchronized sound film, sound Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by the German expressionist cinema, German Expressionist filmmaker Paul Leni. While the film has no audible dialog, it was released with a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both sound-on-disc and sound-on-film processes. The film is an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1869 The Man Who Laughs, novel of the same name, and stars Mary Philbin as the blind Dea and Conrad Veidt as Gwynplaine. The film is known for the grotesque grin on the character Gwynplaine's face, which often leads it to be classified as a horror film. Film critic Roger Ebert stated "''The Man Who Laughs'' is a melodrama, at times even a Swashbuckler film, swashbuckler, but so steeped in expressionist gloom that it plays like a horror film." ''The Man Who Laughs'' is a romantic melodrama similar to films such as ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film), The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franz Höbling
Franz Höbling (1886 – 1965) was an Austrian actor and film director. He played the lead in the 1921 silent horror film ''Das grinsende Gesicht'' (1921).Barker p. 88 He co-starred several times with Magda Sonja. Selected filmography Actor * '' The Jewess of Toledo'' (1919) * '' Der Traum im Walde'' (1919) * ''Das grinsende Gesicht ''Das grinsende Gesicht'' () is a 1921 Austrian film silent film film directed by Julius Herzka. It stars Anna Kallina, Nora Gregor and Lucienne Delacroix. It is the first feature film adaptation of Victor Hugo's 1869 novel ''The Man Who Laugh ...'' (1921) * '' Der hinkende Teufel'' (1922) * '' Look After Your Daughters'' (1922) References Bibliography * Barker, Clive. ''Clive Barker's A–Z of Horror''. BBC Books, 1997. External links * 1886 births 1965 deaths Austrian male stage actors Austrian male film actors Austrian male silent film actors Austrian film directors Male actors from Vienna 20th-century Austrian male actors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
