Freaks (1932)
Genre: Drama / Horror
Duration: 64 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Tod Browning
Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams and Olga Baclanova
IMDb score:
7,8 (54.468)
Releasedate: 12 February 1932
Freaks plot
"The love story of a siren, a giant, and a dwarf!"
Rich dwarf Hans marries the unreliable trapeze artist Cleopatra. His best friend, little Frida, suspects that Cleopatra is not completely clean on the spine. Thanks to circus boss Madame Tetrallini and her freaks, she discovers a conspiracy and, together with the freaks, takes revenge on Cleopatra and her lover Hercules.
Actors and actresses
Hans
Cleopatra
Frieda
Hercules
Phroso
Venus
Roscoe
Angeleno
Knife-Throwing Dwarf (uncredited)
Siamese Twin
Reviews & comments
arno74
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- 8700 messages
- 3342 votes
Fine film, discovered by the horror KO It's a shame that the censorship has cut it and pieces are missing. No idea if it's because of that, but the marriage was very sudden, as was its demise. Agree with Dark Forest that there is a reference to Germany in the film, the characters have big names (Hercules, Cleopatra), except Hans and Frieda, the two German... dwarfs. Maybe it's just satire, Germany had lost WW I and they felt belittled after all. But the real freaks in the film are of course Cleopatra and Hercules. Towards the 4*.
Translated from Dutch · View original
ikkegoemikke
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- 3449 messages
- 4933 votes
This one had been on my wish list for a long time because it kept popping up in some Horror list. It never happened because the year 1932 scared me off. I expected blurry images, a terrible soundtrack (or no sound at all) and wooden acting in this almost 100-year-old film. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I saw the quality of all the listed aspects. Perfect image quality and the way it is portrayed. This movie was way ahead of its time. And the acting was simply formidable. No exaggerated movements and facial expressions. No wooden characters and forced dialogues. And a bizarre world was sketched out. Hats off. The only thing is the label horror that I have a problem with. Rather, it is a drama with a moralistic slant. According to IMDb, the most confrontational scenes were left out. Apparently there was a scene in it where Hercules was castrated and then showed up at the end as a member of the freaks with a high-pitched voice. Maybe it would have been a little more scary after all.
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
A classic from the old box. A remarkable film also because deformities were actually sought for the cast. It only makes it special, also because the acting in general can be called fine. The atmosphere of the traveling circus camp comes across well on the screen. Of course you can now ask yourself whether all this can be ethically justified. People paid a lot of money to see such people. Empathy was always far away and exploitation near...
Here, however, the deformed are the protagonists of the story. Hercules and Cleopatra are the villains again. That alone also makes the film groundbreaking, at a time when Frankenstein, Dracula and other monsters were on the other side of the ring.
Great tension and atmosphere. The film leads to a climax. It never gets scary, but I can imagine that the film had a serious impact 100 years ago. I saw it on DVD, probably censored a bit if I read other things about it.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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