AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

ShangLuda Admirable film.

MikeMagi There was a time when movie bios were a mix of fact and invention -- and 1957's "Man of a Thousand Faces" typifies the genre. Yes, Chaney was the son of deaf mutes but there's no evidence that he hid the fact from his pregnant wife or that she demanded an abortion when she heard the news. And while it's true that she was suicidal, she didn't try to kill herself on stage. Their bitter relationship makes for a series of mawkish moments, backed by dire music, when the movie ought to be focusing on Chaney's talent. When it occasionally does, thanks to James Cagney's splendid performance, it suddenly springs to life. His re-enactment of moments from "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" are amazing. But just when you think you're getting a sense of what "the man of mystery" was really like, it's back to sludgy soap opera. And all you can do is groan.

classicsoncall Sometimes it's best not to know too much about a subject if it's going to ruin your movie viewing experience. This picture is panned by a lot of the reviewers here because of the historical inaccuracies and Cagney's lack of resemblance to Lon Chaney. None of this however ruined my enjoyment of the picture, as Cagney does a superb job of recreating some of Chaney's famous silent film characters along with portraying the actor's conflicted private life. As a kid growing up in the Fifties, I never knew there was a Chaney 'Senior', and the only one I could relate to was the 'Wolf Man' Chaney from his horror films and later, his TV and movie Western roles.For Cagney, this was a natural in more ways than one. One of the things the movie touches on is the major transition of moving pictures from the silent film era into the talkies. Cagney's portrayal shows how Chaney made the move from vaudeville into the silents in the first place, and later on into the new medium that film executive Irving Thalberg (Robert Evans) characterized as the 'bell tolling for silent pictures'. Cagney himself lived through the passing of these eras, starting out as a dancer and catching his very first break in talking pictures in 1930 with impressive performances in "Sinner's Holiday" and "Doorway to Hell".The most emotional scenes in the picture deal with Chaney's personal life - the first meeting of Cleva Creighton (Dorothy Malone) with Chaney's deaf mute parents, the agonizing wait for the birth of their 'normal' baby, and Cleva's despondency over being sequestered from a life of her own outside the home. Later on the story delves into Creighton Chaney's newly discovered relationship with Cleva and the attendant conflict it creates with his father.The one thing I would have handled differently I think most movie fans would agree with. By 1957 when this film came out, Lon Chaney Jr. was already a known commodity with his 1941 portrayal of the iconic Wolf Man character, followed by more monster portrayals and other homely characters like Lennie in 1939's "Of Mice and Men". Having not only a handsome but a stunningly handsome actor like Roger Smith portray the adult (Lon) Creighton Chaney was a major disconnect, so I have to remind myself to re-read my own first paragraph.

MartinHafer "Loosely based....". When I hear this about a bio-pic, it is a complete turnoff to me. I think some it was because I was a history teacher--and to me, history is sacred--you tell it exactly like it was. Yet, in so many Hollywood films, the truth isn't deemed interesting enough and they heavily embellish the picture. Thus is the story of Lon Chaney in "The Man of a Thousand Faces". While the main points are correct, Chaney's interesting life just wasn't interesting enough for the folks at Universal and they played fast and loose with some of the facts. I didn't like this--but must acknowledge that it was an entertaining story.However, there is one other issue about the film about which I have a unique perspective. Like Chaney, I have a deaf family member--in my case, my daughter. And because of this, I can talk about a few things the average viewer wouldn't notice. When the people are using sign language in the film, they really are using sign language--though they do it a bit poorly. As a result, you can see that the parents of Chaney in the film are not natural signers--but I appreciate that they tried. One thing I did not appreciate, however, is that the film seemed to exploit Chaney's parents--creating problems that did not exist in real life. For example, when Chaney's first wife meets them, she has no idea they are deaf--but this was NOT the case in real life and it just felt cheap--like they were capitalizing on their deafness for the sake of a plot gimmick. That was pretty sad.Aside from my complaints and observations, I still think this is a very good film. Just understand it all is heavily dramatized and you can take some of it with a grain of salt. Also, it was nice to see the silent comic Snub Pollard in a bit scene midway through the film.

jpdoherty MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES is one of Hollywood's better films about Hollywood! Produced by Universal International in 1957 it recounts the life and times of one of the silent screens most formidable icons - Lon Chaney. From an excellent Oscar nominated screenplay by R.Wright Cambell, Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff it was skillfully directed by Joseph Pevney. Peveny, himself a useful supporting player in such movies as "Body And Soul" (1947) and Fox's "Street With No Name (1948) directed some of Universal's biggest productions i.e. "Away All Boats" (1956), "Tammy & The Bachelor" (1957) and one of Erroll Flynn's last efforts "Istanbul" (1957). Playing the leading role in this marvellous biopic is James Cagney who gives an outstanding measured performance as Lon Chaney the strange tortured character actor of silent pictures who, ironically, died from throat cancer with the advent of the talkies.Crisply photographed in black & white Cinemascope by the great Russell Metty ("Touch Of Evil") the picture conveys a strong sense of time and place. Expertly evoked is Vaudeville in the early part of the 20th Century where Chaney began as a song and dance man (Cagney delighting us with his special brand of hoofing) and early Hollywood where he became an extra at Universal Studios. Then with the help of his make-up box and his uncanny facility to alter his appearance - sometimes resulting in great pain - he soon became known as The Man Of A 1000 Faces.Notable reconstructions of Chaney's creations are quite brilliantly achieved in the picture. Cagney excels as the cripple being cured in a reworking of Chaney's famous scene from "The Miracle Man" (1919)and the phantom being unmasked in "Phantom Of The Opera" (1925). But especially noteworthy is a re-staging of Chaney's "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame" (1923). Here Cagney is totally unrecognizable as he replicates Chaney's interpretation of Quasimodo being whipped on the punishment wheel in the village square. It is an intense moment in the picture and a remarkable achievement for Cagney the consummate actor! Little wonder that the great Orson Welles in the seventies declared that the screen's greatest actor was James Cagney!Others in the cast of this splendid film are Dorothy Malone giving an excellent performance as the singer and Chaney's first wife Cleva Creighton, Jane Greer as his second wife, Jim Backus as his press agent and Robert Evens as the boy wonder of the motion picture business Irving Thalberg.The picture also boasts a terrific music score by the underrated and now wholly forgotten film composer Frank Skinner (1897/1968). Skinner was composer in residence at Universal for many years and composed the music for some of their most prestigious productions such as "Tap Roots" (1948), "Magnificent Obsession" (1954), "Madame X" (1965) and "Shenandoah" (1965). "Man Of A 1000 Faces" was, however, his finest achievement! A soundtrack album of his music from the film - issued at the time of the picture's release - is now a much sought after recording!A wonderful movie on DVD presented in a sharp black & white widescreen format that every collector will want to own if only for Cagney's amazing performance. His Lon Chaney is just as powerful and just as memorable as his George M. Cohan, Cody Jarret or Marty "The Gimp" Snyder!