Review of West of Zanzibar (1928) by Shaun B — 25 May 2012

Tod Browning's silent melodrama certainly has mood going for it - he stocks his Africa with plenty of creatures slithering in the mud. Phroso (Lon Chaney) is a limehouse magician consumed with plans of revenge - romantic rival Crane (Lionel Barrymore) steals his lovely wife (fetching Jacquelin Gadsdon), taking the use of Phroso's legs in the process.

Following Crane to Africa, Phroso painstakingly sets the stage to give Crane his just desserts, but the forces in play may be too powerful for anyone to control. A bit slow, and while "Zanzibar" may not reach the creepy heights of "Freaks", Chaney's sweaty, glowering Phroso is certainly compelling.