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!
Review of He Who Gets Slapped
