He Who Gets Slapped (1924) User Reviews

My all time favorite!

[AaronPK · 9/10 · 27 September 1999]

Before I saw "He Who Get's Slapped" my 3 favorite movies were The Empire Strikes Back, Evil Dead 2, and Star Trek II.

This movie is 180 degrees from any of those movies, in fact, it's in a whole other universe. This silent film that opened in 1924 changed my movie tastes so much that it's amazing. I was just flicken channels one night after studying for a final for 3 hours and stopped on TCM for a second because Robert Osborne said that it starred Lon Chaney. In my niavete, I thought he was talking about the guy who played The Wolf Man, but this is in fact Lon Chaney Sr. Junior is the guy who had played Wolfie.

So I started watching it and was about to change it when I found out it was a silent film. But I stayed with it for a few minutes, and soon I was enraptured. 2 hours later, I was riveted to the edge of my seat as HE's struggle came to a climax. Well, the next day, I failed the test. But I learned more watching that movie than I could ever learn in Calc 320.

Since then, I have watched TCM religiously (when I'm not studying of course) and now I realize that 99% of movies made in modern times are vastly inferior to the old classic movies.

Black and White RULES

If you haven't seen He Who Gets Slapped. Track it down and WATCH IT. It is WAY better than The Phantom Menace.

Tears of a Clown

[nycritic · 9/10 · 26 October 2005]

Considered the very first MGM production (which featured the well known lion amidst its emblem), this is not a horror story despite the presence of Lon Chaney (who starred in a number of successful Grand Guignol-themed films), but something of a love story, even if Chaney loves from afar and goes to extreme lengths to protect the object of his affection. He plays Paul Beaumont, a failed scientist who has been slapped -- literally -- by the science community, his wife Maria (Ruth King), and her sponsor/lover, the Baron Regnard (Mark McDermott). Defeated, he has retreated to the underbelly of society: the world of the circus freaks. As the clown HE, Beaumont is the man with the main attraction, a routine in which he gets slapped hundreds of times by other clowns -- a repetition of his humiliation inciting uproarious laughter from the audience. The only thing which lights him up is the ingénue Consuelo (Norma Shearer in an early role) whom he loves in silence. She in turn loves Bezano (John Gilberrt), but is about to be forced into marriage to the Baron. Here is when HE concocts a terrible revenge to protect Consuelo.

A classic romantic setup with eerie undertones, HE WHO GETS SLAPPED is an excellent film which makes us feel pity for this mistreated man, portrayed by Lon Chaney like no one could. The quintessential wronged man, he plays the crying clown to the extreme, and while we know and accept he will not get the girl -- Chaney rarely did -- the element of pathos is there. His performance in this movie is one of the most moving of all cinema history, and it takes a special type of talent to embrace the grotesque and delve so deep into human pain. Even the inter-cuts in which HE spins a massive globe have a frenetic tragic quality about them: he is effectively spinning the law of fate.

As a footnote, this was not Norma Shearer's first performance (her first recorded appearance dates from 1920 as an extra) but it is the first she did for MGM, playing an ingénue although she was 24 years old at the time. As the object of the love Consuelo ignores, she is apt but pales in comparison to her co-star. Chaney is the life, the soul, the very reason of this story's existence.

Great to see Chaney as a clown in this dark film

[gbill-74877 · 8/10 · 5 March 2018]

Based on a play from Russian author Leonid Andreyev, 'He Who Gets Slapped' has some very dark themes - humiliation, adultery, betrayal, exploitation, and sadistic glee at someone else's expense. Lon Chaney stars as a scientist who early on suffers in two ways: his discoveries are stolen by his benefactor (Marc McDermott), and then his wife (Ruth King) tells him she's leaving him for the same scoundrel. Humiliated in public and private by being slapped and laughed at, he retreats from his life and takes up a career as a clown. His act? Being slapped and abused by 60 other clowns, much to the merriment of the audience. (Of course!)

It's a kind of ridiculous plot device to get him into this position, and then for his benefactor to cross paths with him five years later, but if you can suspend disbelief, you'll probably enjoy the film for its performances. You see some of the worst of human behavior shown in unflinching ways, and Chaney is the perfect guy for the part. He's fantastic, and to see him dressed up as a pathetic, bitter clown is something else. The film also includes Norma Shearer early in her career (just 22 years old); she plays a new performer to the circus. She begins having romantic feelings for her fellow horseman (John Gilbert), and there is a lovely scene of them out on a picnic, the charm of which helps lighten the tone of the movie. Shearer is so pretty that she also attracts Chaney (who we feel sorry for), and McDermott (who we hiss at). Love and self-sacrifice are the best of human behavior, and provide a counterbalance to the rest of the film.

Another aspect I found interesting was that it reminded me of a couple of Chaney's later films in the 1920's that I had seen before, both directed by Tod Browning. 'The Unknown' (1927) also takes place in a circus, and in one of its best scenes, features Chaney's horror and angst to being laughed at. 'Where East is East' (1929) also features 'murder by using a wild animal', though in that film, it was a gorilla, and here, it's a lion. It's interesting that these themes were recycled, and perhaps a testament to the power of their darkness.

Lon Chaney's best film?

[funkyfry · 10/10 · 9 May 2001]

I think one could argue that "He Who Gets Slapped" is Lon Chaney's best film. Since Lon Chaney is the greatest character actor of all time, this makes it a must-see (a term I abhor) for everyone. The way to watch this movie is as a sort of twisted fairy tale. The Melodrama exists to satisfy audience demands but there is much more going on here, and what's beautiful is that it is happening in a way that affects the viewer even if he or she isn't aware of it. Lon Chaney's performance is heartbreaking, particularly when he carries the cloth heart that has been torn from his breast, but at other moments he is sadistic and vengeful, as when he lets the lions out to kill a scheming circus manager and a sotted aristocrat. When I watch this scene I admit that I am laughing with Lon -- you have to love it! Norma Shearer and John Gilbert..... nobody ever had a better supporting cast. The circus theme is a parable for the world of human relations, where we are often called upon to amuse others instead of showing our true feelings. Lon's performance is a classic of self-torture and humiliation, and this movie should be remembered for all time as establishing MGM on the track that made it Hollywood's all time greatest studio.

Another Master Class From Mr. Lon Chaney

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 6 July 2004]

A celebrated circus clown, HE Who Gets Slapped, plots the punishment of two evil aristocrats.

Lon Chaney, the Silent Screen's master chameleon, adds another portrait to his gallery of pathetic grotesques. This time he plays a scientist who becomes a clown after his former life is destroyed by his adulterous wife and a faithless friend. A young woman provides him with someone to secretly adore, until her wicked father threatens to ruin her happiness. Chaney's face is an absolute wonder to watch as it registers pain, anguish, distress and unrequited passion, underlining the modern reassessment of him as one of cinema's greatest actors. Uninhibited in his circus costume & makeup, he provides no doubt but that he, under different circumstances, could have become a marvelous big top clown.

This was the first release of the new film company merger Metro-Goldwyn, thus making Chaney their first star, and was an important rung up the ladder for the two performers playing the young lovers. Norma Shearer & John Gilbert would soon be major movie celebrities--here they give good account of themselves as the circus' daredevil & bareback riders, and as Chaney's truest friends (both unaware of his love for Miss Shearer). In a film full of circus excitement, the director has given the young couple a moment of unexpected beauty: whilst on a picnic their innocent affections are noticed by a passing peasant, who gives the call of the cuckoo as the perfect grace note to their bucolic joy.

Marc McDermott as a brutal Baron and Tully Marshall as a dissolute Count make villains well worthy of the harshest retribution. Comic Ford Sterling plays one of Chaney's fellow clowns.

The Studio gave this silent film fine production values, while director Victor Sjöström added little embellishments of cinematic flair, dealing with scenes of mysterious clown figures representing fate, which enhance the film.

Slap Unhappy

[amosduncan_2000 · 10/10 · 3 December 2006]

I saw this film first on Public Television (the score that is still used, I believe, was developed when the film was restored in Chicago) and have always loved it in all it's raging perversity. It is beyond ironic that one of the major studios was launched on a film who's premise was that the public is a malevolent, cruel ass. We are never allowed to forget that as horrible as the villain is; the drooling, jeering, sadistic vermin in the circus crowd are worse.

The spookiness of the direction, I think, is what hooked me. All the leads are excellent and perfectly cast. This is the ultimate in melodrama, and it's drawn is such broad strokes that it's hard to imagine as a talkie.

Chaney and cast deliver in the first MGM film

[BobLib · 20 February 2004]

Bravo to Turner Classic Movies for making available, once again, the cinematic art of one of the best actors ever, Lon Chaney. As Andreyev's disappointed scientist turned circus clown, Paul Beaumont, Chaney makes the most of every scene he's in, and never disappoints. We feel the agony of his hopeless love for the lovely bareback rider Consuelo, as well as the seething anger toward the man who ruined his life, the despicable Baron Renard. It's a far better performance, in my opinion, than his similar role four years later in "Laugh, Clown, Laugh," much more understated and, therefore, much more involving.

But that's not to take away from the other performances, by any means. Norma Shearer, in her first major role as Consuelo, is suitably attractive and gives a good performance, but to see her at her best is to see such '30's classics as "A Free Soul" and especially "Marie Antoinette." There, she was a mature actress; here, she was a promising newcomer. John Gilbert already shows that he had the goods to become one of the top leading men of the '20's, managing to convey virility even in multicolored tights. And Marc McDermott and old veteran Tully Marshall make two of the best silent villains ever as the aforementioned Baron and as Consuelo's father, an impoverished nobleman ready to force his daughter into marrying the Baron just to improve his fortunes, respectively. You're genuinely glad, at an almost visceral level, when they wind up getting what they deserve in the end.

I don't know who composed the music score used in the print seen on TCM, but it's excellent and really compliments the action.

Victor Seastrom's moody direction is perfect, especially his use of a globe-spinning clown to serve as sort of a Greek chorus at various points in the film.

In short, this is a true silent classic, silent film making at its' best, and well worth seeing.

This film was just tailored for Lon Chaney

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 18 October 2020]

We really are lucky he spent so much time at MGM since the survival rate of their silents is better than any of the other studios. This is one of the few silent films that my husband enjoys, and I think all of the credit goes to Lon Chaney. He demonstrates such genuine emotion. I really believe that if the Academy Awards had started a few years before they did, Chaney would have won at least one Best Actor award.

Scientist Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) makes a great discovery - in what field it is never said - only to have his benefactor, The Baron Regnard, steal his findings and his wife. In what is supposed to be his big day before the academy - of what field it is never said - Regnard claims the findings are his own. When Beaumont claims the ideas are stolen, Regnard slaps Beaumont and the whole academy laughs at him.

Having lost his work and his wife, Beaumont becomes a clown in a circus. A clown that gets laughs by getting slapped, and takes the name "He" as in "He Who Gets Slapped". Now personally, I don't see what is so funny about a clown being slapped, and how do you get such a job with no resume anyways? But I digress.

"He" has an unrequited love for a bareback rider (Norma Shearer as Consuelo), who is from a formerly wealthy family that has lost all of its money. This is OK by Consuelo, but her dad wants to marry her off to the evil Baron, who really wants the girl as a mistress since he prefers disposable people, but her father convinces the Baron that marriage is the only way he can have her, and - by the way - there will be a not so small fee/loan involved for Consuelo's dad in exchange for the girl.

Now "He" is in a good position. The Baron has been hanging around the circus because of Consuelo, and "He" recognizes the Baron and knows that he can only bring unhappiness to Consuelo, but the Baron has no idea "He" is Beaumont, with all of that clown makeup.

How does this all work out? I'll just say there is not your typical MGM sappy happy ending like you get starting in the late 20s, and Leo The Lion finally gets his big break in the movies.

Why is this film taking place in France yet half the people have Italian names? I really have no idea, but I love the change between scenes with the laughing clown spinning the globe. In 1924 films did not yet have soundtracks, yet there was a score composed for this film by William Axt. Did MGM just distribute this score to theatres for the orchestras to play?

This film has a very experimental feel about it, Chaney is always worth watching, and it is interesting to see Norma Shearer and John Gilbert so early in their careers. Highly recommended.

Terrifiyng Classic Silence

[glgioia · 7/10 · 13 July 2005]

Premise: A failed scientist punishes himself by becoming a circus clown whose act's mainstay is uttering platitudes, and then getting slapped for it. He falls in love with an innocent young girl who adores him, but of course doesn't take him seriously as she is, of course, in love with her dashing young partner. While unbeknown st to her, she has been, of course, promised in marriage to an evil lascivious baron.

A film custom made for all of us who hate clowns and find their appearance scary in itself. Chaney's HE is a gentle but tormented and slightly twisted character who in the end is pushed to retribution via horrifying measures. The plot and theme are ones we see often in old cinema, but the treatment here is better than average. The whole clown/circus thing, is given maxim weirdness, both in content and shot composition. In particular, the scene break shots which attempt to offer metaphors for the action, IE the clown holding a spinning globe, kinda get under your skin. The bizarre self chastisement routine of the main character, is an elaborate well thought out production that is unsettling to say the least. Chaney was one of a kind, and watching his very old films I think really offer us a glimpse into the collective psyche of past generations.

A story of cruelty in the old style where we are asked to identify with the lesser person, not mock them like on all the superficreality shows.

[Ziggy5446 · 10/10 · 27 June 2007]

He Who Gets Slapped is based on the Russian Leonid Andreyev's 1914 play about a circus melodrama. The arty silent film was the first movie made entirely under MGM's control and the first to feature the MGM lion, but it was not its first release as the studio chose to delay its opening until the busy holiday season. Young 'genius' executive Irving Thalberg, just under studio head Louis B. Mayer, produced it; during filming he was seeing Norma Shearer, and three years later they were married.

It marked the American debut of Swedish director Victor Seastrom, who masterfully helms it. Though the film itself is an intermittently entertaining and inventive silent melodrama showcasing the very physical acting skills of Lon Chaney, a screen legend whose premature death in 1930 robbed cinema of a unique talent. Here he plays obsessed scientist Paul Beaumont, whose work 'on the origins of mankind' is stolen by his devious patron, the Baron de Regnard (Marc McDermott) – who also makes off with Beaumont's wife for good measure.

Utterly devastated by life's savage cruelties, Beaumont literally runs away to the circus where he starts a new life as a clown. Known as 'HE who gets slapped' – or simply 'HE' for short – his act consists of enduring nightly physical abuse at the hands of his impassive fellow clowns, to the explosive delight of the circus's boorish audiences: a more economic definition of schadenfreude (taking joy at the misfortunes of others) would be harder to imagine.

But though HE (the character's "name" is capitalized in all inter titles) becomes a roaring success, it turns out that fate hasn't yet done with him – he secretly dotes on Consuelo (Norma Shearer), a bare-back rider in love with her fellow performer Bezano (John Gilbert). HE can just about stand this state of affairs – but when the dastardly Baron returns to the scene and starts moving in on Consuelo, HE is spurred into a drastic act of revenge.

Chaney gives a heartbreaking naturalistic performance, it's one his most toned down and believable work, possibly showing the most painful expressions to ever grace the screen. This is largely due to the director, Sjostrom, who didn't believe in the over the top acting style of the age. It's certainly a contender for Chaney's best film (and performance), but despite being one of his oldest that's still available, it's certainly one of his most modern. Of course, his circus act is great, with the ironic climax finally turning the tables on the viewer. Chaney is incredible!!!

Forget IT!, if you suffer from Clourophobia, this is the one to avoid

[vampire_hounddog · 7/10 · 9 October 2020]

A circus clown (Lon Chaney Snr.) tries to hide his personal real life tragedy by being a clown in a troupe of circus clowns. He falls in love with a bareback rider (Norman Shearer) in the process which ends up with tragic consequences.

A very odd, good quality, creepy and poetic drama from Swedish director Victor Sjostrom with Chaney once again going through a physicial transformative process to create his appearance. The dream sequence is particularly creepy.

The Lion Roars

[wes-connors · 9/10 · 30 November 2014]

Struggling scientist Lon Chaney (as Paul Beaumont) is dedicated to proving his theories on the "origin of mankind." He is lucky to have found a wealthy sponsor in Marc McDermott (as Baron Regnard). In a shocking betrayal, the Baron steals Mr. Chaney's notes and takes credit for his hard work. Chaney can't find comfort with his beloved wife Ruth King (as Maria); apparently, she was the reason the amorous Baron had the couple move into his Paris villa. The sneaky lovers soon slap Cheney out of the mansion, calling him a fool and a clown. Impoverished and alone, Chaney joins the circus. He becomes a clown called "HE (who gets slapped)"...

Audiences love laughing at Chaney, especially when he is slapped. The popular clown is attracted to beautiful bareback rider Norma Shearer (as Consuelo), but she is more interested in her athletic partner, John Gilbert (as Bezano). When the duplicitous Mr. McDermott visits the circus, he decides to pursue Ms. Shearer. Making it easy, greedy father Tully Marshall (as Count Mancini) agrees to sell Shearer to the Baron. Fortunately for all, Chaney gets the last laugh...

The first film produced by the merged MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) studios, "He Who Gets Slapped" turned out to be a spectacular start. Producer Irving Thalberg had three important stars at the starting gate, under the artful direction of Victor Sjostrom (as Victor Seastrom), and with a crew headed by Cedric Gibbons. The relatively subtle (to Chaney) performances of McDermott and Ms. King highlight the early running. Sjostrom gives it a deranged feel, interjecting ants into a ceremonial love-making picnic for Shearer and Gilbert. The ugly audience and manic soundtrack laughter contribute to the mood. A terrific climax appropriately involves the studio's mascot. Chaney is marvelous throughout, as are Mr. Sjostrom and the MGM crew.

********* He Who Gets Slapped (11/9/24) Victor Sjostrom ~ Lon Chaney, Norma Shearer, John Gilbert, Marc McDermott

This excellent Lon Chaney silent was MGM's first release, Leo the Lion opening

[jacobs-greenwood · 7/10 · 20 December 2016]

Directed by Victor Sjöström, who co-adapted Leonid Andreyev's play with Carey Wilson, this silent was the first film produced by the newly formed Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and the first to be released featuring (Leo) the lion. Edward Arnold and Bela Lugosi (as a clown) are reported to appear, uncredited, as extras in this film.

Paul Beaumont (Lon Chaney) is a brilliant scientist who makes some (unnamed) earth-shattering discoveries while, unbeknownst to him, his wife Maria (Ruth King) keeps company with Beaumont's wealthy benefactor Baron Regnard (Marc McDermott). After announcing his success, he locks up his papers and goes to bed, but his wife takes the key from him while he's sleeping. At the Academy presentation, the Baron announces the discoveries without giving Beaumont the proper credit. In fact, he claims that Beaumont was merely his assistant and slaps him to the uproarious laughter of the Academy's members. Afterwards, he learns of his wife's infidelity and gets slapped by her as well.

So, Beaumont punishes himself for his own stupidity by becoming a clown in the circus. His act, which involves him getting slapped more than a hundred times in each performance, becomes a big hit over the course of 5 years. One day, Count Mancini (Tully Marshall) brings his daughter Consuelo (Norma Shearer) to be a horseback rider in the show. Bezano (John Gilbert), another horse riding performer, is captivated by her beauty and courts her. Though she is at first standoffish, she eventually falls in love with Bezano. Unbeknownst to her, Beaumont, now known as HE (who gets slapped), has also fallen in love with her, something he didn't believe was possible given his unfortunate past.

Baron Regnard happens to take in a performance and is overcome himself by Consuelo's beauty. He then negotiates with her father the Count to "obtain" her. Meanwhile, after her father had left that morning, Consuelo was spending the day with Bezano and the two agreed to be married. But Consuelo returns to find that her father has "sold" her hand in marriage to the Baron, with the wedding to occur after that evening's show. She had also learned of HE's love for her as well, but she too left him brokenhearted per her love for and plans with Bezano. However, when HE learns of the Count's arrangement with the Baron, he will have none of it.

HE is angry, and flies at the Count with his rage. The Count stabs him with his cane sword and then, with the Baron, they push him out of their backstage meeting room. HE positions the lion's cage in front of the door, opens it, and then goes around and enters the room through its other door, which he then locks. HE gets the Count to open the unlocked door so that the lion rushes into the room and kills, in succession, the Count and then the Baron. Their screams are masked by the audience's applause. But before the lion, at HE's beckoning, can finish him off too, the lion-tamer discovers his act is missing and ushers it from the room and back into its cage. So, wounded and nearing death, HE performs his act one last time only this time, instead of pretending to die (and lose his heart to a woman, e.g. Consuelo), he really does. Naturally, Consuelo and Bezano are free to live happily ever after for HE's sacrifice.

We who get slapped

[thinbeach · 3/10 · 4 September 2017]

It is non-sensical beyond belief. After working on theory for years, a scientist's papers are stolen by his benefactor. The benefactor publicly humiliates him in front of a large audience by slapping him, so the scientist decides, as a kind of therapy to deal with his grief, he will spend the rest of his life as a circus clown, playing an act in which he is slapped over and over again. Apparently the circus audience find this act hilarious, which only goes to show how stupid the filmmakers think we are.

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) - TCM U.K. screening review

[Bunuel1976 · 13 June 2004]

After my mixed response to THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1923), I decided to augment my current Silent-film schedule with a mini-Lon Chaney marathon. Others I intend to watch in the coming days are THE MONSTER (1925), THE BLACK BIRD (1926), MR. WU (1927) and WHERE EAST IS EAST (1929). All of these I have recorded off Cable TV, and so far all have received a single viewing.

So, let's start with HE WHO GETS SLAPPED and THE UNKNOWN which, incidentally, have many things in common. They are both set in a circus and involve love triangles which end in tragedy. However, the style adopted by the two films' directors, Victor Sjostrom and Tod Browning respectively, is completely different – and this goes for the characters Chaney plays, too.

I had been instantly impressed by HE WHO GETS SLAPPED, and a second viewing only consolidates my high opinion of it. The film - MGM's very first production, incidentally – was considered highbrow material at the time, not only because it was helmed by a foreigner but also due to the unusually intricate nature of the plot (complete with a healthy dose of symbolism) and a clear emphasis on composition and lighting throughout (one amazing shot has Chaney alone in the circus arena when the lights are being turned off for the night, with the screen entirely black except for Chaney's painted face!).

Chaney is superb as the humiliated scientist-turned-clown (drawing an interesting parallel to Emil Jannings in two Expressionist masterworks, Murnau's THE LAST LAUGH [1924] and Von Sternberg's THE BLUE ANGEL [1930]). His whole life's work is stolen from him and he decides to go into self-willed exile (an influence perhaps on Chaney's future characterization as Erik, the 'Phantom' of the Paris Opera House?) at a circus. Chaney's reaction shots in this film are nothing short of sensational. The sheer masochism in evidence here (a distinctly un-American touch) must not have gone down well with the studio, to say nothing of the gruesome ending when he finally wreaks his revenge. I cannot say for sure, but most of what Chaney was to accomplish in his famed collaboration with Tod Browning, on films like THE UNHOLY THREE (1925) and THE UNKNOWN, is already evident in this film - except that the actor here is less given to uncanny make-up design (which might have overshadowed his acting abilities at times), while the handling is altogether more sophisticated and artful!

Only the middle section drags a bit, as it stresses the budding relationship between Norma Shearer and John Gilbert (though this is contrasted with her father's scheming with a lecherous Baron who, incidentally, turns out to be Chaney's deadly enemy!), but the rest is riveting stuff – this film deserves to be better known, and I long for the day Warners gets to release a Box Set of Lon Chaney classics on DVD!!

Edgy as Hell

[jtinc · 10/10 · 28 July 2005]

This movie was probably one of the most welcomely disturbing I've ever seen. Let's see......... you got a Silent Movie.....with creepy clowns....a revenge plot where you root for the revenger..........Lon Chaney........massive implied violence & gore.....moral confusion......and again......creepy "old school" clowns..........wow. This combination led me to a new appreciation of silent films & Lon Chaney. Best scene (in my opinion) is when Lon is locking the the bad guys in the room - look at his face, then look at the bad guys absolute expression of confusion/horror.... sorry - 80 years later and actors don't convey emotion much better today.

First silent I watched all the way through. Movie Hipsters.........this is pretty damn hip for 1924....thru.....NOW. "He Who Gets Slapped" will haunt you in a great way.

The Sad Life of a Clown

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 4 June 2007]

Stepping into the role created on Broadway by Richard Bennett, Lon Chaney stars in this film as a once famous scientist who chose the life of a circus clown out of shame.

At least now I know where the business with James Stewart in The Greatest Show on Earth came from. But whereas Stewart was guilty of a mercy killing, Chaney leaves because he's found that his wife's been two timing him with a titled nobleman.

Years later Chaney is a famous attraction at the circus in Paris and he's falling big time for young Norma Shearer who is a bareback rider and also a member of the nobility who has fallen on hard times. She can't see Chaney no way, no how. She's got her eyes on trapeze artist John Gilbert.

But wouldn't you know it, Marc McDermott that self same cad who took Chaney's wife from him has designs on Shearer. And her dad Tully Marshall who's a lecherous old reprobate himself wants to get back in the chips himself so he's quite willing to pawn off Shearer to the old rake.

Naturally of course Chaney has his plans for the whole lot of them and it's settled in a gruesome manner for the silent screen. The film is highly melodramatic and would be considered camp today, but for the subtle performance of Chaney. For the silent screen, with a minimum of histrionics, Chaney does get you to feel a lot of empathy for the character.

It's one of that fine collection of characters Chaney created when the screen didn't speak and should be seen.

The first of many MGM tear-jerkers

[MissSimonetta · 10/10 · 24 July 2014]

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) is an arty film, beautifully directed with interesting visuals and symbolism, but the aspect which always sticks with me is Lon Chaney's heartbreaking performance as the lovelorn scientist turned clown who sacrifices himself to save the happiness and virtue of aristocrat turned bareback rider Norma Shearer.

The first time I saw this film, I sobbed all through the last fourth. Chaney is just so moving without begging for sympathy or milking the pathos of his character's situation. Shearer and John Gilbert as the innocent young lovers contrast greatly with the worldliness and cynicism of the older characters who hold the couple's fate in their greedy hands.

While director Victor Sjostrom's best Hollywood work was undoubtedly The Wind (1928), I still prefer this film overall. The characters are all reminiscent fairy tale figures, true, but this simplicity is quite powerful.

An auspicious beginning for MGM

[Servo-11 · 9/10 · 17 May 1999]

It's somewhat strange that MGM's first film contains three people who each achieved superstardom: Lon Chaney, whose following is immense, both then and now; John Gilbert, an overlooked and maligned sex symbol who has his own band of followers, of which I am one; and Norma Shearer, an actress unfairly dismissed as the product of clever packaging and promotion by her fiance and, later, husband, Irving Thalberg.

I've always liked her, and in this film, she gives a hint of her future charisma on the screen. The story of HE WHO GETS SLAPPED is quite melodramatic and is handled with European eccentricity (director Sjostrom), but it is still head a shoulders above most of the movies made today. The circus scene when Ford Sterling rips Chaney's heart from his costume and buries it in the sand of the center ring is simply bizarre in its darkness.

Depressing but good

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 2 August 2000]

Lon Chaney plays a brilliant scientist whose work is completely stolen by a supposed friend and his wife leaves him for that person. Totally humiliated and in contempt he becomes a clown who allows himself to be slapped--and laughs when it's done. However tragedy follows him even when he does that.

I caught this on TCM. I was expecting a horror movie--Chaney Sr. did plenty of those. What I got was a good, strong melodrama. Plotwise it's nothing new but the direction is excellent (especially the things they do with the turning globe/ball) and all the performances are superb (Chaney in particular). It's disturbing to watch at times (Chaney's circus show as a clown borders on sadism), but always fascinating. It shows how a man is totally destroyed yet, in the end, has the last laugh. Well worth catching.

While not as creepy and disturbing as many of his other films, this is a dandy movie

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 4 June 2007]

If you are looking for horror and shocks, this really isn't the Lon Chaney movie for you. The film is more a tragedy about a decent man who is betrayed and subsequently retreats to the circus--where he plays a clown that is beaten up and mistreated to the delight of the audiences. The film is intended to be critical of human nature and how the misery of others is oddly entertaining, though the scenes where Chaney ran around as the clown being slapped about just didn't seem funny or very magical. It was as if in this character, he just wasn't quite hitting his usual stride. However, in the rest of the film, we have a dandy morality play that still hold up well over time (as do most of Chaney's films). Not great, but certainly very good and well worth a look.

Chaney mugs away in this daft silent film

[jjodo32 · 6/10 · 15 December 2003]

In this silent drama Chaney (as HE) hams it up as a circus clown with a sad & bitter past. His unrequited love for bareback rider Consuelo (Shearer) leads to his death at the hands of her dastardly father who, along with HE's long-time nemesis, are savaged by a circus lion loosed by HE. Lots of hokey philosophy, leaden surrealism & mugging for the camera, particularly & typically by Chaney. Shearer is gorgeous. Gilbert simply adds to the set decor.

Many years ago I saw Alfred Drake as HE in a summer stock production of the original Andreyev play. I liked the movie better even though the philosophy & symbolism are leaden. Maybe the decorative presence of Shearer makes the difference.

THEy Who Get Slapped

[cstotlar-1 · 10/10 · 19 February 2015]

Lon Chaney had stated that he needed a strong director to keep him from over-acting and here he found one in Victor Sjöström's (Seastrom's) sober direction. The Swedish director who later directed "The Wind" in Hollywood was a dream for this production and Chaney was at his level best. Tod Browning, had directed this wonderful actor several times with what seems like a camera nailed to the floor whereas Sjöström's camera had a beautiful fluidity that the script needed badly. It was a courageous move on the part of MGM (or just Irving Thalberg???) to hire a "foreign" director for their first film but the choice was brilliant. The audience throughout the circus acts was horrendous in its own way, sometimes almost frightening, and we are made to see that cruelty isn't necessarily funny at all and that laughs aren't always "laughs". This film was worth the wait!

Odd Movie, Worth Seeing

[arfdawg-1 · 6/10 · 20 March 2020]

Very unusual film that's worth watching for Chaney, but is hampered by spotty direction and silly dialog cards.

The concept is bizarre. Who likes to see people slapped? Was this a thing in the 20's?

Although it's not the entire plot. It's a metaphor. Albeit a heavy-handed metaphor.

Chaney shows himself to be the master even without Browning at the helm, but the film really suffers from the story-telling.

I can't find the words to say how brilliant this movie is.

[DrezenMedia · 12 February 2004]

80 years is a loooooong time. I can't believe MGM's really been around that long. But when it came to making this picture, they were off to a great start. Getting Lon Chaney from Universal was a very wise choice (it'd be hard to see someone else in the part he played), the supporting cast which included Norma Shearer (future Best Actress Oscar winner), John Gilbert (future star of "The Big Parade" (1925) and "Queen Christina" (1933)), as well as notable character actors Tully Marshall and Ford Sterling, it is nothing short of splendid. Lon Chaney's deep, gripping facial expressions, especially in his scenes with rival Baron Regnard (played by Marc McDermott) are the most expressive I've ever seen on film. TCM aired a print with a synchronized music & effects track (which sounds as if it was recorded maybe in the 1960's or 1970's) on Oct. 30th, 2003, and I was so enthralled with how it looked that I taped it and now have it in my collection. If you ever happen to come accross this movie, watch it! You will not be dissapointed. Because MGM means great movies, doesn't it?