Touches You

People are voting emotionally.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Here's an early outing for Tod Browning, the director who would later make the controversial horror classic FREAKS. THE UNHOLY THREE, which was remade as a talkie five years later, shares some similarities with Browning's later movie, as it starts off in a familiar carnival sideshow setting. Soon, however, things take a turn in a crime direction as the film's three anti-heroes set up home in a pet shop and use various disguises to commit a string of robberies in the area.This is a lengthy silent outing that hasn't aged well in comparison to some contemporary fare. Aside from one fantastic little moment right at the film's climax – in which a chimpanzee, made huge by camera tricks, runs amok a la MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE – there's no horror to be had and the story is slow-moving beyond belief. It's mainly of interest for the actors, who give great performances even though they can't use their voices.Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, is wonderful as Echo, the criminal mastermind who convinces as a friendly elderly woman; Victor McLaglen provides muscle as a hulking strongman; and, best of all, the diminutive Harry Earles – who returned in a central role in FREAKS – is great as the murderous criminal who disguises himself as a baby! Also on hand is love interest Mae Busch, familiar for her roles in many Laurel and Hardy flicks of the 1930s. The horror of THE UNHOLY THREE is very diluted and often shied away from, with the focus instead on courtroom scenes and, incredibly, dialogue. It even manages to have something of a happy ending, which is a little bizarre. I can't imagine anyone sitting and enjoying this film today, but it is worth a look as an interesting example of early cinema.

It's a tribute to Tod Browning that his THE UNHOLY THREE manages to have such holding power as you watch it. The story is strange and very unique. At the same time, there are so many implausible elements thrown into the mix that you must suspend disbelief in order to sit back and enjoy the excellent performances.While LON CHANEY is undoubtedly at his best as the old Granny who runs a bird shop for talking parrots, the attention is compulsively drawn to the evil dwarf (HARRY EARLES). Later on, he served as one of the Munchkins for THE WIZARD OF OZ, but here he's a grown man able to pose convincingly as a baby--a very conniving infant who instigates the robbery and murder of a wealthy store patron.Since Echo (LON CHANEY's ventriloquist name), throws his voice whenever the parrots talk, the ventriloquism device is used for effect in the climactic courtroom scene where Chaney decides to help an innocent man wrongly accused of the murder. It's here that Chaney gets a chance to show us (in reaction shots) the great actor he was simply by using various facial expressions. Even though the device of throwing his voice at a trial is completely beyond belief, he manages to convince the viewer that such a thing was entirely possible.Chaney is very effective as the smiling Granny, Earles is scary as the psychopathic dwarf posing as a baby between puffs on a cigar, and MAE BUSCH is effective as the woman Chaney loves.Although slowly paced, it's well worth watching, drawing the viewer from the start with its strange and incredible story, an entertaining triumph for all concerned. It's been years since I saw the later sound version from 1930, but I believe this has a slight edge over the other.

I had an afternoon free so I decided to watch the two versions of this Lon Chaney classic back to back, beginning with this one -- Tod Browning's silent original. It's the story of a crooked carnival ventriloquist (Lon Chaney) who teams up with the midget (Harry Earles) and strong man (Victor McLaglen ) for a series of robberies. Chaney dresses as an old woman and Earles plays a baby to perfect their scheme. In many ways this was a precursor to the popular Little Rascals/Our Gang short subject FREE EATS, where a couple of gangsters act as parents to a couple of little people dressed as infants, mistakenly referred to as "fidgets".Whether it's the silent version or sound remake, I thought this was a wildly entertaining story either way, though it's difficult to fairly judge one film or the other when they're viewed together so closely like this. There are pros and cons to both movies for me. The strength of Browning's silent version was that in many ways it felt much more stylish and better crafted, possibly with better production values... but I found I preferred Lila Lee as Rosie O'Grady (from the sound version) to the silent actress here, Mae Busch. The 1925 original perhaps feels a little too long, which is the only thing which kept it from being perfect for me. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if most fans prefer the silent film simply because it was directed by Tod Browning. My advice is to see them both! ***1/2 out of ****

Lon Chaney was one of the greatest actors who ever lived. He expresses more emotion in this movie with his facial expressions than many of the actors today can do with their voices. Chaney stars as Professor Echo,a sleazy carnival ventriloquist, who plans to pull off a crime that would make him and his two counterparts rich. Echo a master of voices will pose as an old lady, the sideshow midget named Tweedledee will be the baby, and Hercules the strongman will be a bystander. Together this team of unholy individuals open up a pet store which specializes in selling talking parrots. These birds talk and sing in the store but when the buyer brings them home they stop.A rich man named Arlington buys a parrot and calls "Old Lady Mcgrady" to come have a look at it. Tweedledee notices a red ruby necklace."Don't worry Grannie will buy you a nice set of red pearls like that" Echo's girlfriend Rosie is falling in love with Hector the employee at the store. Echo is beginning to lose his concentration and his partners plot against him. Hercules murders Arlington and after Hector proposes to Rosie Echo plans to frame him for the murder.Yes the plot is a bit silly at times but Chaney and his cast tell it with the utmost sincerity. Chaney's Echo is a sad character,not necessarily evil but selfish. His love for Rosie redeems him and his evil ways at the end of the movie. Chaney is one of the greats. He creates a vivid character. Man of a Thousand Faces is the correct title for him but here he doesn't need his make-up to create a face just his perfect acting skills.10/10