The session: "Happy 140th Birthday, Lon Chaney, Sr."
This month we watch silent movies starring the one and only Lon Chaney, Sr.
As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL.
Week 4: Where East Is East (1929)
Directed by Tod Browning
My Impressions Going In:
I had heard of this, but knew nothing about it.
A professional trapper (and all around adventureman) is happy for his daughter when she gets engaged. But things get complicated.
Reaction and Other Folderol:
The big story of this movie is that Lupe Velez manages to steal the scenes from Lon Chaney. I've noted in the past that Chaney was so great he would steal whatever scenes he was in in other movies. But here, the fabulous Lupe Velez outshines the master.
There's great chemistry between Chaney (as Tiger Haynes) and Velez (as his daughter, Toyo Haynes); they play well together and off each other. Perhaps, however, too well. In many of the scenes they're in together, they (as father and daughter) seem a little too flirty. Almost incesty. And that's in the context of a plot wherein Toyo's mom (Madame de Sylva, played by Estelle Taylor) is trying to seduce Toyo's fiance. Ick. And I don't mean to say "ick" in the sense of of calling this a bad movie. I do mean that it's kcreepy in a way I don't expect from a 1920s film. But it's really good.
The movie never does explain why de Sylva is so bitter, why she's going after her daughter's fiance. But I suppose it doesn't matter. But, other than that question, it does manage to tie things up nicely. And, of course, you can't go wrong with a gorilla ending.
Ratings
Me: 9.7
Bob-O: 10
Christina: 8.1
Ethan: 10
Joe: 10
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