The Man Who Laughs

The Man Who Laughs is a 1928 silent film adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel of the same name. It stars Conrad Veidt as Gywnplaine, a noble's son who is deformed with a permanent grin thanks to exiled gypsies (specifically, comprachicos).

Plot
In 1690's England, King James II sentences his political enemy, Lord Clancharlie, to death in an iron maiden. Clancharlie's son, Gwynplaine, is disfigured with a permanent grin by comprachico Dr. Hardquannone, so that he will "laugh forever at his fool of a father". When the comprachicos are exiled, Gwynplaine is deserted. He discovers a blind baby girl, Dea, who has also been abandoned. Together, they are taken in by the mountebank[disambiguation needed] Ursus.

Years later, a now-adult Gwynplaine has become The Laughing Man, the freak show star of a traveling carnival. He and Dea have also fallen in love; he remains distant, believing himself unworthy of her affection due to his disfigurement, although she cannot see it. Meanwhile, the jester Barkilphedro, who had been involved in Lord Clancharlie's execution, is now attached to the court of Queen Anne. He discovers records that reveal Gwynplaine's lineage and rightful inheritance. That estate is currently possessed by sexually aggressive vamp Duchess Josiana.

Queen Anne grants Gwynplaine his peerage and a seat in the House of Lords, and orders Josiana to marry him in order to restore the proper ownership of the estate. Josiana, interested in the estate and perversely attracted to Gwynplaine's disfigurement, attempts to seduce him. Ultimately, he rejects her advances, renounces his title, and refuses the Queen's order of marriage. He escapes, pursued by guards in a chase punctuated by swordplay. At the docks, he meets back up with Dea and Ursus, and rejoins them as they set sail away from England.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Conrad's performance as Gwynplaine was a very heavy inspiration for one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, The Joker, Batman's archenemy.
 * 2) Used early sound technology to allow a love song and cheering for Gwynplaine to be heard while maintaining the charm of a silent film.
 * 3) Often seen as a horror film due to Gwynplaine's appearance even though it is actually a melodrama.
 * 4) Fairly faithful to the novel with some key differences.
 * 5) Some good swashbuckling action near the end of the film.
 * 6) Has gotten better with age, due to original reception of the film being more negative than it is now.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Was largely unavailable to public release for many years until Kino produced a restored version of the original print.

Trivia

 * 1) The character Gwynplaine was the inspiration for the popular comic book villain, The Joker, who is best known as the archenemy of Batman.