The Grinning Face

The Grinning Face (German:Das grinsende Gesicht), aka The Man Who Laughs,[2] is a 1921 Austrian-German[3] silent horror film directed by Julius Herska and starring Franz Höbling, Nora Gregor and Lucienne Delacroix. It is an adaptation of the 1869 novel The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo.[4]

The Grinning Face
Directed byJulius Herska
Written byVictor Hugo (novel)
Louis Nerz
StarringFranz Höbling
Nora Gregor
Lucienne Delacroix
Anna Kallina
CinematographyEduard Hoesch
Production
company
Olympic-Film
Release date
18 March 1921
Running time
87 minutes
CountryAustria-Germany[1]
LanguageSilent
German intertitles

The film was later remade by Paul Leni in 1928 as The Man Who Laughs, which starred Conrad Veidt in the Gwynplaine role.[5]

Plot

In the late 17th century in France, the young son of a widowed lord is kidnapped by gypsies, who carve a permanent grin on the child's face. When the disfigured youth (Franz Hobling) grows up, he falls in love with a blind girl named Dea (Lucienne Delacroix), and joins a touring company as a performer. Calling himself Gwynplaine, he develops an act in which he reveals his hideous face to the crowds for money. A sexually perverse, seductive socialite named Josiane becomes attracted to him and seeks to possess him. He later learns he is heir to a fortune, but chooses instead to remain with his adopted family.

Cast
  • Franz Höbling as Gwynplaine
  • Nora Gregor as Herzogin Josiane
  • Lucienne Delacroix as Dea
  • Anna Kallina as Queen Anne of England
  • Eugen Jensen as Barkilphedro
  • Armin Seydelmann as Lord Bolinbroke
  • Franz Weißmüller as Ursus
  • Jimmy Court as Lord David Dirry-Moir
  • Josef Moser as King James II of England
  • Robert Balajthy as Lord Linäus Claincharlie
  • Susanne Osten as Lady Dirry-Moir
  • Arped Kramer as Dr. Gerardus
  • Fritz Strassny as Dr. Hardqusnonne

References
  1. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 240.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  2. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 240.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  3. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 240.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
  4. Prince p.55
  5. Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 240.ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.

Bibliography
  • Prince, Stephen. The Horror Film. Rutgers University Press, 2004.
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