Horror Movie Project

This is a very dark dramatic period movie. However, I made the executive decision to watch it and classify it as horror. The Expressionistic dark shadowy tones are more than enough to creep you out on a late night. It also stars our good friend Mr. Conrad Veid as Gwynplaine the disgraced and infamous "Laughing Man." His face is quite horrific and sticks in your mind. I can see why Bill Finger and Bob Kane used his character as an inspiration for the Joker, Batman's nemesis.  The film is pretty mediocre at best. It has its moments of triumph but overall just feels like filler. The story is a saving grace. It is the tale of a man that is disfigured as a boy when his father refused to kiss the then king's ring. When he is grown up the man travels as a sideshow act and falls in love with a blind girl named Dea. Happiness doesn't last forever and the now Queen of England, Queen Anne, plots against Gwynplaine and Dea. Of course in any situation like this one lov