Review: 'The Man Who Laughs' and 'The Last Warning' Blu-rays

In 1927, German director and art director Paul Leni moved to Hollywood where he began making pictures for Universal starting with the comedic old dark house prototype The Cat and the Canary. With that film, Leni proved his merits many times over by taking a plot as hoary as Cane and Abel and zapping it to life with some of the most inventive and audacious film tricks ever slapped across the screen. The picture was a hit and signaled the beginning of a fruitful relationship between Universal and the German expatriate.

Sadly, Leni’s unexpected demise in 1929 meant that relationship would not be as fruitful as expected, but he did manage to make three more films for Universal before succumbing to sepsis. The first of those, a Charlie Chan picture called The Chinese Parrot, is lost, but The Man Who Laughs and The Last Warning are very available and now making their Blu-ray debuts thanks to Flicker Alley.

Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors: #21

Halloween season simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of classic Universal horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip of it by counting down Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors!

#21. The Man Who Laughs (1928- dir. Paul Leni)

As was the case with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, it’s not really fair to call The Man Who Laughs a horror movie. Many have, though, since Conrad Viedt grotesque smile is so terrifying. However, his Gwynplaine is not a fiend but the victim of a vile child slaver who disfigures his face. Gwynplaine ends up working in a sideshow, and there’s a genuinely romantic sub-plot and Olga Baklanova—who apparently started getting type cast in freak show movies after this—plays a memorably vampy duchess. The melodramatic aspects of The Man Who Laughs hit the emotions harder than any horror themes, but you may still find Viedt’s smile haunting your nightmares for years to come.

Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors: #23

Halloween season simply isn’t Halloween season without a regular dose of classic Universal horror (1923-1963). Every day this October, I’ll be giving you a steady IV drip of it by counting down Psychobabble’s 31 Favorite Universal Horrors!

#23. The Cat and the Canary (1927- dir. Paul Leni)

With the likely exception of The Old Dark House, The Cat and the Canary is the definitive old dark house flick. It is full of sliding panels, swiveling bookcases, hairy claws always just a few ticks out of reach, doofuses who stammer “G-g-g-ghosts?”, and monster-garbed hucksters who would have gotten away with it if not for those meddling kids. Paul Leni takes all this luscious hokum and makes it zing with a bevy of inventive camera tricks and animations. Laura La Plante is an utterly charming heroine.