The Criterion Collection have given lovers of macabre cinema an early Halloween treat with their Tod Browning Sideshow Shockers collection, a three film set that features the cult classic Freaks, the Lon Chaney classic The Unknown and the little-seen The Mystic. As a trio, these movies prove to be a concise overview of the director’s development as a filmmaker, his themes of guilt, repulsion, sexual frustration and abnormal attraction becoming more complex over time.
Other than Dracula (1931), Freaks is Browning’s most famous film, however not for the reasons he intended. Having returned to MGM after delivering Universal Pictures its biggest hit to date, the director was given carte blanche. Having joined a traveling carnival at the age of 16, he wanted to focus on that world, so he decided to adapt the Tod Robbins’ short story Spurs, a riveting tale of greed, prejudice and revenge. And while Freaks is a faithful adaptation of the story, it’s the personal moments Browning adds that make it truly unique. Each of the sideshow cast members are given a moment in which to display their humanity, scenes that add nothing to the plot, yet gives us a deeper understanding and appreciation for these talented people that society would shun. Audiences were so shocked by Browning’s realistic rendering of his beloved characters, the film was banned in England until the 1960’s, while audiences rejected it, making it one of Browning’s few box office failures. Some 95 years later, it’s been embraced for its positive portrayal of its disabled characters.
Having made 10 films with Lon Chaney, The Unknown is arguably their best collaboration, a perverse tale of deception in which the actor plays Alonzo, a criminal hiding out in a traveling circus, pretending not to have arms, who throws knives with his feet. He falls for Nanon (a young Joan Crawford), his beautiful assistant who, ironically, has an aversion to being touched. It sounds like a match made in heaven, that is until the new strongman Malabar (Norman Kerry) catches her eye and she starts to be receptive to his caresses. The lengths Alonzo goes to keep Nanon defy all logic while the film’s climax has to be seen to be believed as an outlandish revenge scheme goes horribly awry.
Rarely seen, The Mystic is a revelation, a taut, brisk thriller that finds a group of carnival con artists scamming high society patrons with elaborate seances and visions of the long dead. Predating the novel Nightmare Alley by 20 years, the film is a showcase for silent star Aileen Pringle who plays the fake medium, Zara. Effusive and vibrant, the actor dominates throughout out, her energy palpable whether taking a high-brow snob to the cleaners or suffering a crisis of conscience when she begins to feel sympathy for one of her marks.
Each of the films look great as they are presented in new 2K editions while the contributions of horror film expert David J. Skal, who does audio commentaries for Freaks and The Unknown while providing an introduction to The Mystic provide not only vital background for each film but context regarding Browning as an artist and the cultural impact of his work. An audio of the author reading Spurs is also included.
It comes as no surprise that the bulk of the archival material revolves around Freaks, the highlight being an archival documentary and portraits of the titular characters but also a feature on the various proposed endings to the film. A podcast focused on how the film has become a hallmark in the continued fight for accurate disability representation rounds out the package, one of the most satisfying home video releases of the year, a vital examination of an oft overlooked filmmaker whose compassion for outsiders is just now being appreciated.
