Movie 1: The Unholy Three (1925)
Directed by Tod Browning
Movie 2: The Unholy Three (1930)
Directed by Jack Conway
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL
Plot:
Three former circus performers hatch a plot to steal from the rich. Hilarity ensues.
Reaction:
Thinking out of the box yet again, Joe decided to show two interpretations of the same story, followed by two cartoon shorts that tied in.
The films in question were 1925's The Unholy Three and the 1930 remake by the same title. The remake, which featured two of the same stars (Lon Chaney Sr. and Harry Earles), was largely a scene-by-scene copy of the original -- even down to the dialogue which was often the same. I'm not generally a fan of remakes unless there's something important to justify it. In this case, the justification comes in the form of sound. The 1925 film was silent, while 1930 remake was a talkie. In fact, it was the only talkie Lon Chaney Sr. ever made, and the last film of his career.
The casts were both strong, but these films were really tours de force by both Chaney and Earles. Chaney was genius acting as the Professor acting as Granny O'Grady. And Earles, as an adult pretending to be a baby is simply sublime. His ability to alter his facial appearance with hardly any noticable movement is truly amazing. I'd seen it before in Freaks, the 1932 film that Keith showed us at the inauguration of this class years ago.
If I have to choose one version over the other, I'd have to take the 1930 film. There were some plot points that I missed in the original because of the way the title cards were used. Also, one crucial part of the film involved the animosity between Hercules and the ape. This subtle point was explained better in the remake. I also found the Hector character more sympathetic in the remake. That said, I preferred the ending of the earlier film (the endings were slightly different). But I do admit that there's something poetic about how Chaney rode off to end the last film of his illustrious career.
As a bonus, Joe showed two cartoons -- "Baby Buggy Bunny" (starring Bugs Bunny) and "Baby Rattled" (starring Snooper and Blabber). Both were written by Michael Maltese (one of Joe's cartoon-writing heroes), and featured diminutive adult criminals disguised as babies. Joe talked about how, seeing these cartoons as a kid, he thought it was ridiculous that an adult would pass himself off as a baby. His whole perspective was changed when he saw The Unholy Three. Myself? I vividly remember "Baby Buggy Bunny" from my childhood -- I watched a lot of Bugs Bunny. I doubt that I'd ever seen "Baby Rattled" before. And, never the big Hanna-Barbera fan, I couldn't help but note that the Bugs Bunny cartoon was vastly superior. In fairness, as Joe noted, the Bugs Bunny cartoon was made for theatrical release, and more effort was put into it. The Snooper and Blabber cartoon was made for television and required a tighter turn-around. Still...
Ratings:
Me: 9.5
Dave: 10
Ethan: N/R
Keith: 10
Update: Initially, I referred to Harry Earles as "Harry Styles" in a couple places.
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