Mr_Ectoplasma "The Unknown" focuses on a traveling circus in which an "armless" knife-thrower, Alonzo (Lon Chaney), who is actually a runaway criminal in hiding, relentlessly pursues the circus owner's young daughter, Nanon (Joan Crawford). One of the other circus members, Malabar, interferes, leading Alonzo to vie for Nanon's affection at dire costs.By contemporary standards this a fairly straightforward and unsurprising plot scenario–a love triangle, if you will–but in spite of conventionality, there is a lot of action, suspense, and utter weirdness packed into this hour-long feature. Tod Browning, a director legendary for his affinities toward the bizarre, would direct the sound film "Freaks" several years later, another dark proto-horror film set amongst circus people.The film is beautifully shot, and Lon Chaney's unmatched facial communication is absolutely captivating on screen; he conveys the character with an innocence and simultaneous sinister quality, endearing Nanon's affections and yet possessing macabre intentions that bubble beneath his veneer. Joan Crawford is equally dazzling–this is among her earliest roles, and one can really see her cutting her teeth on the character. She's incredibly emotive and is able to play off of Chaney extremely gracefully. The film has a wacky circus spectacle of a conclusion in which order is restored and the chaos of the "unknown" comes to a resolution. It's a predictable plot trajectory, but it is crafted with great care.Overall, "The Unknown" is a playful and sinister take on a fairly conventional plot arc. Outstanding performances from Chaney and Crawford elevate the proceedings considerably, and the film is also a point of intrigue in terms of influence, as it does undoubtedly qualify as a precursor to the contemporary horror film. 9/10.

CJBx7 THE UNKNOWN (1927) tells the story of Alonzo, who travels with a gypsy circus in Spain as an armless knife-thrower and marksman. He pines for Nanon (Joan Crawford), a beautiful woman who can't stand to be touched by men, but Alonzo must compete with the strongman Malabar (Norman Kerry) for her affections. Complicating all of this is a secret that he dare not reveal, for fear of being captured by the law. His obsession with Nanon leads him to make a very startling decision. Directed by Tod Browning. SCRIPT: Tod Browning is famous for making movies with a bizarre, somewhat morbid element. There's certainly an abundance of that in this film. This is a melodrama with a twist – it's rather unsettling and fascinating at the same time. THE UNKNOWN delves into what happens when affection crosses the line into obsessive possessiveness and jealousy… and yet, somehow, one empathizes a bit with Alonzo. The movie is very brief, clocking in around 50 minutes, and yet it makes more of an impact than many longer movies. SCORE: 8/10ACTING: Much of the movie's success is due to the central performance of Lon Chaney, an uncommonly gifted actor. Once again he creates a figure that is villainous, yet empathetic. He is remarkably expressive, particularly in the scene where he realizes that he has made a great sacrifice for nothing – pretending to laugh yet really crying in horror. He uses his feet with great skill too, throwing knives, lighting matches and playing guitar! This movie is undoubtedly his show. Joan Crawford is effective as Nanon, capturing her character's emotions well and displaying some of the star quality that would take her far in her career. Norman Kerry isn't typically acclaimed, but he acquits himself very well as the strongman Malabar, appropriately charming and somewhat roguish, yet also tender. The other cast members do fine work as well. SCORE: 9/10CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: The sets accurately evoke the feel of a traveling circus. The cinematography is minimalistic, yet effective- evocative with some chiaroscuro effects and well-composed shots (particularly in an operating room). Some of the editing is a bit choppy during the knife-throwing scenes – you can tell that someone else was throwing the knives off-camera. Fairly well done overall. SCORE: 7.5/10SUMMARY: THE UNKNOWN is a fascinatingly bizarre film. Even though the central character is a villain, Lon Chaney shows the human core inside of him. The acting is remarkable and the story is brief yet makes a strong impression. MOVIE SCORE: 8/10

Zbigniew_Krycsiwiki Ludicrous premise has surprisingly effective results: an armless circus performer is involved in a love triangle, with a girl who hates to be touched by anyone, and another who cannot keep his hands off her. "Alonzo the Armless" throws knives with his feet, and fires weapons with his feet. But the sick and twisted part of this macabre story is that Alonzo the Armless does in fact have arms, which he eventually has amputated, solely to win the love of the girl who dislikes being touched. When that proves futile, his attention then goes to eliminating his competition. Sick, macabre, obsessive love story manages to come across well, we feel sorry for Chaney's antihero and his unrequited love, until he begins plotting to kill the girl's suitor by nearly having him torn apart by two horses, in a chilling ending. Alonzo's plot to kill girl's suitor nearly kills his love instead. In a last move, Alonzo saves his love from a death he very nearly caused, only to be killed himself. Film is a bit difficult to find, and most certainly one of the oddest movies you can imagine, but still worthwhile, in a chilling sort of way.

blanche-2 Lon Chaney and Joan Crawford star in "The Unknown," a 1927 film written and directed by Tod Browning.Chaney, who often suffered great physical pain getting into his roles, plays Alonzo, an armless man who uses his feet to throw daggers at Nanon (Crawford) as part of his circus act. In truth, though, only his pal Cojo (John George) knows that Alonzo has both arms, corseted behind him while he's working. He's a burglar hiding from the police. Since one of his thumbs is deformed, it seems to him a good disguise.But Alonzo finds it difficult to hide his love for Nanon. Nanon seems frightened of any man's touch, although she is attracted to Malabar (Norman Kerry). One night, her father Zanzi (Nick de Ruiz) sees that Alonzo has arms, and Alonzo has to kill him. Nanon sees the murder, but not the face of the killer; she does, however, see his deformity.Alonzo decides it's best to have the arm with the deformed finger amputated. When he recovers and returns to work, he discovers that Nanon and Malabar are now an item. It's not something he's willing to take lightly.Weird, bizarre, strange, all these words and more describe this twisted story, typical Tod Browning fare. Joan Crawford looks a little different in this film than she does in other early movies. She may have had her nose altered at some point. Nevertheless, with those tremendous flashing eyes, beautiful figure and vibrant presence, it's not hard for her to earn the love of two men. Unfortunately one of them is nuts.Chaney was a master at facial expressions and physical changes, and he gives a compelling portrait as Alonzo, desperately in love with Nanon, who swears he will have her no matter what. I wasn't familiar with Norman Kerry before this film; he seems to have been a potential Fairbanks replacement, very dashing.All in all, a fascinating silent. I saw it on TCM and like so many other silents, it's not in great shape, but that shouldn't distract from the viewing.