Freaks is set in a travelling circus which has a sideshow attraction of freaks consisting of joined Siamese twins, legless men, pinheads, bearded ladies & midgets including Hans (Harry Earles) who is in love with trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) but since she is 'normal' there is little hope of the relationship Hans wants ever coming to fruition. Cleopatra becomes involved with circus strong man Hercules (Henry Victor), when they learn that Hans has inherited a fortune Cleopatra & Hercules devise a plan where she will marry Hans & slowly poison him to death whereby they will be left with his money. Sounds simple, right? Well, the other freaks discover their plans & take a horrific revenge...
Produced & directed by one of the pioneers of horror Tod Browning this film has a pretty big reputation which when watched today it probably doesn't live up to. The script by Al Boasberg, Willis Goldbeck, Leon Gordon & Edgar Allen Woolf all of whom were uncredited was based on the short story 'Spurs' by Tod Robbins & one has to say what ended up on screen isn't what the makers intended, after a disastrous test screening MGM cut the film from 90 minutes to a mere 64 including totally altering the ending & you can't tell me cutting 25 minutes out didn't affect it. Anyway, what's done is done & what we are left with is a reasonable crime thriller, I'd struggle to call it an out-and-out horror except from the final few minutes & is basically a simple plot about killing someone off for a large inheritance & that's all there is to the film really. The big talking point is obviously the use of real freaks although I personally wasn't bothered by the notion, sure they look weird but that's not their fault is it? At a meagre 64 minutes in length I actually still found it a little slow & dull, not that much happens to be honest. The film preaches that the freaks featured are good people who just want to live normal lives but then turns this moral message on it's head & contradict itself by have them turn incredibly evil & vindictive at the end. Speaking of the ending it is also different depending on the version you watch, I saw the print TCM (Turner Classic Movies cable TV channel) play which has a happy ending tacked onto the end so that in itself may change the entire feel of the film compared to the version you might see which doesn't have that ending.
Director Browning does OK but Freaks sure does look dated, there's no music & the sound is very tinny & sometimes hard to make out what character's are saying particularly the high pitched Hans. There's nothing scary until the end & even then were talking a few minutes. The freaks themselves aren't disturbing at all, there's one guy without arms or legs though who has the amazing party trick ability to light a cigarette on his own & he resembles a fat Caterpillar with a human head! During the opening credits there's a long piece of text which makes several points some of which I don't necessarily agree with. Apparently Premier magazine voted Freaks as one of 'The 25 Most Dangerous Movies' whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
According to the IMDb Freaks had an 'estimated' budget of $310,607 which seems a very specific number to just be an 'estimate'. The film is as well made as one can expect from a film of such vintage, it's OK but nothing special. The acting isn't great either, once again it's OK but most of the cast are very stiff. The two midgets Hans & Frieda were actually brother & sister in real life.
Freaks is regarded as an absolute classic by some, fine I have no problem with that because quite frankly I'm not the one who has to see it again. Didn't do much for me at all I'm afraid. Loosely & unofficially remade as She Freak (1967).
Produced & directed by one of the pioneers of horror Tod Browning this film has a pretty big reputation which when watched today it probably doesn't live up to. The script by Al Boasberg, Willis Goldbeck, Leon Gordon & Edgar Allen Woolf all of whom were uncredited was based on the short story 'Spurs' by Tod Robbins & one has to say what ended up on screen isn't what the makers intended, after a disastrous test screening MGM cut the film from 90 minutes to a mere 64 including totally altering the ending & you can't tell me cutting 25 minutes out didn't affect it. Anyway, what's done is done & what we are left with is a reasonable crime thriller, I'd struggle to call it an out-and-out horror except from the final few minutes & is basically a simple plot about killing someone off for a large inheritance & that's all there is to the film really. The big talking point is obviously the use of real freaks although I personally wasn't bothered by the notion, sure they look weird but that's not their fault is it? At a meagre 64 minutes in length I actually still found it a little slow & dull, not that much happens to be honest. The film preaches that the freaks featured are good people who just want to live normal lives but then turns this moral message on it's head & contradict itself by have them turn incredibly evil & vindictive at the end. Speaking of the ending it is also different depending on the version you watch, I saw the print TCM (Turner Classic Movies cable TV channel) play which has a happy ending tacked onto the end so that in itself may change the entire feel of the film compared to the version you might see which doesn't have that ending.
Director Browning does OK but Freaks sure does look dated, there's no music & the sound is very tinny & sometimes hard to make out what character's are saying particularly the high pitched Hans. There's nothing scary until the end & even then were talking a few minutes. The freaks themselves aren't disturbing at all, there's one guy without arms or legs though who has the amazing party trick ability to light a cigarette on his own & he resembles a fat Caterpillar with a human head! During the opening credits there's a long piece of text which makes several points some of which I don't necessarily agree with. Apparently Premier magazine voted Freaks as one of 'The 25 Most Dangerous Movies' whatever the hell that's supposed to mean.
According to the IMDb Freaks had an 'estimated' budget of $310,607 which seems a very specific number to just be an 'estimate'. The film is as well made as one can expect from a film of such vintage, it's OK but nothing special. The acting isn't great either, once again it's OK but most of the cast are very stiff. The two midgets Hans & Frieda were actually brother & sister in real life.
Freaks is regarded as an absolute classic by some, fine I have no problem with that because quite frankly I'm not the one who has to see it again. Didn't do much for me at all I'm afraid. Loosely & unofficially remade as She Freak (1967).