Review of The Unholy Three (1925) by Justin R — 11 Oct 2009

One of Lon Chaney's ("The Penalty")most popular films finds him as Echo the ventriloquist, a man capable of throwing his voice (important later in the film) who spends his days working Rosie (Mae Busch) to pickpocket their customers. After a fight breaks out at the carnival where a midget named Tweedledee (Harry Earles; "Freaks") boots a kid in the face (and smashes the kids nose open!), they team up with a strongman (Victor McLaglan) to pull a bigger heist. Their plan is to open a pet store and rip off new customers. They'll be beyond suspicion with Echo dressed as an elderly woman, the strongman as "her" "nephew", and Tweedledee/Little Willie dressed as an infant child. Eventually a robbery goes awry and someone's killed, leading the cops on the trail for the killer.

Director Tod Browning's ("Freaks") cast works well here, and they would reunite 5 years later for a remake with sound (sans Browning, replaced by Jack Conway). Browning did several films with Chaney over the years including their hit "The Unknown" and would team up again with Harry Earles for 1931's "Freaks".

Some interesting 1920's camera trickery is used in turning a pissed-off looking monkey into a man-sized ape, which in turn also uses Earles in a monkey costume for a few shots. It's another one of Browning's dark morality tales involving the circus, something he's done several times before & after. The first half of the film never loses steam, but when a fall guy (Matt Moore) heads to trial for the crimes, things seem to slow down a bit due to lack of talking. Some tense moments arise between Echo trying to get a letter to the sap, also earlier when a cop almost discovers hidden gems in a child's toy.

The film has gone on in years to become a cult classic and also inspired Baby Herman from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?", here with Earles in his baby getup chomping on a giant cigar (more prominent in the 1930 remake). On the downside, one can't help almost lean towards the sound version (Chaney's only talking film) as if viewed first, the silent original (while a classic) seems to bog down heavily during the courtroom scenes, while the "talkie" remake perks up with Chaney showing up in drag (a different version of the scene appears in the 1925 version).

A classic of silent cinema and worth checking out, especially for fans of Lon Chaney.