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He Who Gets Slapped

Play trailer Poster for He Who Gets Slapped Released Nov 9, 1924 1h 16m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
After Baron Regnard (Marc MacDermott) steals both his greatest invention and his wife, scientist Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) loses all self-regard and joins a circus sideshow to become the most famous clown in France, known as "He Who Gets Slapped" by other clowns. When Paul falls in love with bareback rider Consuelo (Norma Shearer), she and her partner, Brazo (John Gilbert), mock him. He is heartbroken, but determined to shield Consuelo when Regnard shows sudden romantic interest in her.

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He Who Gets Slapped

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Yasser Medina Cinefilia A dark, tragic and very emotional silent film, which elevates its circus spectacle with a formidable performance by Chaney as the disgraced, slap-laughing clown. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jun 28, 2024 Full Review Francisco J. Ariza Cine-Mundial Lon Chaney has never been better. [Full review in Spanish] Sep 10, 2020 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A subdued Chaney offers one of his greatest performances. Rated: A Jun 4, 2007 Full Review Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Chaney, um dos grandes atores do perodo, cria um personagem trgico e memorvel, mas o roteiro excessivamente simples do ponto de vista dramtico, o que atrapalha o filme. Rated: 3/5 Oct 19, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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andy f A masterpiece of cinema with one of Lon Chaney's strongest performances. This amazing film is more than about one man though - this is a movie of absolute marvel and pathos. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member The best romance movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Based on a play from Russian author Leonid Andreyev, 'He Who Gets Slapped' has some very dark themes - humiliation, adultery, betrayal, exploitation, and sadistic glee at someone else's expense. Lon Chaney stars as a scientist who early on suffers in two ways: his discoveries are stolen by his benefactor (Marc McDermott), and then his wife (Ruth King) tells him she's leaving him for the same scoundrel. Humiliated in public and private by being slapped and laughed at, he retreats from his life and takes up a career as a clown. His act? Being slapped and abused by 60 other clowns, much to the merriment of the audience. (Of course!) It's a kind of ridiculous plot device to get him into this position, and then for his benefactor to cross paths with him five years later, but if you can suspend disbelief, you'll probably enjoy the film for its performances. You see some of the worst of human behavior shown in unflinching ways, and Chaney is the perfect guy for the part. He's fantastic, and to see him dressed up as a pathetic, bitter clown is something else. The film also includes Norma Shearer early in her career (just 22 years old); she plays a new performer to the circus. She begins having romantic feelings for her fellow horseman (John Gilbert), and there is a lovely scene of them out on a picnic, the charm of which helps lighten the tone of the movie. Shearer is so pretty that she also attracts Chaney (who we feel sorry for), and McDermott (who we hiss at). Love and self-sacrifice are the best of human behavior, and provide a counterbalance to the rest of the film. Another aspect I found interesting was that it reminded me of a couple of Chaney's later films in the 1920's that I had seen before, both directed by Tod Browning. 'The Unknown' (1927) also takes place in a circus, and in one of its best scenes, features Chaney's horror and angst to being laughed at. 'Where East is East' (1929) also features 'murder by using a wild animal', though in that film, it was a gorilla, and here, it's a lion. It's interesting that these themes were recycled, and perhaps a testament to the power of their darkness. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review david l He Who Gets Slapped is disappointing in its supporting characters and a meandering second act, but the protagonist is excellent and so well played by terrific Lon Chaney, the dialogue is too on the nose, but the themes are important and interesting and some scenes are quite moving and heartbreaking. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Lon Chaney is absorbing and creepy as a wronged and humiliated scientist turned masochistic circus clown (yes, you read that correctly) in this early silent film from new studio MGM. Even behind his make-up Chaney burns with an intensity that lifts the movie beyond its revenge/love triangle plot. Swedish director Victor Sjöström (later the star of Bergman's Wild Strawberries) keeps things moving with deft editing and some odd set-pieces. For example, there is a recurring motif of a clown spinning a globe, no doubt reflecting the fickle vagaries of fate. Although things drag when Chaney is not on-screen and the movie shifts to Norma Shearer and John Gilbert professing their love (even while her father sells her to the wicked Baron, ironically the man who stole Chaney's scientific ideas and slapped him in the first place, in front of the Academy no less), the conclusion is effectively downbeat. If only the weird business of the slaps was foregrounded a bit more, this could have achieved greater cult status. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member A masterful thriller centering around a Professor who is betrayed by his closest friends and his major theories are stolen. He then approaches them publicly & he is slapped & humiliated. Now redundant in his career he becomes a clown in the Paris Circus & plans revenge. As a relationship blossoms between the clown a circus girl so does an opportunity to have revenge. Directed so well by Swedish Turned Hollywood Filmmaker Victor Seastrom for MGM in 1924. The themes explored in the film are fascinating & final moments in the film with a Lion are both tense & memorable. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
He Who Gets Slapped

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Movie Info

Synopsis After Baron Regnard (Marc MacDermott) steals both his greatest invention and his wife, scientist Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) loses all self-regard and joins a circus sideshow to become the most famous clown in France, known as "He Who Gets Slapped" by other clowns. When Paul falls in love with bareback rider Consuelo (Norma Shearer), she and her partner, Brazo (John Gilbert), mock him. He is heartbroken, but determined to shield Consuelo when Regnard shows sudden romantic interest in her.
Director
Victor Sjöström
Producer
Louis B. Mayer, Irving Thalberg, Victor Sjöström
Screenwriter
Leonid Andreyev, Carey Wilson, Victor Sjöström
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corp.
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
Drama
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 9, 1924, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 10, 2020
Runtime
1h 16m
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